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• 1997 – Trial programme started – Inaugural 2.5 day First Year Skills Workshops (FYSW)
• 2000 - University of Liverpool institutes compulsory training programme for all research students
The Impact of Compulsory Development Programmes
Enshrined in ordinance 90: to undertake successfully the Research Training Programme or obtain exemption on the grounds of suitable prior experience of accreditation.
Main proposal of this paper:
That the structured pursuit of personal and professional development is considered as integral to the doctorate as the viva and the thesis:
Professional holistic Development ‘Fully integrating appropriate skills development activities within research degreeprogrammes, so that they are not viewed and treated as an add-on or a separatestream which can be ignored, is a major challenge in most institutions.’*
*Chris Park, http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/435/1/RedefiningTheDoctorate.pdf 2007, p.33
Thesis
Personal and professional development Viva
‘Personal and professional development for research students positively associated with submission of thesis within 4 years’ (Humphrey, et al 2012).
Interdisciplinary Awareness, Enterprise and Transferable
skills
Deep Disciplinary Skills and Expertise
Leonard-Barton, 1995
The T Shaped Researcher
‘It is now widely recognised by employers, professional bodies and research funding agencies that specialist expertise alone is not sufficient preparation either for research or a subsequent career. With this in mind, the University of Hull requires all its postgraduate research students to follow a research training programme relating both to their particular field of study and to generic skills; for example, information technology and communication skills.’ University of Hull PGTS 2010
‘It is becoming increasingly necessary for postgraduate research students to be trained in skills that extend beyond those essential to pursue their academic discipline. This reflects changing employment patterns and the closer relationships between universities and employers to train students who are able to meet the nation’s needs. Notable among these skills are: the facility to use information technologies; the ability to use time effectively and productively; the capacity to work in teams; an understanding of business principles; and the skills to present ideas effectively.’University of Liverpool Handbook 2002
Persuasive text…
PGR Training policies within the sector:
Often: ‘Recommended but optional.’More commonly: incorporated formally into M.Res programmes, CDTs etc
University of Nottingham:
• Each Faculty has differing requirements for recommended training
• All Graduate School training and Faculty Training programmes carry training points
• Participants can automatically access a certificate confirming their attendance and
points after the course
BLOCK A(ENG/SCI/MED/VET/DENT)
BLOCK B (ENG/SCI/MED/VET/DENT)
W/C 7/1/02 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday9.00 to 9.30 WRITTEN
COMMUNICATION(Janet)
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION(Janet)
9.30 to 10.00 EPISTEMOLOGY
(Janet)
10.00 to 10.30
EPISTEMOLOGY(Janet)
10.30 to 11.00
11.00 to 11.30
11.30 to 12.00
12.00 to 12.30
12.30 to 1.00 ORAL BRIEFING Richard)
ORAL BRIEFING (Richard)
1.00 to 1.30 1.30 to 2.00 ORAL
COMM.WORKSHOP(Trish with M, J and Debbie)
ORAL COMM. WORKSHOP (Janet with Trish, Rich and Martin)
2.00 to 2.30 TIME AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT(Janet)
TIME AND PROJECT MAN. (Richard)
2.30 to 3.00 3.00 to 3.30 3.30 to 4.00 4.00 to 4.30 4.30 to 5.00
2.5 day First Year Workshop 2000 -2002
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday FridaySign In: 9.30am Review Review Review ReviewIntroductions,Hopes andConcerns,Learning contract. TheProgramme as a whole
Thinking skills Ethical Concerns in Research for the Arts
Working with others – managing the supervisoryRelationship
Presentations
Break Break Break Break Break Skills audit
Originality in research Managing thePh.D process-Project management
Working withOthers – role-set analysis
PresentationsSocial lunch
Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch LunchFeedback skills Presentation skills
Writing SkillsJournal WritingTaking notes
PresentationPractice
Self managementThinking, learning, working styles
Review action plan
Break Break Break Break Presentation skills practice
Writing skills (continued)
Networks:Creating, discovering, using the resources around you
Self-managementStress, anxiety,Time management
17.15-17.30Review
Review Review Review
5-day First Year Skills Workshop 2002/3
Research Skills Workshops – Aims: 2006
• To increase the awareness of the skills, strategies and
processes which are required in order to successfully complete
a research degree.
• To provide a catalyst and a resource for the
transformative learning essential to the doctoral process
• Provide an experience that will enable research students
to assess, practice and demonstrate the skills required to
successfully develop within the research environment.
2010 – 2014:Three Day Workshop Structure
Fir
st Y
ear
Sec
on
d y
ear
Th
ird
Yea
r• Team Formation
• Idea Generation
• Planning
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3
• Research
• Abstract Writing
• Prepare Presentation
• Presentations
• Questions
• Peer Review
‘Performance failure’ theory
Recent study by Manu Kapur & Katerine Bielaczyc outlines notion of performance failure:
Three conditions that promote a ‘beneficial struggle’:
1. Choose problems to work on that ‘challenge but do not
frustrate.’
2. Provide learners with opportunities to explain and
elaborate on what they’re doing.
3. Give learners the chance to compare and contrast good
and bad solutions to the problems.
Self-generated ideas for research projects
Frequent opportunities for presentations plus
chairs meeting, abstract construction and
informal peer to peer discussion
Peer review, audience questions, competitive
spirit of team based workshop
Manu Kapur & Katerine Bielaczyc , ‘Designing for Productive Failure,’ Journal of the Learning Sciences, Volume 21, Issue 1, 2012
How Performance Failure in the FYDW ‘works’
Teams given open ended problem to
solve
Unable to complete or
solve problem correctly
Provokes Idea generation about the
nature of problem and what potential
solutions look like
Teams understand deeper structure of problem not simply
correct solution
Team members transfer knowledge more
effectively than passive recipients of someone
else’s expertise.
Competent in next test within
research environment
Chuck them in the deep end
Make sure they don’t drown
Congratulate them (or not) on being able to swim badly
Older, unsupported learning model…
FYDW 2013/14 Overall Evaluation:How useful was this workshop? (1 not very useful, 10 very useful)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
• 91% of PGRs scored the workshop 6-10 (useful to very useful), up 4% from last year• Of those, 72% scored the workshops between 8-10• 22% scored the workshop as 10, up 10% from last year - despite increase of 42 additional participants
Overall aim 2014:
Move participants from student mind-set to becoming a research colleague.
2004 - 2008 = 180 credits• 60 units available from central training• 90 units available for Personal Development Record
(PDR) Now called Portfolio of Activity• At least 30 units from Department or Faculty Training
Compulsory Programmes require policing!The Training Credit Unit
1 credit = 1 hour of training
• 2002 – 2004 = 90 credits
2008 – Present. ‘Credit’ re-affirmed as purely an attendance indicator for the following programme:
Annual Progression1. The Record of Supervisory meetings, to regularly record formal meetings with supervisors2. The PGR Portfolio of activity to record professional development
First Year Development Choice of workshops on campus and online option for those unable to attend the Liverpool workshops
Poster dayAnnual event in Liverpool and online option
Career DevelopmentRange of options - online course, workshops, enterprise competitions or self-selected voluntary activities or work experience.
Subject Specific TrainingTraining and requirements set by school or institute
At least 6 weeks of activity over a three year period
In the new Annual Monitoring Report
Form the supervisor has a
tick box to confirm that they have
seen their student’s PDR!
Yearly Completion of the Personal Development Record is confirmed through the Annual Monitoring Report Form…
It’s alright Patty! Year
04/05 is just a trial period.
05/06 is when it’s going to be
for realOh Thank
God!
Difficulties with the training requirement…
Arguments for the Compulsory Training of research students:
• That’s what a PhD means at the University of Liverpool
• It will make the research councils take notice of us as an
institution
• It will enable changes in the culture of the institution
• It will help to maintain and improve completion rates
• It will improve the skills base of all research students
• It will improve their employability
• Stakeholders suggest very strongly that we should do it…
Pedagogic arguments for compulsory training
• Doctoral candidature has changed – there is more to understand
• The research environment has changed – it’s an interconnected world
• The expectations of stakeholders have changed – their demands impact on the
research and those that conduct it
• Not just technical knowledge but:
• ‘Know how’ and ‘can do’
• Personal practice and practical activities
• The ability to network
• Sense of strategy – a ‘big picture’
Shift from skills to behaviour, attributes and application
Cumming’s argument (2010) for a ‘holistic conception of doctoral education.’ • ‘…a broader and more holistic conception of doctoral
education.’• ‘Premise [is] that doctoral experience can no longer be depicted
narrowly, (apprenticeship, induction or Socialisation).’• ‘Doctoral candidates interact with a diverse range of individuals
from within and beyond the academy, engage in creative mixes of education, training, research, work and career development.’
• Rather than view these activities as discrete ‘silos’ – where established boundaries, epistemologies and cultures are maintained – the term ‘doctoral interface’ is used to capture the multifaceted nature of doctoral work and to highlight points of intersection.
• Individuals are embedded in a socio-cultural-historical context [not…] independent
actors positioned in relation to a contextual backdrop.
• Consequently, practice – as distinct from individuals or their environments – becomes
the primary unit of analysis.
• holistic conception of
doctoral education -
integrative model of
doctoral enterprise.
• doctoral practices and
arrangements deemed
mutually constituted and
continuously evolving.*
Applying Cumming’s Holistic Perspective
Jim Cumming, Doctoral enterprise: a holistic conception of evolving practices and arrangements: Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 35, No. 1, February 2010, 25–39. Society for Research into Higher Education
• If rigid boundaries between education, training, research, work
and career development at doctoral level maintained, ‘then
fragmentation, duplication and overlap are likely result.’
• Doctoral environment (PGRs and supervisors) now subject to –
continuous professional learning and KE activity
• ‘…[M]ain argument [is] that a broader and more holistic
perspective increases capacity for new thinking and acting in this
field.’**Cumming p. 37.
Cummings Main Argument
• Integrated training programmes set the agenda for Professional Holistic Development.
• Requires colleagues to full take on board employment destinations for doctoral researchers:
Need for a Holistic Approach – Principle drop-out reasons (Thesis Whisperer*):
Most often mentioned:• Bullying or disinterested supervisors• Loss of interest in the research / Lack of internal motivation (essentially drift)• Don’t want to be an academic anymore - no point in continuing. Worry that PhD might
make them ‘unemployable’. Mentioned less often were:• Being asked to do extra work to make the project ‘submittable’ (sometimes tied to lack of
good formative feedback along the way, but not always).• Mounting debt (interestingly, in the two institutions I have worked, this is the most often
stated reason for leaving a research degree, perhaps because it’s the most impersonal).• Not family / relationship / carer responsibility friendly• Desire to change disciplines/ topic, but difficulty in doing so• Failed lab work• Stress / exhaustion / mental health issues – like depression
*Thesis whisperer: http://thesiswhisperer.com/2014/03/26/why-do-people-quit-the-phd/
Summary• U of Liverpool model is light touch compulsory
• non-certificated – integral part of the PhD
• adaptable for different subject areas
• light on its feet (also cheap)
• Emphasises community learner and development approach –
sharing of problems and solutions – attacks ‘pluralistic ignorance’
• Social infrastructure formation – creates community
• Incorporates holistic understanding of PGR environment and
doctoral interfaces – what a PhD ‘means’
Summary (continued)
• Holistic approach addresses
stakeholder concerns and employer
needs
• Re-envisions the doctorate for
collaborative, externally focussed
research ventures
• Changed expectations – PGRs and
supervisors
• Agent for cultural change
Conclusions• Difficult for PGRs and supervisors to unconsciously avoid the
‘training prerogative.’• All institutions pay attention to the training agenda but for some it’s
lip service• For others it is a compulsory activity – if not across institutions then
within CDTs etc• Liverpool Programme seen as contributing to PGR retention and
good completion rates – Last week I genuinely thought about dropping out, am now much more motivated to see this through. Thanks :)
• BUT – training programmes and Graduate Schools must engage with the complexity and holistic conception of ‘what it means to do a PhD.’