Helping people learn through project supervisionKatherine FroggattJanuary 28th 2015

Focusing on 1:1 supervision

Expectations Roles

Relationships Responsibilities

Learning

What project supervision do you do?

Metaphorical mappings of learning (Sfard, 1998:7)

Acquisition Metaphor Participation metaphorIndividual enrichment Goal of learning Community buildingAcquisition of something Learning Becoming a participantRecipient Student Peripheral participant,

apprenticeProvider Teacher Expert participant, preserver

of practice/discourseProperty, commodity Knowledge, concept Aspect of practice/discourse/

activityHaving, possessing Knowing Belonging, participating,

communicating

Sfard, A. (1998). On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one. Educational Research 27(2), 4-13.

Can you describe different supervisor-student relationships?

Relationships between student and Supervisor (Brown and Atkins (1990) cited in Murray 2002:72)

Director FollowerMaster ServantGuru DiscipleTeacher PupilExpert NoviceGuide ExploreProject Manager Team workerAuditor ClientEditor AuthorCounsellor ClientDoctor PatientSenior Partner Junior professionalColleague ColleagueFriend Friend

Supervision roles (Mouton 2001)

Roles

Quality Controller

Adviser

Support (emotional,

psychological)

Expert guide

Who is the captain?

Supervisor behaviours

• Relationship behaviour– Friend– professional

• Task behaviour– Product– process

Learning through supervision

• What are your expectations of: – Students– Yourself as a supervisor

Discuss in pairs

Supervisor expectations of students• Show initiative, be proactive etc. basically be

independent • Be honest about how things are going• Produce quality written work that is not a first draft• Meet deadlines (or explain why not)• Meet regularly to discuss your progress (regularly

doesn’t necessarily mean weekly)• Be keen & enthusiastic

Learning through supervision

• With respect to supervision what are the responsibilities of:– Students– Supervisors

Discuss in pairs

Supervisor responsibilities

• Provide guidance about the research/project process (e.g. focus, methods, thesis/report structure, planning work)

• To be available in a timely way• Return work with constructive criticism in a

reasonable time• Arrange reviews and meet reporting as

required

Student responsibilities

• Ensure supervisor knows how he/she likes to receive feedback

• Arranges schedule of meetings• Raise problems/difficulties as arise• Maintains a record of supervision meetings• Submits work to supervisors in an agreed,

timely way

Identification of focus

Design of studies

Management of research

process

Ethical reviewRecruitment

and data collection

Analysis and interpretation

Dissemination

Project Cycle

At start of supervision process

• Discuss expectations• Agree ways of working

– Supervision meetings• Agenda• Deadlines for reading material• Summary notes

Creating a learning environment through supervision:• To be aware and reflect on:

– Context for project/research – Type of project/research – Stage of project/research– Personalities– Metaphors of learning