Doing Academia Differently: Creative Reading/Writing-With Posthuman Philosophers

This article considers how academic practices such as reading and writing might be reconfigured as creative processes through thinking-with posthuman philosophies and theorists, particularly, but not confined to the works of Karen Barad and Erin Manning. Both Erin Manning and Karen Barad are involved with creative philosophies and practices, albeit from different vantage points. Manning’s work engages with arts-based practices such as research-creation through process philosophies, whereas Barad reads queer theory through quantum physics to develop their agential realist framework and diffractive methodology. Although Manning and Barad never refer to each other’s work, this article proposes that thinking-with both of these feminist philosophers might be fruitful to consider how reading and writing as part of research projects and graduate supervision might be enacted creatively and differently.

The Design and Evaluation of Online Faculty Development for Effective Graduate Supervision

This design-based research aims to improve the quality of graduate supervision using a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). The Quality Graduate Supervision MOOC brings interdisciplinary faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and expert supervisors together in an online learning community to discuss and consider effective supervision practice, strategies for relationship building, supports for academic writing, mentoring for diverse careers, and how to combine excellence and wellness. The survey, interview, and system data were analyzed to inform and assess the design and development of the QGS MOOC, to gain insights into learner experience and engagement, and to assess the impact of the online learning community on graduate supervision practices. Through ongoing design and evaluation of this online learning course for graduate supervisors, the research team found the learning community influenced faculty members’ awareness, collective knowledge building, goal setting, and actions for graduate supervision practice. We present results from our evaluation of the design components in the QGS MOOC, the learning benefits for supervisors, impacts on graduate supervision practice, and make several recommendations for research and practice.

Understanding Doctoral Supervision:Concepts and Experiences Of Selected Supervisors and Ph.D. Graduates in Uganda

Worldwide higher education is witnessing an expansion in graduate education, hence, the need to focus on the quality of graduate training and research, especially at the Ph.D. level is of utmost importance. It is widely acknowledged that supervision plays a major role in a graduate student's outcome. In order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of graduate studies in higher education, there is a need to put graduate supervision as a key focus area in planned reforms. In this paper, the author has reflected the concept of 'supervision' using the social viewpoint, augmented by personal experiences of both supervisors and Ph.D. graduates. The inquiry adopted a largely qualitative approach and data was collected using a self-administered openended questionnaire. The data were analysed descriptively using the themes in the questionnaire. The findings indicated that Ph.D. supervision is characterized by a 'complex' mix of factors, hence requiring thorough planning at three levels i.e. supervisor, institutional andindividual students.

Supervisors' Reflections on Policy and Practice in an African Graduate Setting

The chapter reflects two supervisors' experiences on graduate research from the legal, institutional, and personal perspectives. In addition to a review of several literature, two professors engaged in graduate supervision were interviewed to explore perception of their roles, supervision styles, and whether they adapted these styles to circumstances. Literature documents various supervision models and styles, moving along a continuum from dyadic to relationship development models, and institutions provide minimum benchmarks and best practice guides. Supervision is a personally-intensive knowledge sharing, utilization, and management undertaking between a supervisor and supervisee. The chapter contributes to the scholarship of pedagogy of supervision, an emerging discourse especially in graduate settings in sub Saharan Africa where research is apparently low-resourced.

Doctoral supervision in developing countries: desperately seeking the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

This reflective paper presents a contextual overview of doctoral supervision in low- and middle-income countries. It highlights several models or frameworks used in Western academic settings. Through a critical lens it considers a number of the opportunities and gaps, which may reframe and/or reform doctoral supervision in the low- and middle-income settings. It identifies a significant gap in the evidence and scholarship on the topic of graduate supervision in developing contexts. In the current and evolving higher education milieu and the global emergence of the knowledge economy, the topic of graduate supervision can no longer go without a serious and fulsome discussion. How to cite this reflective piece: PETRUCKA, Pammla. Doctoral supervision in developing countries: desperately seeking the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South. v. 3, n. 1, p. 92-99, Apr. 2019. Available at: https://sotl-south-journal.net/?journal=sotls&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=65&path%5B%5D=41 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/