Facing the Future Personal Tutoring, Research Management and the Dissertation

1. Facing the FuturePersonal Tutoring, Research Management and the Dissertation Pete Starie, Associate Dean (Students), Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

2. Structure • Curriculum 2012 • Research Management: preparing students for the dissertation • The Dissertation • The importance of the Personal Tutorial system

3. Intended benefits and challenges of Curriculum 2012 • A more coherent curriculum & an improved student experience • Greater focus on the development of employability skills • More contact time for students • More e-learning • More opportunities for formative assessment - less assessment overall

4. The CAP • Consolidation and Assessment Period • Weeks 25 and 26 – Department and Faculty activities • Weeks 27-30 – Assessments: exams and coursework

5. Progressive development of skills and knowledge • Basic, intermediate, advanced • Academic skills, L4, 5 and 6 • Research skills, L4, 5 and 6 • Employability and Career Management skills, L 4, 5 and 6

6. The World We Have Lost • CRM – Careers and Research Management • Faculty-wide unit with some minor variations (in terms of delivery and assessment) • 6-7 group tutorials, 2 individual tutorials • Dissertation plenaries • Assessment (dissertation proposal, literature review, presentation) • RM handbook and online resources

7. Preparing students for the dissertation/major project • When to introduce students to the dissertation – early or later? • When to get CHs students to decide on subject A or subject B? • When to get all students to ‘drill down’ from broad subject to more specific topic, title, hypothesis, research problem? • When to get the student to see the subject specialist?

8. Preparing students for the dissertation/major project • Additional challenges • Timing and co-ordination of activities to replace the CRM group and individual tutorials • Reinduction, during the year, the CAP • Incentivising students to produce a draft research proposal/plan that is not assessed in L5 • Some students may want to undertake a work-based learning major project (need guidance and revised project criteria)

9. Preparing students for the dissertation/major project • What topics do we need to cover? • What is research management? • What is a dissertation/major project? • What online resources are available for you? • Types of dissertations • Literature searching/information literacy • Consulting the subject specialist • Preparing a research proposal/plan • Reviewing the literature • The Dissertation Process: supervision and rules

10. Paradise Regained – The Student Journey! • Research Skills, Research Methods and Research Management • Level 4 – introductory research skills in one of the 2 ‘skills plus’ units – normally the 2nd one • Introduce the notion of dissertations/projects • Consider introducing some mechanism for an early (and provisional) indication of broad dissertation/project choice

11. The Journey – continued • Next year’s Level 5 students • Step 1 – Reinduction: plenaries and tutorials on ‘what is RM/ what is a Dissertation’ • Introduce students to online resources/handbook • Step 2 – types of dissertations/projects (core units or subject area plenaries) • Step 3 – literature searching (library sessions) • Step 4 - personal tutorials (indication of subject area and topic to P Tutor)

12. The Journey – continued • Next year’s Level 5 students • Step 4 (contd) – P Tutors inform Year Tutors • Year Tutors draw up lists of possible supervisors • List communicated to students • Students contact supervisors and arrange tutorial • Students start to draft research proposal/plan • All before Easter

13. The Journey – continued • Step 5 – the CAP • Each subject area has 2 hour plenary (CHs students can go to both subject area plenaries if still undecided) • Each subject area has 2 hour group tutorials (home students only)

14. The Journey – continued • CAP – Research Management plenary • Summarise previous material • Tell students where they should be by now (in terms of the process) • What does a good dissertation look like? Show examples • How will it be assessed? • The marking criteria

15. The Journey – continued • CAP – Research Management group tutorials • Examples of previous dissertations etc • Presentations by students of research proposal/plan • Discussion of draft proposal/plan • Students to submit a draft by end of week 26

16. Online Resources • Current RM handbook is already digitised and on websites • Generic materials: develop more subject specific • Areas of staff expertise and previous supervision • Scanned examples of dissertation excerpts (good and bad dissertations) • Links to online dissertations in the Library • Podcasts and videocasts • Don’t have to reinvent wheel (look at other websites)

17. What have we agreed? • The dissertation will remain a 40 credit, 10,000 word piece of work • Students will be able to opt for a work-related/work-based version of the dissertation (guidance notes and criteria to be produced) • The dissertation will now have 2 assessed components • Formative piece of work (10%) – draft chapter, revised research plan • Final dissertation (90%) – includes the revised formative element

18. The Journey – continued • Level 6 – Reinduction • Year meeting – dissertation • Individual dissertation tutorials with supervisor • Guidance about formative piece of work (10% ) for the dissertation • Draft chapter, revised research plan • Work submitted 4 weeks later • Marked and returned 2 weeks later

19. Dissertation: transition year • New dissertation assessment weighting starts this year • Students will have produced a proposal/plan in CRM • Year 2 students have been sent email telling them of minor change to assessment weighting • 10% formative piece of work • Message needs to be reinforced in Year 3 meetings and Year 3 handbooks

20. C2012 - Personal Tutorials policy • Expectations re. scheduled personal tutorials per year: • Level 4 - eight group and two individual meetings • Level 5 - four group and two individual meetings • Level 6 - two group and two individual meetings • Level 7 - two group and two individual meetings

21. Student Support & Guidance 21 • Personal Tutorials • We adhere to the curricula framework of scheduled group and individual tutorials via induction and first ‘skills plus’ unit at L4 plus… • At L5, we adhere via re-induction, post-Easter workshops and individual meetings • At L6, we adhere via re-induction and dissertation supervision • Need to link PT, PDP and online resources more effectively and coherently • The E-Portfolio is a key part of this

22. Personal Tutorials • But not just about compliance with C2012 • The personal tutorial system is at the heart of our student support and guidance framework • We know that students value it • We know that it is one of the reasons why we do well in the NSS • We must ensure that we provide a consistent experience within and across degrees • It is a core function of being an academic

23. Role of the Personal Tutor • Affective support: confidence building, communication of course requirements, explanation of study culture • Learning support: engagement on general and subject issues, PDP • Organisational support: orientation to the course, department, University and guidance about option choices

24. Role of the Personal Tutor • Induction • Academic engagement • Dissertation supervision • Student responsibilities and behaviour • Subject-specific matters • PDP and Graduate Employability • Option Choices • Feedback on academic performance • Extenuating circumstances • Referral to specialist services (ASK etc) • Student complaints and disciplinary procedures

25. Student Support & Employability • C2012 and a revised Faculty Framework • Induction • Personal Tutor system and PDP • Tutorial units - ‘skills plus’ • RM, Careers • Employability and work-related learning • Online learning

26. Discussion