Can master students’ experience and learning outcome, be improved?

Abstract

Most studies on the follow-up and supervision of students, are focused on Ph.D. level, despite that most students complete their education with bachelor’s or master’s degrees. In a previous study on students working with their master’s thesis in organic chemistry, our surveys revealed that many students are unsure of their own role and responsibilities. This insecurity leads to decreased motivation and efficacy. We have previously described our work on understanding the situation for master students [1]. We also suggested some measures to improve the situation. One of these was clarification of expectations. We documented that a clear understanding of what is expected from them, what they can expect from the supervisor, and an understanding on how they will be assessed during the master’s thesis, led to a targeted approach. The students worked more effectively on the different aspects of the project regarding theory, laboratory work, writing, data analysis etc., and thus had a better experience. The improvement was measured by questionnaires and interviews. In this presentation, we will look more at measures used, and results from qualitative study interviews done during the process. These interviews aimed to learn about students’ experience of the whole process, in particular, what affected the motivation and how supervision affected how they approached learning outcomes. These interviews also revealed that the students felt more confident with the assessment of the thesis after the measures were introduced. Even though the distribution of grades were not changed, students were more pleased with the given grade and the experience of doing a master’s degree, compared to control group. In addition, we will focus on how the learning management system Canvas was used in combination with other digital resources and how the traditional group meetings were transformed into a learning forum. Students’ feedback and experiences are reported.