[Stella Onyiego]

in reply to: Module 4, Session 3: Coaching and Mentoring #5851

The terms coach and mentor are used interchangeably . They are similar since they are all focused on the individual and they are relationship based. They are highly interactive and the relationship can be said to be ongoing. Coaching is different form mentoring because coaching is goal driven and for that reason coaches are assigned. On the other hand mentoring is voluntary and it might not be goal driven. Coaching is short term as it can last 3,6,12 months while mentoring is long term as the relationship can continue even after the formal mentoring. IN the case of the relationship between the supervisor and supervisee i think the supervisor can be both coach and mentor.
some of the problems of mentoring can be mismatched expectations between mentor and mentee and lack of available mentors since the service is voluntary.

[Stella Onyiego]

in reply to: Module 4, Session 1: Ethics in Research #5806

ethical issues are key in research and they need to be thought through before one embarks on a study. In my field of study communication and media. The ethical issues that arise include harm to participants ,anonymity and confidentiality, deception and voluntary participation.
Researching in new media especially has complicated the issue of ethics because sometimes one does not know how to access data and whether it is infringing on the confidentiality of the participants. There are no clear guidelines and boundaries between what is personal and what is not. students need to read widely and to borrow from previous research to ensure that issues do not arise concerning especially the data collection methods.

[Stella Onyiego]

in reply to: Module 3, Session 3: Research approach and design #5753

The presentation is very informative. Research approaches and designs are influenced by several factors as clearly brought out in the presentation. The way the presentation is organized makes it is easier to finally bring out the important elements in determining which is the appropriate design depending on the philosophical world view of the researcher, how knowledge is structured in the area of research and how this influence the selection of the research approach and finally the specific methods that are used in the study.
social scientists can use the mixed methods approach to understand phenomena better than using only the qualitative approach. In this way studies can benefit from the two approaches.

[Stella Onyiego]

in reply to: Module 2, Session 4: EPE resources’ assessment #5687

most of the materials are useful for engaging the supervisor and the students. The materials on plagiarism are very informative. The approach used by most of the supervisors makes students scared of referencing for fear of being accused of “stealing”. The other materials I found interesting is how to identify predatory journals and how to identify good supervisors.

[Stella Onyiego]

in reply to: Module 2, Session 2: Scholarly community of practice #5678

A scholar is an academician with expertise and knowledge in a specific field. Scholarship has two meanings .It means learning; knowledge acquired by study; the academic attainments of a scholar ( Collins English Dictionary).It also means a sum of money or other aid granted to a student because of8 merit or need. IN the current context it means learning or knowledge acquired through study.
To be active in the academic community one has to be active in research, student supervision, teaching and presenting papers at research conferences.
students can be introduced to the academic community by assisting them to prepare papers for publication, identifying journals to publish their work, and presenting papers at conferences.
academic jealousies are ever present in our learning institutions. IN our institution it is prevalent during the times when students are either presenting their proposals or theses. If colleagues do not like the supervisor they can fail the student. This is not good practice since students do not get constructive feedback to assist them improve their work.

[Stella Onyiego]

in reply to: Module 1, Session 2: Supervision with a humanizing pedagogy #5545

very provoking and informative presentation. Most us might be guilt of the same without knowing. Most of the time most of us keep on complaining abt students not being able to do so many things but we do not think its our responsibility to induct them into the new way of thinking and doing things we fail most of the time to differentiate undergraduate and Postgraduate. Our role is to provide a supportive environment for the students to find their voice instead of criticizing them.This presentation has made me change my approach to supervision of students. Above all we also need to account for individual differences.

[Stella Onyiego]

in reply to: Module 1, Session 4: National Policies #5544

I agree with my colleagues on the Kenyan situation. At the national level for universities education CUE is the body mandated to deal with university education. The other bodies deal with other levels and sectors such as technical education.(The Kenya National Qualifications framework).At the institutional levels several documents exists dealing with the same issue but domiciled in different departments/schools and directorates.
In Kenya the existence of several documents and bodies that deal with specific sectors of university education and especially postgraduate brings confusion to the sector.There is need for the documents to be domiciled in one place for easy access and to improve standards and avoid duplication.

[Stella Onyiego]

in reply to: Module 1, Session 2: Variables and dynamics in the supervision process #5540

All the variables play a role in affecting the supervision process in a negative way if they are not addressed.I have suffered the effect of some of them as a student.For example the issue of gender.Being a female student pursuing higher education is not easy.I was working and was a mother and at the same time sponsoring myself for my PhD studies. It was really tough negotiating through all those challenges.To make matters worse most supervisors are men so they cannot relate to your issues. The issue of financing introduces the social economic perspective which is made worse by gender.Further more postgraduate is not seen as necessary for women, first degree is enough. You are not supposed to compete with men.So you do it at your own risk and should not expect any support.
For effective post graduate supervision interventions should be put in place to address the challenges.

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