building a practice of reflective phd supervision
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Building a practice of reflective PhD supervision. Aims of session: Discussion on outcomes and capabilities of a PhD study Relationship between supervisor and PhD-student Supporting the project How can I as a supervisor develop being a good supervisor. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Department of Science Education
Building a practice of reflective PhD supervision
Aims of session:• Discussion on outcomes and capabilities
of a PhD study• Relationship between supervisor and
PhD-student• Supporting the project• How can I as a supervisor develop being
a good supervisor
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Outcome and capabilities of a PhD-study
• Why do we educate an increasing number of PhD-students?• What are the outcome and capabilities of a PhD-study for
society?• Should the outcome and capabilities be different when PhD-
students are not going to be employed in academia?• What are the outcome and capabilities for the individual
gaining a PhD-degree?
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Building relationships
Supervision styles
Clarify mutual expectations
Trust
Co-supervision
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Styles - Gatfield
October 4 2012Gatfield, T. (2005) An investigation into PhD supervisory Management Styles: Development of a dynamic conceptual model and its managerial implications
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Product concern
People
conce
rn
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Gatfield - styles
Pastoral
Supervisor: Considerable personal support but not in a task-driven directive capacity
Contractual
Supervisor: Good management skills and interpersonal
relationships
Laisser-faire
Supervisor: non-directive and not committed to high levels of personal interaction
Directional
Supervisor: Regular meetings, but avoids non-task issues
Low Structure High
Low
Support
H
igh
Gatfield, T. (2005) An investigation into PhD supervisory Management Styles: Development of a dynamic conceptual model and its managerial implications
Product concern
People
conce
rn
Department of Science Education
Adapting style
How can a supervisor then adapt her/his style to need of the PhD student?
Geoff Gurr developed a toolkit to talk about style with his PhD students. He uses it every 6 months in order to talk about supervision.
Gurr, G.M. (2001) Negotiating the “Rackety Bridge” – a Dynamic Model for Aligning Supervisory Style with Research Student Development. Higher Education & Development, 20 (1), 81-92.
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Model of supervisory styles
October 4 2012
Gurr, G.M. (2001) Negotiating the “Rackety Bridge” – a Dynamic Model for Aligning Supervisory Style with Research Student Development. Higher Education & Development, 20 (1), 81-92.
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Exercise: Clarify mutual expectations
Go through the statements on p. 66 and mark you position (10 min)
Compare with your neighbour positions and look for mismatches. Discuss your understanding of the statement and reasons for diverging positions (20 min)
Exercise
Building trust – and undermining it
How do we build trust?• Active listening• Being reliable• Openness• Honesty• Clarity
Some classic ways to undermine your relationship:
• Hiding (yourself or real or imagined problems)• Ignoring (feedback you don’t understand or don’t like)• Forgetting (appointments, deadlines)• Mixing (business with personal issues)• Gossiping (about your PhD-student/supervisor or colleagues)• Assuming (what something meant, what you’re entitled to do)
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Co-supervision
Chapter 6• Benefits of co-supervision?• Challenges of co-supervision?
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Co-supervision
• Meta-communication• Use of tools
• Division of labour• Competencies• Good cop><bad cop• Academic integration >< social integration• Process ><content
• Let the PhD-student decide• Accept the differences • Benefit from diversity – both PhD-student and supervisor
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Supporting the project
• Keeping research on track• Feedback• Plagiarism
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Keeping the research on track
How to keep on track:• Roadmap• Grey boxes chapter 5 + 7• Getting students to write
> Linear metaphors
• What about the unexpected?• Research as a less travelled road – winding with detours• Rules for critical thinking? In all disciplines?
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Getting students to write
• submit a given number of pages at or before every meeting • write a one-page synopsis of their thesis at regular intervals • free write their way through problems, blocks, and for
coming to grips with new ideas • write a maximum of two/three pages describing the process
of their research, identifying problems, thinking through possible solutions
• write a one-page review of everything they read • write a two/three pages review of a number of articles
dealing with a particular theme, comparing points of view, commenting on the relevance for their research
• write expanded structures (synopses) for the whole thesis or for each of the proposed chapters or articles
Feedback
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Feedback at different levels
Where is the PhD student in the learning process?
What is the most important thing to learn right now?
What is the purpose of the text/presentation the students wants feedback on
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The substance of the feedback
Praise
Criticism
General Specific
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Supervisors’ dilemmas
Many supervisors are concerned that they give too much negative criticism and not enough praise.
Many students say that they are happy because they get a lot of critical comments.
At the same time they are hungry for praise.
How can this be understood?
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Interpretation
The positive comments students get from supervisors are often general, sweeping and consequently not ’trustworthy’. They do not document that the supervisor has read the text well.
Criticism (negative comments) are much more specific and provide ideas for improvement. It also documents that the supervisor has studied the text thoroughly.
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Different ways of giving feedback
The sandwich model:Praise-critique-praise
Traffic lights:Red: Avoid thisYellow: Be aware ofGreen: Continue doing this
Appreciative feedback:Caring: Sincere, appreciative and respectfulConstructive: With the real possibility of improvement and developmentConcrete: Specify and give examples
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Example
Feedback on a text:• What should remain in the text? What should you keep
doing?• What should there be more of in the text? What do you more
often?• What needs to be less of the text? What should you do less
often or completely stop?
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1. Find the right level of expectation2. Use meta communication3. Be honest4. Be specific5. Remember to look for the positive things
Five rules of feedback in supervision
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Advice for feedback provider
• Start by agreeing on purpose of the (supervision) meeting (the outcome of this supervision should be...)
• Begin with the positive• Think forward “how can you improve this” instead of
backward “you should have done”• Remain on ‘your own half’ by using ‘I’ (“I did not quite
understand the conclusion” instead of “the conclusion is unclear”)
• Use open-ended questions (especially what and how, whereas why can be accusatory)
• Choose your words carefully - especially when written feedback
• Use active listening• Think of your body language and observe the other's body
language
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Advise for feedback receiver
• Start by making sure you understand and agree on the purpose of the feedback – adjust if necessary
• Do not explain or defend yourself• Try to perceive feedback as a gift and not as a criticism• Ask what the feedback provider would like to see more/less
of and what already works• Repeat points to make sure that you have understood the
message• Use open questions and ask for examples• Choose your feedback partners carefully• Receive feedback from several people and several times,
preferably early on in the process
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Literature
Eco, Umberto (1979) The Role of the Reader Indiana University Press, s.3-43
Eco, Umberto (1996) How culture conditions the colours we see.
I: Poul Cobley (ed.): The Communication Theory Reader. Routledge, s.148-171
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Plagiarism
• Happens everywhere• Can you buy a PhD?• Resources for avoiding plagiarism
• http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/plagiarism/default.asp?s=&n=&i=&v=&o=&ns=0&t=&uid=0&rau=0
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Develop as a supervisor
Exercise:Key elements of supervision
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