Research-teaching linkages: Enhancing graduate attributes Mary Malcolm

Drivers of the research-teaching link in BMAF Currency and employability –Developing individual professionals Departmental and staff profile –Institutional priorities learning a toolbox of methods that are reproduced without deep understanding (Edmunds and Richardson 2005, 20) Business School researchtoo abstract to be relevant too relevant to be valuable

Research is defined broadly…. Investigating issues related directly to enhancing business, management and professional practice Investigating issues raised by the contemporary knowledge base Investigating issues related directly to enhancing business, management and professional practice

Graduate attributes in BMAF Research as the basis of practice The ability to evaluate and synthesise arguments and evidence An awareness of the limits to arguments and conclusions Practical understanding of formal research methods The ability to analyse and manipulate data of many types and sources Interpretation of quantitative and qualitative data to construct models and hyptheses Knowledge of professional practice that is current and underpinned by evidence The ability to generate, progress and deliver a research project Project management skills & self management The capacity to address and respond to a brief Application of creativity and knowledge to structured and unstructured problems Understanding of ethical research practices Research as knowledge development Research as enquiry

Attributes as additional elements Attributes as transformative elements Supplementary process Complementary process Relatively unimportant and separately addressed in the curriculum Relatively unimportant and integrated into the curriculum Important and developed in parallel Integral to and integrated in the curriculum Graduate attributes in the curriculum From Barrie 2007

Enhancing teaching practice Decision-making in the real world of business Working on business-based projects Engaging learners in the work of active researchers Provisionality & complexity from the start Pervasive enquiry-based approach Encountering a range of research projects & challenges Learners recognising their own developing skills

The drivers of course design Disciplinary approaches - building Skills and techniques - accrediting Outcome-based design - delivering The role of staff specialism - compiling

Challenges of curriculum design and management Coverage –Matching staff expertise and syllabus – curriculum cold spots –Making the link explicit in practice - module descriptions Coherence –Learning by enquiry – learning mode, not learning event –Research training – impact and currency –Research practice – process and outcome

A learner perspective Extract two Actually some of them were quite surprising. And it was very interesting to look and to try and find the reasons why I would expect this question to be totally different. And I expected it to be totally negative and it was totally positive. And I was really surprised. And then I had to read the literature again and look at why and how'. Doing the research was really challenging because there are a lot of research materials out there and finding the ones to use was really difficult… Extract one It was good for the personal experience for the feeling of achievement. And I think the dissertation helped me as well. It's a very up to date topic very recent, interesting hopefully. So I think it also helped me to get an MBA place. For later, yes it's also helped me to organize my own work, my own research to structure it and starting from scratch and achieve something.