Spheres of Influence: Ventures and Visions in Educational Development*

3-6 July, 2002
The University of Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia

Abstract

The supervised work session: The workplace in the lecture room

Pat Paterson, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom

Most students who undertake MSc programmes of study do so to enhance their careers and prospects of employment. Most employers are interested in students who can show evidence of well-developed Key / Transferable skills such as a willingness to learn, and abilities in team work, oral and written communication, self-management and problem solving. Rapidly increasing student numbers, but without matching increases in resources, make it harder for Universities to satisfy both students and employers.

At the University of Portsmouth, UK, within the Department of Information Systems, we have been running a unique method of learning and assessment, called the Supervised Work Session, that meets these demands by presenting a significant problem to be solved collaboratively by the students, working in small groups, within the tight timescale of one day. This provides a reasonable facsimile of a working environment yet with the support, guidance and advice of the tutor.

The educational theory supporting Supervised Work Sessions is reviewed, examples of student feedback are cited and discussed and the issues arising from this method of working such as demands on resourcing and future developments are considered.

Reference is made to several examples of recent Supervised Work Sessions, and fuller details of some sessions are given in the Appendix.

Key words:
Postgraduate; Groupwork; Key Skills

Objectives, outcomes and activities:

To highlight the challenges faced by teachers in Higher Education, particularly at postgraduate level, in trying to meet the conflicting needs of students, potential student employers, increasing numbers of students and decreasing resources.
To offer for discussion a tried and tested solution, the Supervised Work Session, which gives students an experience encompassing both learning and assessment.
To share some examples of Supervised Work Sessions, so that colleagues may give us their impressions of our work, and perhaps make use of some of our ideas.

Dr Pat Paterson is a Principal Lecturer at the University of Portsmouth, UK, and Director of Postgraduate Studies in Computing and Mathematics, with particular interest in the MSc programme within the Department of Information Systems. She herself followed this programme, and continued her studies, achieving her PhD (1996) entitled 'Learning in a Computer Mediated Environment'. She has extensive teaching experience and is a member of the Institute of Learning and Teaching (UK).

Contact: Pat Paterson, email: pat.paterson@port.ac.uk