Learning Design for Supervising ECE PhD Students

Author: Maryam

Created: 2023-09-19 06:14pm

Edited: 2023-09-20 12:36am

Description:

Context:
Within Aarhus University's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, PhD students generally embark on predefined research projects. While technically adept, they grapple with academic writing challenges, particularly framing problems, pinpointing research hypotheses, and detailing methodologies.

Challenges:

Guiding students to position predefined research within the academic landscape.
Facilitating students' translation of technical expertise into academic prose.
As a co-supervisor, balancing effective feedback provision with time efficiency.

Method:
To surmount these challenges, a structured supervision approach is laid out:

Topic Introduction: Immersion into the topic, with students crafting an initial outline that undergoes feedback.

Literature Review: Rigorous literature exploration to situate their research within academic discourse.

Methodology Formulation: Sessions emphasizing methodology refinement, aided by a detailed assessment rubric and diverse feedback mediums.

Drafting & Peer Feedback: Iterative drafting complemented by peer feedback sessions to enhance their work breadth.

Finalization: Students ready their research for submission/presentation.

Throughout, multimodal feedback—combining written, audio, and video elements—ensures clarity and efficiency, with an assessment rubric providing consistent guidance.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

Understand and apply the nuances of academic writing in the context of their predefined research problem.
Demonstrate the ability to critically review and synthesize relevant literature.
Design a research methodology suitable for their topic.
Incorporate feedback effectively to produce coherent and high-quality research outputs.
Reflect on the academic writing process to identify strengths and areas for further growth.
Offer and utilize constructive peer feedback.

Resources	Tasks		Supports
Introduction to the Research Problem (In-Person/Online)
Relevant papers or foundational resources.	Students create and submit a brief overview or outline of their understanding of the assigned research problem after the discussion. ↓	←	Multi-modal feedback on the submitted overview/outline, focusing on clarity, alignment with the predefined problem, and initial insights, using screencast tools and Google Docs, guided by the assessment rubric.

Literature Review Workshop (Out-of-Class)
Academic databases and journals.	Formulate a detailed literature review ↓	←	Multi-modal feedback on the review, emphasizing literature synthesis, guided by the assessment rubric.

Methodology Design Workshop (Out-of-Class)
Methodological guidebooks and research articles.	Design a fitting research methodology. ↓	←	Continuous multi-modal feedback on methodology's feasibility and alignment with research goals, using screencast tools and Google Docs, informed by the assessment rubric.
Peer Feedback Session (Out-of-Class)
Peer feedback guidelines and assessment rubric.	Exchange drafts among peers for feedback. ↓	←	Training on providing constructive feedback and utilizing the assessment rubric.

Feedback & Revision Sessions (In-Person/Online)
Screencast tools, Google Docs, assessment rubric.	Receive multi-modal feedback on drafts and refine based on both peer and supervisor input. ↓	←	Clarifications and suggestions for improvement based on the assessment rubric
Final Review (In-Person/Online)
Checklist for research components.	Present a near-final draft. ↓	←	Holistic multi-modal feedback, focusing on coherency and overall alignment with research aims, all steered by the assessment rubric.

Post-Submission Reflection (Out-of-Class)
Reflection templates.	Reflect on growth, the writing process, and the value of peer feedback.	←	Guided questions for introspection, leveraging feedback provided throughout the journey for comprehensive assessment.