Supporting Taught Programmes – Dissertations & Projects Dr Marita Grimwood

In their shoes… Thinking back to your own experiences as UG or PGT project students, what were the benefits and motivations for you?

What motivates students? Relevance and realism Career orientation Ownership, choice and responsibility Assessment and feedback Peer pressure and team working Presenting work to others An interested and enthusiastic teacher

Case study Read the case study and, as a small group, tease out the issues in project supervision raised by it. Using your thoughts, prepare a poster with bullet points showing: What students have a right to expect of supervision Ways in which you could contribute to this

Giving Feedback Consider environment and timing Express standards clearly Communicate your views about progress clearly in relation to standards Using examples is helpful Providing written and verbal feedback helps Be encouraging but honest Check understanding and views

Supervisor’s Roles Director Facilitator Advisor Teacher Guide Critic ?

Roles Brown, Smallwood & Bragan-Turner, 1996 Freedom-giver Encourages and supports students in making decisions Critical friend Gives encouragement and advice, shows interest Friend Extends concern to non-academic aspects Manager Develops plans, checks & records progress

Further support The Staff Development Unit runs further workshops on supervision. If you are a researcher with more substantial supervisory responsibilities and would like to know more, please contact Rosalind.Beaumont@ncl.ac.uk