This study examines the beliefs of supervisors and PhD candidates about higher degree supervision and three other academic domains: research; teaching; and learning. Interview data from 34 participants were categorised into four distinctive orientations to supervision, each consisting of a network (plexus) of beliefs about the four domains. Although each orientation comprised many beliefs, the orientations clearly differed in terms of two broad distinctions: whether the supervisor should direct and take responsibility for the research (controlling beliefs) or should guide the process (guiding beliefs), and whether the focus of supervision should be more upon the research tasks to be completed (task-focussed beliefs) or upon the development of the candidates (person-focussed beliefs). These distinctions, plus the types of interconnections between the beliefs comprising each orientation, support the conclusion that beliefs about teaching are central to each orientation, even though supervision is intimately concerned with research.
This paper explores differences between beliefs endorsed by supervisors and candidates and between their preferred supervisory practices. It builds on previous research which identified a variety of orientations to research higher degree supervision within one electrical engineering faculty. Contrary to traditional thinking, it was found that supervisors and candidates (pairings here referred to as ‘dyads’), generally think about and approach supervision in very different ways. This is discussed as a contributory factor to poor supervisory experiences and longer than average completion times. Suggestions for improvement are offered.
This paper summarises problems that university students, particularly those in the technically-oriented, professional disciplines, have when they write. Discussion centres on how strategic knowledge of discourse structure enhances what these students understand of processes associated with producing text and learning from it and how these understandings can be utilised to their benefit. The concept of top-level structure and advantages resulting from applying this concpets are discussed. Guidelines for incorporating the teaching of this knowledge into a technical writing course are suggested. Finally, there is a discussion of the relationship between this metacognitive knowledge and changes in student learning.
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