Sündmus

Research seminar by Laivi Laidroo (TALTECH). Co-author: Kätlin Vanari.
Location: EBS room 224

Finalisation of undergraduate theses has been shown to improve when using supervision models that combine individual and group supervision. However, there exist no theoretical justifications for the use of different combinations of supervision activities and evaluation of such activities’ comparative impact on students’ progression. We introduce the concept of thesis finalisation self-efficacy (TFSE) to design a TFSE-supporting supervision model for undergraduate students and explore its application in one undergraduate programme. The design research covered five stages: preparatory stage in autumn 2021 followed by four semesters of implementation from spring 2022 to autumn 2023. The analysis of input from surveys and interviews with participating students and supervisors showed that the new supervision model supported TFSE the most through vicarious experiences provided by group meetings, mastery experiences stemming from the supervisor’s feedback to thesis plans and thesis drafts, and verbal persuasion by the supervisor during group meetings. The improvement of students’ abilities, through activities for the entire student cohort, and interactions between students outside of group meetings had a less strong impact on TFSE. Still, complementing traditional individual supervision with group supervision and cohort activities, in the form of thesis seminar courses, appeared to be rewarding. Our application of such a model led to an improvement in graduation rates, without a decrease in thesis quality, while simultaneously improving students’ thesis writing experience. It also created time-savings for thesis supervisors and enabled their more focused attention on the content of the thesis. 

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