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

Supervising projects and dissertations
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addressedin departmental guidelines for project and dissertation completion, and can
be reviewed elsewhere (Williams and Horobin, 1992). As more additional guidance data
to informthe execution of projects and dissertations are gathered, it will save the
supervisor much time in the long run by establishing and codifying his or her own clear
guidelines and criteria, offering these to supervisees as either a handout or a web page,
or both.
Supervising unstructured or semi-structured projects and dissertations implies
assisting students in formulating research questions; second, choosing methods; and
finally, scoping the means of data collection. As the end-product should be the
supervisees’ intellectual property, the supervisor must be sensitive to the supervisees’
ability to determine these for themselves. There is a fine line between guiding and telling,
and much will depend on the ability and vision of the student, combined with the
sensitivity of the supervisor. A supervisor-led approach emphasises the transmission of
research knowledge to the student, whereas supervisee-focused approaches emphasise
the student constructing his or her own knowledge. In the case of the latter, able students
may be encouraged to write up their reports or dissertations for publication, which
requires a different sort of supervisory support.
Interrogating practice
Reflect on your role. At which stage(s) of the project or dissertation will you
take on a ‘teaching’ role and at which stage(s) a facilitatory role? Consider the
skills required at both ends of the spectrum.
Focusing on the facilitatory role should prompt a response which includes asking
supervisees open-ended questions, reflecting questions back and encouraging supervisees
to explore strategies to take their work forward. Facilitation skills have been written
about extensively, as they do not necessarily require supervisors to demonstrate their
own technical skills but rather demand interpersonal skills, which can prove far more
difficult to learn (Williams and Horobin, 1992; Hammick and Acker, 1998). Furthermore,
with increased student numbers, it is likely that supervisors will be required to supervise
a group of students working outside what the supervisor might comfortably perceive to
be his or her own area of research expertise.
Interrogating practice
Reflect on your own departmental practices. How do students choose their
supervisor, or are students allocated to a supervisor? Will you be expected to
supervise students outside your area of expertise?