The HEA Annual Conference 2012Great expectations – are you ready?

3-4 JulyUniversity of Manchester

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18/04/23 2

Best practice in supporting large numbers of international

students undertaking research as part of taught masters courses in

the business and management field.

Nigel Coates, Dr Diane Sloan

Overview

1. Aim2. Background/context3. Newcastle Business School Masters Dissertation4. The Newcastle Business School Masters student5. Barriers to learning6. 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 StudentHow old are you?

Under 21 5 2.10%21 – 23 93 39.08%24 – 26 99 41.60%27 – 29 18 7.56%30+ 23 9.66%Totals 238 100%

Responses

Home CountryWhat is your home country?

Responses

Mainland China 101 43.53%Other 56 24.14%India 24 10.34%UK 16 6.90%Taiwan & Vietnam 13 5.60%Malaysia 9 3.88%Western Europe 8 3.45%Eastern Europe 3 1.29%Hong Kong 2 0.86%Singapore 0 0%Totals 232 100%

Home Country

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 58 24.79%Agree 68 29.06%Somewhat Agree 48 20.51% 74.36%Neutral 21 8.97%Somewhat Disagree 20 8.55%Disagree 12 5.13%Strongly Disagree 7 2.99%Totals 234 100%

Prior Educational Experience:Prior to arriving at the NBS the way you were taught

might have been different?

Prior Educational Experience:How many hours of classes did you attend per week at

your previous institution?

Responses

1-5 hours 18 7.83%6-10 25 10.87%11-15 26 11.30%16-20 54 23.48%21-25 47 20.43%26-30 28 12.17%Over 30 32 13.91%Totals 230 100%

Prior Educational Experience:How many hours of classes did you attend per week at

your previous institution?

Prior Educational Experience:How many hours outside of classes did you study per

week at your previous institution?Responses

1-5 hours 107 45.34%6-10 55 23.31%11-15 24 10.17%16-20 17 7.20%21-25 7 2.97%26-30 3 1.27%Over 30 23 9.75%Totals 236 100%

Prior Educational Experience:How many hours outside of classes did you study per

week at your previous institution?

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

DISSERTATION60 pts

Induction

AcademicSkills Research

Methods10 pts

Module B20 pts

Module C20 pts

Module D20 pts

Module E20 pts

Module A10 pts

Module F20 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?

ReferencesBrown, 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), 76-90Okorocha, E. (1996) The international student experience, Jornal of Graduate Education, 2(3), 80-84.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 in-sessoinal 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