Session 2: Supervisory Issues

Consider the questions on supervisory issues in the squares in the graphic that follows.

You will be placed in WhatsApp groups to discuss these questions. You should be clear in any messages you post, which question you are referring to.

But there’s a twist to this task!

You are only allowed to make 10 comments in total in your WhatsApp group.

You can make all 10 comments about just one of the questions, or spread them out.

Keep count of your comments. When you have made 10 comments, you can read comments but you cannot add anything further, other than emojis.

Every individual person must comment a full 10 times for the group to be finished their task.

The WhatsApp group will run for one week only.

1.

What happens when the experiment goes wrong – a year or two down the line?

2.

Is the supervisor preparing future academics, professionals or simply overseeing the completion of a dissertation? What are the implications of these variations for the role of the supervisor?

3.

How do you assure the quality of supervision in a school, faculty or institution?

4.

Can supervision be over-regulated?

5.

What happens when your student’s topic is published by someone else – just months before he submits?

6.

What is the supervisor’s role in the examination process?

7.

What effect do changes in your work conditions have on the way you supervise?

8.

How does running a research project with a team of PG students, as opposed to a one-on-one supervision relationship, affect the role of the supervisor?

9.

Do supervisors have a choice – whom they accept, whether they supervise, how they supervise?