Tag: phd

Structure of a curriculum

Sep 24, 2010

in Curriculum

course outline, curriculum alignment, curriculum development, graduate attributes, heqf, module descriptors, phd, research

We had the first of our curriculum review meetings earlier this week, with the intention of evaluating the alignment of our module outcomes (using our module descriptors) and the course content (using the course outline). The plan is that we will spend time in small groups reviewing components of the curriculum, and at each meeting,…
Reflections on blended learning in clinical education

Sep 22, 2010

in Learning, PhD, Physiotherapy, Research, Technology

blended learning, clinical education, Michael Rowe, phd, physiotherapy, research, sasp, south african society of physiotherapy

A few weeks ago I was invited by one of the local groups of the South African Society of Physiotherapy to present the initial results of my PhD research into the use of blended learning in clinical education. Afterwards, I was surprised by the support I received from the clinicians, and at the resistance (or…
Writing support group

Sep 19, 2010

in PhD, Research

phd, research, systematic review, writing group

I was talking to a colleague on Friday about how difficult it is to commit to spending a few hours to writing, and that even when you do, there’re always emails, phone calls, etc. that interrupt the process. I’d been thinking about this for about a week, after a friend of mine told me about…
Curriculum development and PhD

Aug 20, 2010

in Research

concept mapping tool, curriculum alignment, curriculum development, document analysis, document mapping, module descriptors, phd, research, versioning

Earlier this week we had our second curriculum development meeting in our department. It’s something we’ve recently implemented after realising that we need to pay more attention to teaching and learning, especially now that the university’s released it’s implementation plan for the next 5 years. After going through one of the modules, we quickly realised…
Thoughts on social networking with 3rd year physio students

Jul 30, 2010

in PhD, Research, Students

facebook, internet access, phd, physiotherapy, reflection, reflective learning, research, safri, social network, social networking, social networks, students

Earlier this week I ran a workshop with our 3rd year physio students, as part of my SAFRI project where I’m looking at how participation in a social network can impact reflective learning practices in a community. Unlike the other workshops I’ve run, I’m going to be running this assignment, which will see the students…
SAAHE conference, 2010

Jul 19, 2010

in Conference, PhD, Research

johannesburg, online tools, phd, research, saahe, safri, social networks, University of the Witwatersrand

I’m leaving on Wednesday to attend the 3rd SAAHE conference at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (link to programme). I’ll be presenting the results of a pilot study within our department to try and establish students’ access to computers and the internet, their experience with online tools and services, the learning strategies they employ…
Summary of PhD progress

Jul 15, 2010

in Conference, PhD, Research, Social media

article, Centre for Teaching and Learning, personal learning environments, phd, ple, research, saahe, safri, search rounds, social networks, Stellenbosch University, supervisor, survey, systematic review, writing, year research

I’m writing this after having read Christina’s post on her thoughts on the PhD process, and following a few of her links to other PhD students who are blogging their own progress. As I’m going through a little slump at the moment, I thought it might be useful to write a short post on where…
Systematic review workshop

Jun 30, 2010

in PhD, Research

appraisal tools, author, blended learning, clinical education, phd, research, systematic review, writing

I just spent the last 3 days at a writing workshop in Hermanus, organised so that the PhD students in our department could spend some focused time working on our systematic reviews. I prepared the proposal in the days leading up to the workshop, and had the opportunity to refine it following a presentation to…
A national core physiotherapy curriculum

Apr 21, 2010

in Assessment, Education, Physiotherapy

assessment, curriculum, osce, phd, physiotherapy, research, south africa, university

I had a great conversation with a colleague today, that stemmed from an ongoing discussion we’re having in our department about moving our practical assessments towards an OSCE-type format. We’ve been thinking about standardising on our assessments for a while but have never had dedicated time to work on it…not that we have any now,…
Discussion on research supervision

Apr 14, 2010

in Research, Students

feedback, phd, postgraduate, project management tool, research, research supervisor, supervision, supervisor, undergraduate

In my department we have bi-monthly research meetings, where we report back on our research activities (we get dedicated research time and so need to account for how we’ve used that time). We’ve recently changed the format of the meeting to include a topical discussion or presentation, rather than simply reporting progress back to the…
“Objectivity” in educational research

Apr 13, 2010

in Research

distance, engagement, involvement, objectivity, participatory action research, phd, research, researcher, supervisor

Earlier today I had a productive meeting with one of my supervisors where, in addition to updating her on my progress, we discussed my reluctance to get “too involved” in my research projects. This is something I’ve touched on before and will probably continue returning to it during the course of my research. I come…
Personal attachment to research

Mar 11, 2010

in Research

assignment, attachment, personal, phd, positive tool, reflection, research, researcher, safri, social network, supervisor

Yesterday I had a meeting with my supervisor to discuss the assignments I’m going to run as part of the first objective of my PhD. Together with a systematic review and a survey, I was interested in using student and staff participation in a social network to derive additional data that would help me form…
Research development workshop: why do research?

Mar 1, 2010

in Research

finance, higher education, msc, phd, postgraduate, research, supervision, supervisor, There

I’m attending a research development workshop on campus for all staff members who are just beginning their PhD’s. I’ll post my notes here as we progress. Why engage in research? It’s expensive (manpower, finance, cost, equipement) Dependent on motivation, commitment, hard work, ability, enthusiasm BUT… It enhances learning and intellectual development of staff Keeps staff…
Reflections on improving teaching practice

Feb 8, 2010

in Education, Research, Technology

Ann F. Lucas, blog, lecturer, open textbook, phd, Professor, reflection, research, scholarship of teaching and learning, students, teaching, teaching practice, wiki

Up until today, I was kind of maintaining 2 blogs…this one, and a reflective commentary that I included in my teaching portfolio wiki. The portfolio is something that our faculty suggests we keep for when we apply for promotion, etc. but I thought it could be something more. So when I started teaching in 2007, I…
Public libraries on Mendeley

Sep 16, 2009

in Research, Social media, Technology

mendeley, mrowephd, phd, public library, research, research assistant

Mendeley just included a feature I’ve been waiting for for a while now…public collections of articles that you can manage from within the desktop client. You can subscribe to the feed or embed code into your site to keep up to date with relevant articles of whatever public libraries you’re interested in. This is potentially…
Proposal presentation

Aug 8, 2009

in Education, Physiotherapy, Research

curriculum development, higher education, mrowephd, phd, physical therapy, physical therapy education, physiotherapy, physiotherapy education, presentation, proposal, research, slideshare

In our department, we’re required to present our research proposals for comment before submission to Higher Degrees. This allows the group to give feedback before final corrections in the hope that the proposal is accepted without having to make major revisions. I’ve just shared my proposal presentation that I gave a few days ago on…
Proposal coming along slowly

Jul 29, 2009

in Research

Google, Google Docs, Higher Degrees Committee, phd, proposal

I’ve just shared a third draft of my PhD proposal with my supervisors, using Google Docs. Within a few hours, they’d both submitted feedback, and even though neither is finished reviewing the document, I can already start addressing their comments. Why would you not want to use this tool? I’ll be presenting the proposal to…
PhD progress

Jun 29, 2009

in Research

Directorate of Teaching and Learning, head, mrowephd, phd, professor in my department, research

Things are finally starting to move on the proposal now that I’ve managed to catch up on a lot of other regular work that’s been outstanding. I’ve had a few meetings with my two supervisors (one is a professor in my department and another is the head of the Directorate of Teaching and Learning at…