Learning & Teaching

Title of case study		Challenge Based Dissertation
School / subject		School of Education

Lecturer		Dr Sadie Ryan
Course		Education for Sustainable Futures in Adult, Community & Youth Contexts.
Student Level		PGT
Class size		17-25
Location		On campus

Brief summary

Students on this programme can choose to undertake a Challange-based dissertation as an alternative to the traditional dissertation. This is a more applied and workplace relevant research project, which invites students to tackle an organisational, social or issues-based challenge.  Challenges will be topical and relevant to the academic learning of the programme and will be identified by academic staff, external organisations or from students themselves with support from the College Student Experience Team. Collaboration with an organisation is not essential, students can imagine a target audience for their research.

Objectives

The challenge-based dissertation allows students to apply their academic learning to real social and /or organisational problems on a topic of interest/relevance to their current of future careers. They will develop key research skills, and using a wide range of data sources, produce an academic report linking theory and practice. They will learn how to produce and evidence-based Policy brief which effectively communicates findings and proposes practical solutions/recommendations for a non-academic audience, drawing on the available evidence. The presentation also allows them to communicate findings in more audience-friendly way.

What is done?

Students are required to submit 3 pieces of work: 

1. Academic report (7-8,000 words): 50% - a write-up of the research project written in an academic style 
2. Executive summary/Policy Brief (2,500-3,000 words): 40% - designed specifically for a non-academic audience 
3. Oral presentation (10 mins); 10% - on the methodology, arguments and key findings of the research.

What works well?

Students can choose this option so it works particularly well where a student already has connections in an organisation, either where they work or volunteer.

Benefits (students & staff)

Students: 

• Students can apply their knowledge to a situation/issue they are already aware of and will benefit their organisation, is really appealing. 
• Students can develop their professional networks in the field. 
• Students can also develop/enhance skills with the presentation but also how to write for non-academic audiences via the policy brief. 

Staff: 

• Students who opt for the challenge-dissertation have additional support for the presentation and policy brief in particular, from the College Student Experience Team and their Employability Programme. 

• Staff can enhance relationships with professionals in the field and make new connections, allowing them to keep up to date with what is going on in the field. 

Challenges (students & staff)

Students: 

•  Students feel that they “have” to work with an organisation, and these can be challenging to source if they there isn't already a connection. 

• Three pieces of assessment can seem more daunting for students. 

Staff: 

•  Some supervisors are less comfortable supervising this option as it is new and involves a non-academic style of writing with which they may be less familiar. 

• When students are working with an organisation, it can be challenging to balance the needs of the organisation (who may have very specific aims) with the hopes of the student (who may have slightly different aims or a slightly different focus in mind). 

What did you learn? 

Learning to consider the needs of different stakeholder groups and audiences can be challenging for students, but developing these skills has a huge amount of potential benefit for their future careers. 

 

What advice would you give to others?

Clear, transparent communication between the student, supervisor and organisation (if an external partner organisation is involved) throughout the process is really important.