A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

Supervising projects and dissertations
❘
151
being able to understand and, to some extent, plan and undertake research and
knowledge generation is of greater importance than a few decades ago, as Barnett (2000)
might argue, due to the ‘supercomplexity’ of society. Increasingly, the introduction of
projects and dissertations is seen as a way of promoting the teaching–research nexus, at
the same time as assisting in the attainment of increasing targets for postgraduate research
students.
In summary, the so-called ‘knowledge economy’ requires students to graduate capable
of engaging with and analysing research, which thus requires careful thought when
planning and designing appropriate curricula.
Projects and dissertations have always been viewed as an effective means of research
training and of encouraging a discovery approach to learning, through the generation and
analysis of primary data. Such an approach is aimed at the development of higher-level
cognitive skills, such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Alongside this obvious
rationale, projects and dissertations are also seen as an effective means of:
• diversifying assessment;
• addressing concern to promote skills and employability (see Chapter 8);
• empowering the learner;
• motivating students;
• promoting links between teaching and research;
• ‘talent spotting’, i.e. identifying potential research students/assistants.
DEFINITIONS
Projects and dissertations have often been discussed as one in the educational
development literature (Day et al., 1998; Wilkins, 1995). It is worth considering both
distinctions and similarities prior to offering a working definition.
A project, as distinct from a dissertation, is generally defined as aimed at generating
primary data (Williams and Horobin, 1992). Dissertations, on the other hand, are
categorised as generating secondary data, often in the form of a long essay, review or
report (Parsons and Knight, 2005). Henry researched extensively the use of projects in
teaching on behalf of the Open University. She offers a six-point definition of a ‘project’
which is not dissimilar to a dissertation, stating that:
The student (usually) selects the project topic; locates his or her own source material;
presents an end product (usually a report and often for assessment); conducts an
independent piece of work (though there are also group projects). The project lasts
over an extended period and the teacher assumes the role of adviser.
(Henry, 1994: 12)
The similarities between projects and dissertations are obvious in that both require
project management skills: scheduling, action planning, time management, monitoring,