FYP (UG) Supervision: Managing Preparation, Support &

Expectations(For Engineering Students)

Professor Dr. R.Badlishah Ahmad(UniMAP)

2014

Modification from:

Sally Cook & Wendy Saunderson

OUTLINE

● How to supervise● EAC Expectation● Evaluation● Discusion

CONTEXT & PROBLEM

• Tens of thousands of UG students complete Dissertations in UK HEIs each year (across the Arts, Humanities, and Social, Natural and Behavioural Sciences)

• Despite the significance of Dissertation re. student learning & staff workload: there is a paucity of guidelines, Supervision Sessions are not subject to peer-review, and are rarely observed by QAA auditors. (Rowley and Slack, 2004; Todd et al., 2005)

VARIABLE STANDARDS & PROVISION

• HUGE VARIATIONS in the nature, approach, attitudes, concerns, provision, strategies and experience of both Supervisor and Supervisee:

But

• COMMON CHARACTERISTICS and COMMON CHALLENGES / PROBLEMS

COMMON / KEY CHARACTERISTICS

• Student-determined topic; Self-directed learning;• Independent/individual work + Tutor support; • Typically includes empirical research component;

– Empirical research is a way of gaining knowledge by means of direct and indirect observation or experience. Empirical evidence (the record of one's direct observations or experiences) can be analyzed quantitatively or qualitatively.

• Involves prolonged & sustained engagement.

USUALLY:• 20 credits - 200 hrs - Final year 1/6 • In UniMAP - 2 + 4 credits • 5 – 10,000 words; No taught component• Dissertation Handbook; Individual supervision• No formal Supervisor training or guidance

COMMON CHALLENGES / PROBLEMS Delayed start/delay in choosing topic; Poor time management; Failure to fully engage with the process; Dissertation as ‘unknown entity’; Balancing workload (lectures) – 1 out of 6 modules; Lacking self-confidence for independent work; Unsure of Supervisor-Supervisee relationship; Unrealistic (misinformed) expectations; Fear of not knowing what is required, and Fear of being unable to meet requirements. Communication breakdown (a failure to exchange

information)Risk of under-achievement& dissatisfied students

SUPERVISOR’S ROLE

1) ACADEMIC GUIDANCE: advice on suitability, feasibility, scale/scope of study; conceptual/ theoretical issues; ethical issues; research methodology; structuring; presentation.

2) AS ‘MOTIVATOR’: setting tasks and deadlines; managing expectations; providing feedback.

Do we have a clear idea of our role? Boundaries?Time commitment? Depends on number of Supervisees?Or our own research/workload?

BOUNDARIES & BALANCE

Where does the Supervisor Role & Responsibility start and end?

• How much is enough?Students do need a certain amount of guidance, support and encouragement to gain confidence to apply their skills to complete.

• How much is too much?Spoon-feeding infantalises (to treat (a child or adult) like an infant or baby) students and stifles original thought:

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS (& ‘FEARS’)

• What ARE students’ expectations?• Where do they come from?• How realistic are they?• How often do students expect

supervision?• By which means? Which types do they

prefer?• How realistic/realisable are their

expectations?• What are students biggest fears/concerns?

What ARE their Expectations? Fears?

64% expect Strict Timetable of Supervision

36% expect Flexible

Supervision

Survey of 80 UG students; Starting final year;

Semi-structured questionnaire, pre-Dissertation

Special Session & pre-Supervisor contact.

Face-to-Face Supervision Phone Supervision

94

4 2

4

73

22

2

22

76

Preferred TYPE of Supervision (% Ranking)

1st Preference 2nd Pref. 3rd Pref

How often is private face-to-face Supervision expected?

Twice per Week Every Fortnight Once per Month

2

63

31

2 3

Expected duration of each private face-to-face Supervision

10-15 mins30-60 mins

2 hrs

5

36

43

14

2

Weekly Supervision

10-15 mins30-60 mins

2 hrs

513

67

105

Fortnightly Supervision

UG Students’ ‘Greatest Fears/Concerns’ at start of final/Dissertation Year

Not being able to understand certain aspects of dissertation; not having enough time or 1-to-1 sessions with SupervisorNot being able to understand certain aspects of dissertation; not having enough time or 1-to-1 sessions with Supervisor

That I won’t get a high enough grade; that I won’t pick the right dissertation title; that I won’t get enough guidance and support from my Supervisor

Biggest fear is juggling Uni work with 2 jobs; failing; not understanding the work; time management.Biggest fear is juggling Uni work with 2 jobs; failing; not understanding the work; time management.

Doing something wrong in my dissertation and wasting time by not being able to fully understand it; Not having enough one-to-one time with my Supervisor

That I will fall behind and not do my best and that my Supervisor won’t be interested in my topic; it will be hard to balance work & UniThat I will fall behind and not do my best and that my Supervisor won’t be interested in my topic; it will be hard to balance work & Uni

Biggest fear is everything snowballing if I get stuck on one piece of work; time management; balancing dissertation with other modules

EXPECTATIONBASED on EAC Manual

EAC Manual 2012 (page 12)

● academic programme component minimum total of 120 credit hours minimum of 80 credit hours engineering courses consisting of

● engineering design/projects appropriate to the student's field of study.

● Final year project (minimum 6 credit hours)

EAC Manual 2012 (page 13)

● Credit hours● For a 14-week semester (not including

examination or mid-term break), one credit hour is defined as:

● 3 hours per week of activities involving final year project inclusive of meeting with supervisor.

EAC Manual 2012 (page 15): Exposure to Engineering Practice● Exposure to engineering practice shall also be

integrated throughout the curriculum as it is a key component through a combination of the following:

– Lectures/talks by guest lecturers from industry, Academic staff with industrial experience, Courses on professional ethics and conduct, Industry visits, An industry-based final year project, Regular use of a logbook in which industrial experiences are recorded.

EAC Manual 2012 (page 15): Final-Year Project

● the best means of introducing an investigative research oriented approach to engineering studies

● required to seek individual analysis and judgement, capable of being assessed

independently.

● expected to develop techniques in literature review and information processing, as necessary with all research approaches.

EAC Manual 2012 (page 15): Final-Year Project

● final-year projects should also provide opportunities to utilise appropriate modern technology in some aspects of the work, emphasizing the need for engineers to make use of computers and multimedia technology in everyday practice

3 Main Elements of FYP

● Investigative research

● Analysis

● Develop techniques (process information and design)

DESIGN METHODS

● Flow Chart

● State Diagram

● Block Diagram

● Circuits/PCB Diagram

● Simulation Models (Software Tools)

● Mathematical Models

Expectation

● Semester 1:

– Literature Review– Design– Presentation

● Semester 2:

– Implementation– Verification/Analysis– Report Writing– Presentation

(EVALUATION)FYP SEMESTER 1

WHAT ARE THE COURSE OUTCOME (CO) ?

Have we explained this to the students?

COURSE OUTCOME (CO)

● CO1 : Ability to apply and integrate theory and practical which has been studied to solve the engineering problems.

● CO2 : Ability to develop the suitable research methodology for the project.

● CO3 : Ability to present and justify/defend the project proposal.

RUBRIC?● Should inform them about the rubric?

● 3 Items/elements– Project Management

– Report (Project Progress Report)

– Presentation

DISCUSIONQnA