The HEA Annual Conference 2012
Great expectations – are you ready?
3-4 July
University of Manchester
Best practice in supporting large
Click to edit Master
title
style
numbers
of international
students undertaking research as
part of taught masters courses in
Click to edit Master
subtitleand
style
the business
management
field.
Nigel Coates, Dr Diane Sloan
22/03/2016
2
Overview
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Aim
Background/context
Newcastle Business School Masters Dissertation
The Newcastle Business School Masters student
Barriers to learning
Strategies for overcoming barriers
1. Aim
To provide a masters dissertation research
support programme that addresses the
particular needs of international postgraduate
students within limited resource constraints.
2. Background
• Importance of international students to the
PG HE sector (Pelletier, 2004;Taylor, 2005).
• Importance of masters level research in PG
programmes.
• Needs of international students versus limited
supervisor time.
3. The Newcastle Business School
Masters Dissertation
• A research project
• A combination of:
– Academic theory
– An investigation / research
– Analysis of the business situation (using the
theory)
• A 15,000 word report / thesis using the appropriate
academic conventions
• 60 out of 180 credits for Masters degree
Linkages between benchmarks and
Programme Outcomes.
• Compliance with QAA Descriptor for a
qualification at Masters (M) Level.
(The
framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, The
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education 2001)
• NBS cross comparative benchmarks for UG
and Masters Dissertations are detailed in the
Dissertation Guidelines.
4. Characteristics of an NBS Full Time
Masters Dissertation students
Age of Postgraduate Student
How old are you?
Responses
9.7%
7.6%
2.1%
39.1%
Under 21
21 – 23
24 – 26
27 – 29
30+
Totals
5
93
99
18
23
238
2.10%
39.08%
41.60%
7.56%
9.66%
100%
41.6%
Under 21
21 – 23
24 – 26
27 – 29
30+
Home Country
What is your home country?
Responses
Mainland China
Other
India
UK
Taiwan & Vietnam
Malaysia
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Hong Kong
Singapore
Totals
101
56
24
16
13
9
8
3
2
0
232
43.53%
24.14%
10.34%
6.90%
5.60%
3.88%
3.45%
1.29%
0.86%
0%
100%
Home Country
24.1%
6.9%
3.4% 1.3%
10.3%
43.5%
5.6%
0.9%
3.9%
0%
UK
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Mainland China
Hong Kong
Singapore
Malaysia
Taiwan & Vietnam
India
Other
5. Barriers to Learning
Barriers - Language
• Language ability
– IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score 6.5:
not sufficient for masters level research (e.g.
critical analysis) but sector norm (some take
lower).
– We are a recruiter not a selector (as are many).
Barriers - Educational
• Educational - Cultural Background
– Are our international students prepared for a UK
HE experience?
– Many suffer “academic culture shock” (Brown 2007;p240)
– Different expectations – not used to independent learning
(Todd, 1997; Ballard & Clanchy, 1997)
– Long been recognised many do not engage in critical
evaluation (Skelton & Richards, 1991).
– Many are not used to expressing opinion (Persaud, 1993;
Okorocha, 1996) and expect the tutor to be expert (Cortazzi &
Jim, 1997).
Prior Educational Experience:
Prior to arriving at the NBS the way you were taught
might have been different?
Responses
Strongly Agree
Agree
Somewhat Agree
Neutral
Somewhat Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Totals
58
68
48
21
20
12
7
234
24.79%
29.06%
20.51%
8.97%
8.55%
5.13%
2.99%
100%
74.36%
Prior Educational Experience:
Prior to arriving at the NBS the way you were taught
might have been different?
5.1%
3%
8.6%
24.8%
9%
20.5%
29.1%
Strongly Agree
Agree
Somewhat Agree
Neutral
Somewhat Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Prior Educational Experience:
How many hours of classes did you attend per week at
your previous institution?
Responses
1-5 hours
6-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26-30
Over 30
Totals
18
25
26
54
47
28
32
230
7.83%
10.87%
11.30%
23.48%
20.43%
12.17%
13.91%
100%
Prior Educational Experience:
How many hours of classes did you attend per week at
your previous institution?
13.9%
7.8%
10.9%
12.2%
11.3%
20.4%
23.5%
1-5 hours
6-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26-30
Over 30
Prior Educational Experience:
How many hours outside of classes did you study per
week at your previous institution?
Responses
1-5 hours
6-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26-30
Over 30
Totals
107
55
24
17
7
3
23
236
45.34%
23.31%
10.17%
7.20%
2.97%
1.27%
9.75%
100%
Prior Educational Experience:
How many hours outside of classes did you study per
week at your previous institution?
3%
1.3%
9.8%
7.2%
10.2%
45.3%
23.3%
1-5 hours
6-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26-30
Over 30
6. Strategies for
Overcoming the Barriers
Language – Academic Skills
• English Language Support programmes prior
to masters programme.
• Academic Skills Support – year long module
– integrated into programme, CEM Model (Sloan &
Porter, 2010)
– none credit bearing
– academic skills & dissertation skills
Dissertation Research Methods
Programme
• Lecture Support Module
• The e-Learning Portal (VLE)
– Including exemplars
• The Dissertation Guidelines & Logbook
• A customised module text
• The Dissertation Proposal
• Dissertation Supervisor - Logbook
• Marking Instruments for Proposal and Dissertation.
Dissertation Research Methods
Programme
• Starts in Semester 1 week 10
– Introducing the Dissertation
• Prior to Semester 2 Dissertation Proposal
Preparation Week (10% of mark)
• Check point workshop on draft proposal Semester 2
week 2
• Dissertation Proposal submitted Semester 2 week 4
Dissertation Research Methods
Programme
• Semester 2 – specialist sessions on:
– Methodology
– Qualitative research
• Business Research Analysis Module
– Quantitative aspects
• Academic Skills Seminars – supporting
dissertation preparation (run in parallel)
Dissertation Research Methods
Programme
• Accessing Business Information Sources (part of
Dissertation Proposal)
– To help the students to get to grips with the electronic
resources available from the University Library they have
to complete a short quiz (via e-Learning Portal) to give
them some practice searching for journal articles, statistics
etc.
– Being familiar with the databases it will help them with
their assignments and especially their dissertation.
Dissertation Research Methods
Programme
• Ethical Issues
– University’s policies are explained.
– Declarations confirming compliance need to be
signed.
– A section within the Methodology chapter needs
to consider ethical issues.
– Ethical Issues included on marking instruments.
Dissertation Research Methods
Programme
• Plagiarism & TurnitIn
– Specialist sessions are delivered on plagiarism.
– TurnitIn is introduced for (limited) formative
feedback purposes on assignments. So students
can check their understanding of academic writing
and referencing.
– All completed dissertations are required to be
submitted to the TurnitIn service prior to marking.
Summary Framework
Induction
Module A
10 pts
Module B
20 pts
Module C
20 pts
Module D
20 pts
DISSERTATION
60 pts
Module E
20 pts
Module F
20 pts
Academic
Skills
Research
Methods
10 pts
Student Feedback for Learning
• Formative Assessment
– Business Information Sources Exercise
– Workshop Sessions
– Draft Dissertation Proposal
– Supervision
• Summative Assessment
– Dissertation Proposal (10%)
– Dissertation Thesis (90%)
Thank you, any
questions?
References
Brown, L. (2007) ‘A consideration of the challenges involved in supervising international masters
students’. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 31:3, 239-248.
Ballard, B. & Clanchy, J. (1997) Teaching international students (Deakin, IDP).
Cortazzi, M. & Jin, L. (1997) Learning across cultures, in: D. McNamara & R . Harris (Eds) Overseas
students in HE: issues in teaching and Learning (London, Routledge), 76-90
Okorocha, E. (1996) The international student experience, Jornal of Graduate Education, 2(3), 8084.
Pelletier, C. (2004) The experience of international students in UK higher education: a review of
unpublished research (London, UKCOSA).
Persaud, R. (1993) The loneliness of the long-distance student, Journal of International Education,
4(1), 45-51.
Skelton, J. & Richards, K. (1991) How critical can you get ? in: P. Adams, B. Heaton & A. Howarth
(Eds)
Sloan, D. E. & Porter, E. (2010) Changing international student and business staff perceptions of insessoinal EAP: using the CEM Model. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 9, 3, pp. 198-210.
Socio-cultural issues in English for academic purposes. Volume 1,2 (London, Macmillan), 70-72.
Taylor, M. (2005, February 8) Catch ‘em while you can, The Guardian. Available online at:
http://education,guardian.co.uk/egweekly/story/0,,1407537,00.html (accessed 15 June 2007)
Todd, E. (1997) Supervising overseas students: problem or opportunity?, in: D. McNamara & R .
Harris (Eds) Overseas students in HE: issues in teaching and Learning (London, Routledge), 173-186