Week 4: What makes for 'masters' level?
Note: In the Week 4 activities we will be using Google Docs to collate our responses. If you do not already have a Google account, it would be helpful to set one up in advance.
We started this course with many of us expressing a concern that our students do well. We focussed not just on creating a supervisory experience which was enjoyable for the student, but which supported them to produce a satisfactory (preferably good) output. We have talked during the course about the skills students need to do this: writing a research question, academic writing, organisational skills. We have talked about the communication strategies we can use to get the best from the student. Ultimately though, success is measured through the project report. The project report and its assessment is our focus for this final week's activities.
During this week you will have the opportunity to:
- Discuss your expectations for students at different levels of study.
- Clarify what the markers are looking for in the project report.
- Help students to engage with the assessment criteria.
Task 1 (3 hours)
There is one major task this week, which lead us to clarify in our minds the level at which masters students are expected to work and to think creatively about how we can explain this to students.
In Ch. 18, Gina, working with Winter's ideas, describes the characteristics of a masters degree as (p.283):
- a balance is maintained between original and secondary material
- methodology and data analysis are scarcely separated
- different investigative paradigms and their methodologies are understood
- there is critical self-appraisal of existing practices and beliefs
- work reaches a synthesis based on creative connections between different aspects of a project or topic.
- a commitment to and engagement with project/a discipline/a body of reading set alongside theoretical and ethical grounding.
This is a good starting point, and you will find that there have been many attempts to define the standard of the work expected at a particular level. The most widely adopted in the UK has been the SEEC level descriptors. These "define the level of complexity, relative demand and autonomy expected of a learner on completion of a unit or programme of learning" (SEEC, 2003, p.1). These descriptors are used by programme teams writing programme level learning outcomes and assessment criteria to ensure parity of level between institutions.
Despite the care that programme teams take to clearly define the level, we know that students find it difficult to engage with and interpret the assessment criteria and standards descriptors they find in their course handbooks (Rust et al, 2003).
So, your first task this week is to apply the generic SEEC levels descriptors for masters level work (Level 7) to a specific project you could be supervising (you might use the same one you used in 'topics to titles' or something else). You will need to write levels descriptors which are meaningful to you and your student(s). Aim to write four in all, one from each of the categories:
- development of knowledge and understanding
- cognitive and intellectual skills
- key/transferable skills
- practical skills.
We have created a shared document (GoogleDoc) called Standards of Learning and invite you to add your contribution to it - click on the link to access the document. Everyone should be able to edit the document, but do let us know if you have any problems.
As you are preparing your descriptors, you will probably find yourself using words which require further clarification, perhaps critical reflectiveness, originality, or publishable quality. Extract these words and add them to our Glossary on GoogleDocs and try to define them in terms your students would understand.
The forum Assessing Projects will be available to talk with your colleagues and course tutors as you are working on these tasks.
Task 2 (1 hour)
Your second assignment is due at the end of this week (9 February) and there is some time available here to work on it. This assignment is an opportunity to consolidate your learning on this short course. You should prepare your personal view of what makes a good supervisor in your discipline, taking into account student views, and a personal action plan of what you will do now. Use the template available from the course overview section of the course site.
Key readings
- Chapter 18, Writing up the thesis or dissertation.
- SEEC (2003) Credit Level Descriptors for Further and Higher Education at http://www.seec-office.org.uk/SEEC%20FE-HECLDs-mar03def-1.doc
- The student guides linked from the Week 1 Activities may give ideas on what is expected in the final project report.
Further resources
- In this YouTube video, Steve Barron from Lancaster University talks about the difference between undergraduate and postgraduate learning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXllYfPknIY&feature=related
- Rust, C., Price, M. and O'Donovan, B. (2003) 'Improving students' learning by developing their understanding of assessment criteria and processes', Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 147-164,
The following will be useful as you prepare the final assignment:
- Brew & Peseta (2004) in Wisker, Chapter 3, p.37
- The Higher Education Academy's Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey at http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/supportingresearch/postgraduatework (You will need to click on the grey tab labelled PTES at the bottom of the page to find the presentations and reports arising from this survey).