We examined the reliability of grading master's theses at a New Zealand university, where a variant of the academic journal review system is employed. The overall correlation between the grades ...recommended by internal and external markers of master's theses in psychology and applied psychology at this university was 0.39, which is similar to that produced between reviewers of submissions to academic journals. We conclude that thesis grading is about as reliable as the determination of the merit of journal submissions, which is usually regarded as rather poor. Applying a more objective rubric to thesis marking might raise the reliability, but such a change might also lower the creative and unique nature of theses, and hence reduce the contribution that an individual thesis can make to its particular discipline.
With the growth of English medium instruction (EMI) on a global level, the number of multilingual students writing their master's theses in English is increasing. However, research on students' ...experiences of writing them in English in non-English speaking contexts is scarce. This paper reports on the challenges and strategic learning efforts of eight Kazakhstani students while working on their master's thesis projects in a Kazakhstani EMI university. The qualitative data collected from a written narrative and three subsequent semi-structured interviews revealed that almost all the participants had a clear preference for a directive supervision style, whereby supervisors give stage-by-stage guidance. The result was a clash of expectations, miscommunication and confusion between supervisors and supervisees in some cases, especially since most supervisors come from English-speaking countries. Two participants, however, favoured a "laissez-faire" supervisory style where the supervisor orchestrated their supervisees' learning efforts implicitly by giving them room to work independently. All participants also articulated certain effective strategies to confront the diverse challenges associated with constructing a new identity for themselves as researchers, time management, and 'imposter syndrome'. From this qualitative study, practical recommendations for developing the effectiveness (quality) of master's thesis supervision in EMI universities are made.
While research on peer feedback in second language (L2) writing at university/college level has proliferated, scholars have conducted less research on peer feedback in L2 academic and scholarly ...writing. Drawing upon multiple sources of data including semi-structured interviews, stimulated recalls, online interviews via WeChat, first and revised drafts of master's theses, peer written feedback, audio-recordings of oral peer feedback conferences and the finalised master's theses, this case study examines how three master's students affectively, behaviourally and cognitively engaged with peer feedback on drafts of their thesis in a Master of Education programme at a Macau university. The findings show that the relationship between sub-constructs within each dimension and the relationships between the three dimensions of student engagement were interconnected in a dynamic and complex way. While there were individual differences among the three students' engagement, their affective engagement could promote or negatively influence their behavioural and cognitive engagement. This study builds our understanding of the multifaceted nature of master's students' engagement with peer feedback. It provides pedagogical implications about how peer feedback can enhance the quality of master's students' academic writing and sheds light on how to guide students to establish scholarly learning communities in higher education.
Across many years of teaching Research Methods and assessing many applications for admission into higher degree studies which require an understanding of theories, principles, strategies and skills ...needed to complete a higher degree such as a Masters or a PhD, one of the things I have found problematic for many students is the inability to articulate differences between theory, theoretical framework and a conceptual framework for a proposed research project. This paper uses experiential methodology to draw upon my experience in practice, and systematic literature review methodology to draw upon supporting scholarly literature by leaders in the field, to contribute to existing knowledge on the meaning of each of these concepts, and more importantly to distinguish between them in a study of Research Methods, and in particular as they relate to designing a research proposal and a thesis for a higher degree. The primary aim is to help the reader develop a firm grasp of the meaning of these concepts and how they should be used in academic research discourses. The review answers five questions. 1. What does each of these terms mean? 2. When and how should each be used? 3. What purposes does a theoretical framework serve? 4. How do you develop a theoretical framework for your research proposal or thesis? 5. What does a good theoretical framework look like?
► Examines the use of direct quotations in master's theses written by L2 writers. ► Compares the use of direct quotations in high- and low-rated master's theses. ► Provides an account of student ...writers’ motivations to use direct quotation.
Using textual analysis and interviews with student writers, this study aims to provide an insight into second language students’ use of direct quotations in their MA theses by comparing direct quotations in high-rated and low-rated Master's theses, and by exploring student writers’ own motivations to quote directly from sources. The corpus consists of eight high-rated and eight low-rated Master's theses written in English in the field of gender studies by students from Central and Eastern Europe studying at an English-medium university in Central Europe. The findings show that high-rated theses display almost three times as many direct quotations per 1000 words as low-rated theses, which was found to be statistically significant. Differences are also evident in the type of quotations preferred: while high-rated theses primarily use quotation fragments (i.e., quotations shorter than a T-unit), low-rated theses rely on clause-based quotations, which do not require modification when quoted in a text. Interviews with student writers reveal the following motivations to quote directly from sources: (a) source-related motivations (e.g., vivid expression of an idea), (b) writers’ own goals (e.g., stylistic variety), (c) external factors (e.g., lack of time), and (d) students’ beliefs and fears (e.g., fear of plagiarism). The findings are discussed with reference to the development of student academic writing in the area of source use and citation. Pedagogical recommendations aimed at making students’ use of direct quotations more effective are also offered.
Our study contributes to the research on computer-mediated communication in higher education by experimenting a modern communication tool called Slack. In particular, we consider using Slack to ...support students’ peer interactions during Master’s thesis work. For this purpose, we designed a case study that was executed in a Master’s thesis seminar course. During the course, all out-of-class communication was carried out by using Slack, instead of e-mails or learning management systems. After the course, we used a questionnaire to investigate how the students perceived Slack for asking for assistance, their intention to use Slack, and Slack’s ease of use. Furthermore, the questionnaire asked feedback about challenges that the students found in slack. To examine the students’ peer support in Slack, we analysed the messages in the course’s public discussion channels. We investigated opportunities and challenges of Slack from instructional perspective by conducting an auto-ethnographic data collection. Our analysis revealed that the students perceived Slack as an easy-to-use communication tool with a low threshold of asking questions. The students also expressed high intentions to use Slack in the future. However, the students were worried of information overload in Slack, frustrated with decentralisation of communication tools in higher education, and cautious of using communication tools that are not officially supported by the university. The students’ interactions were assigned to three categories: practical, technical, and thesis-related. Analysis of these categories revealed that the students were able to explicate and solve issues in Slack, but the issues were only related to practical and technical problems, instead of actual Master’s thesis writing. The teacher perceived that Slack enhanced bi-directional communication with the students, but faced issues related to file management and user authentication. The results implicate that developing an alternative for Slack from educational premises could be more useful than a product that is not originally developed for pedagogical needs. Finally, we present recommendations that help educators to use Slack in their educational practices.
An important component of fluent linguistic production is control of the multi-word expressions referred to as clusters, chunks or bundles. These are extended collocations which appear more ...frequently than expected by chance, helping to shape meanings in specific contexts and contributing to our sense of coherence in a text. Bundles have begun to attract considerable attention in corpus studies in EAP, although the extent to which they differ by discipline remains an open question. This paper explores the forms, structures and functions of 4-word bundles in a 3.5 million word corpus of research articles, doctoral dissertations and Master’s theses in four disciplines to learn something of disciplinary variations in their frequencies and preferred uses. The analysis shows that bundles are not only central to the creation of academic discourse, but that they offer an important means of differentiating written texts by discipline.
The objective of this study is to demonstrate that the criteria of didactical suitability, proposed by the theoretical framework known as the Onto-Semiotic Approach (OSA) of mathematical knowledge ...and instruction, are powerful tools for organizing the reflection and assessment of instruction processes carried out by mathematics teachers. To this aim, the results of a multiple case study are presented which prove that when teachers are faced with the task of evaluating processes of instruction, they employ--either implicitly or explicitly--the OSA criteria of didactical suitability (epistemic, cognitive, affective, mediational, interactional and ecological). Therefore, the explicit application of said criteria in teachers' education cycles contributes to the development of the didactic analysis competence that is necessary for teachers to be able to reflect on their own practices.
This article analyzes the research of 205 doctoral dissertations and masters' theses in the domain of blended learning. A summary of trends regarding the growth and context of blended learning ...research is presented. Methodological trends are described in terms of qualitative, inferential statistics, descriptive statistics, and combined approaches to data analysis. Research topics are divided into nine topics (learner outcomes, dispositions, instructional design, interaction, comparison, demographics, technology, professional development, and other), each containing several sub-topics. Patterns in these topics are analyzed to identify gaps in research and to highlight opportunities for future research as the field of blended learning continues to grow.
► More graduate research was conducted on blended learning (BL) each year. ► We see an area wide open for K-12 BL research. ► Most BL research took place at the course level in higher educational settings. ► We see a significant need for more theoretical contributions unique to BL contexts. ► Other gaps in BL research are addressed.
Student research is an important pedagogical feature across the higher education lifecycle. Postgraduate taught (PGT) student research has received limited attention in the context of the diverse ...nature of the PGT cohort. Using Activity Theory, PGT student research is explored from the perspectives of differently motivated Master's students: students studying to progress to doctoral study and students studying a professional Master's to progress in their current career path. Similarities, differences, tensions and contradictions are analysed, revealing new conceptualisations of Master's research. The outcome of student research, the Dissertation, emerges as a recurring tension within the analysis. A call for a new dialogue on the applicability of the Dissertation for a diverse PGT cohort is made, as the traditional Dissertation may not best meet the needs of professional Master's students. The need to find better ways to disseminate PGT research is identified, given the potential for contribution to knowledge and practice.
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