Knitting connections: establishing and exploring research links in the discussion section of master’s dissertations using the SCE model

The supervision of master’s students at the dissertation stage of their taught programme is generally considered to be one of the privileges of an academic in higher education (Bacwayo, Nampala and Oteyo, 2017). Of concern to those who are less experienced or new to the supervisory role is knowing...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Simon Brownhill
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE) 2023-09-01
Series:Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe/article/view/1059
_version_ 1797666063543959552
author Simon Brownhill
author_facet Simon Brownhill
author_sort Simon Brownhill
collection DOAJ
description The supervision of master’s students at the dissertation stage of their taught programme is generally considered to be one of the privileges of an academic in higher education (Bacwayo, Nampala and Oteyo, 2017). Of concern to those who are less experienced or new to the supervisory role is knowing the best way to effectively support their supervisees, particularly at the write-up stage. This opinion piece focuses on the ‘discussion’, an important chapter which typically provokes ‘fear, uncertainty and doubt’ (Mewburn, 2016) in the minds of taught master’s students as they wrestle with its construction. I argue that supervisors can alleviate some of their supervisees’ anxieties by introducing them to the SCE model – Support, Challenge and Extend – which I have developed and have shared with taught master’s students in England for a number of years. Designed to purposefully target key chapter content, I aim to show readers how this simple yet useful model effectively encourages taught master’s students to establish and knit connections between their review of literature chapter and findings chapter, ‘comparing and contrasting the study results with those of other relevant studies’ (Bavdekar, 2015, p.40) with reasoning. Extracts from taught master’s dissertations (from the academic discipline of education) are offered by way of illustrating the value of the SCE model for supervisors to help their students avoid making common mistakes in their writing, thus generating a stimulating discussion about what is known (literature) and what is now known (findings) in the supervisee’s chosen area of study.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T19:52:49Z
format Article
id doaj.art-e8dd8e393f974931aeb60bad21eec0b0
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1759-667X
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T19:52:49Z
publishDate 2023-09-01
publisher Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE)
record_format Article
series Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education
spelling doaj.art-e8dd8e393f974931aeb60bad21eec0b02023-10-05T02:40:06ZengAssociation for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE)Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education1759-667X2023-09-012810.47408/jldhe.vi28.1059Knitting connections: establishing and exploring research links in the discussion section of master’s dissertations using the SCE modelSimon Brownhill0University of Bristol The supervision of master’s students at the dissertation stage of their taught programme is generally considered to be one of the privileges of an academic in higher education (Bacwayo, Nampala and Oteyo, 2017). Of concern to those who are less experienced or new to the supervisory role is knowing the best way to effectively support their supervisees, particularly at the write-up stage. This opinion piece focuses on the ‘discussion’, an important chapter which typically provokes ‘fear, uncertainty and doubt’ (Mewburn, 2016) in the minds of taught master’s students as they wrestle with its construction. I argue that supervisors can alleviate some of their supervisees’ anxieties by introducing them to the SCE model – Support, Challenge and Extend – which I have developed and have shared with taught master’s students in England for a number of years. Designed to purposefully target key chapter content, I aim to show readers how this simple yet useful model effectively encourages taught master’s students to establish and knit connections between their review of literature chapter and findings chapter, ‘comparing and contrasting the study results with those of other relevant studies’ (Bavdekar, 2015, p.40) with reasoning. Extracts from taught master’s dissertations (from the academic discipline of education) are offered by way of illustrating the value of the SCE model for supervisors to help their students avoid making common mistakes in their writing, thus generating a stimulating discussion about what is known (literature) and what is now known (findings) in the supervisee’s chosen area of study. https://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe/article/view/1059dissertationdiscussion chapterSCE modelresearch links
spellingShingle Simon Brownhill
Knitting connections: establishing and exploring research links in the discussion section of master’s dissertations using the SCE model
Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education
dissertation
discussion chapter
SCE model
research links
title Knitting connections: establishing and exploring research links in the discussion section of master’s dissertations using the SCE model
title_full Knitting connections: establishing and exploring research links in the discussion section of master’s dissertations using the SCE model
title_fullStr Knitting connections: establishing and exploring research links in the discussion section of master’s dissertations using the SCE model
title_full_unstemmed Knitting connections: establishing and exploring research links in the discussion section of master’s dissertations using the SCE model
title_short Knitting connections: establishing and exploring research links in the discussion section of master’s dissertations using the SCE model
title_sort knitting connections establishing and exploring research links in the discussion section of master s dissertations using the sce model
topic dissertation
discussion chapter
SCE model
research links
url https://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe/article/view/1059
work_keys_str_mv AT simonbrownhill knittingconnectionsestablishingandexploringresearchlinksinthediscussionsectionofmastersdissertationsusingthescemodel