Applying Active Learning to Dissertation Modules

Dissertations that require independent research are often daunting for students who must devise and undertake a project from scratch. In this blog I outline changes I made to an undergraduate dissertation module to enhance engagement with the dissertation process, and the methods introduced to empower students through their journey.  

What did you do and why did you do it?

Undertaking a dissertation can be an exciting opportunity for students to research a topic of their own choosing. However, this independent piece of work is often an intimidating task whereby students are expected to work alone and manage a sizeable project with minimal supervision. The final year criminology dissertation module, which runs all year, had previously been made up solely of 4 supervision meetings and independent learning. Supervisors raised concerns that many students were delaying starting the dissertation and, in some cases, students didn’t make any progress during semester one. I wanted to improve engagement with the dissertation process and sought to ensure students were engaged right from the start.  

Acting on student feedback, which indicated students wanted more structure and support, and pedagogical evidence (Akister et al., 2009; Young  2018), I redesigned the undergraduate dissertation module on the BA Criminal Justice and Criminology programme in 2019/20 to include 4 active workshops and introduced a dissertation workbook to help students manage their projects more effectively. 

The 90-minute workshops were designed around collaborative active learning whereby students shared their project ideas and progress with their peers as well as discussing the challenges they were facing. The four workshops were specifically designed for the key stages of undertaking a research dissertation: 

Workshop 1: Devising a suitable research question
Workshop 2: Reviewing literature and designing the project
Workshop 3: Research ethics and methods
Workshop 4: Writing up and presenting the dissertation 

During the workshops, students are set tasks to complete, to ensure that they actively engage in the different stages of a dissertation. For example, in the first two workshops' activities include identifying literature, drawing mind maps, and creating time management plans. These activities help to kick start the process by giving students dedicated time to undertake the work. In the 3rd and 4th workshops, tasks include completing ethics forms, feeding back on each other’s proposed methodologies and sharing their preliminary findings. By applying a communities of practice (Wenger, 1999) module framework that encourages peer support and offers space for independent creativity, students feel more empowered to undertake what is often regarded as a daunting task (Akister et al., 2006). 

Alongside the workshops, I developed a dissertation workbook to promote independent project management, such as being able to design a time management plan, keep readings organised, and keep track of their progress. The workbooks are in word format and uploaded to Minerva so students can download a copy for themselves. The primary purpose of the workbook is for students to monitor their own progress, acting as a checklist for completing important tasks. The workbook has space for logging supervision meetings, keeping a list of key readings, noting down questions for supervisors, and giving activities to help map out research plans and undertake time management activities. Students are asked to complete sections of the workbooks as part of the workshops and they can take the workbooks to their supervision meetings, enabling supervisors to see what progress is being made.  

What was the impact of your practice and how have you evaluated it?

Since introducing the workshops and workbooks the student satisfaction on the module has continued to rise from 75% in 2019/20 to 100% in 2021/2022 and the average grade has risen from 64.5% to 68% since 2018/19. Students have fed back in the module reviews that they particularly like the workshops as they offer dedicated time and space to work on their dissertations. Furthermore, the evaluations note that having an opportunity to hear from other students and share the challenges assists them in engaging with the process: 

The workshops have clearly been organised with attention to detail and consideration for building an engaging student experience.

Final year undergraduate student 2021

I have found that offering more structured learning opportunities for dissertation students relieves much of the concerns they have at the start of the process. For instance, after the first workshop, students tell me they feel much more at ease and reassured as a result of the discussions and activities undertaken.  

As the module leader, I have witnessed far greater engagement with the dissertation from the early stages and other supervisors have noted that students attend supervision meetings more prepared. Supervisors have also fed back that the workbooks have helped to discuss their students’ progress and students engage well with the activities. The workshops have since been introduced onto the LLB dissertation module and workbooks have been introduced into undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation modules across the School of Law.  

How could others benefit from this example?

This example shows that offering space for peer support and embedding active learning into a dissertation module is beneficial to both student and supervisors. Independent projects don’t have to be undertaken in isolation and this example demonstrates the benefits of students collaborating in the process. It also demonstrates that by helping students set their own goals, share their challenges, and show them how to project manage, the quality of work increases. I hope that by sharing my positive experience it will inspire others to think creatively about adapting modules where students feel daunted by the task at hand.  

Author

Dr Suzanne Young , s.young@leeds.ac.uk,  Associate Professor in Criminal Justice 

Further Reading

Akister, J. Williams, I. and Maynard, A. (2006) ‘Innovations in The Supervision of Social Work Undergraduate Dissertations: Group and Individual Supervision’ The Higher Education Academy Annual Conference, University of Nottingham. 5th July. 

Akister, J., Williams, I. and Maynard, A. (2009) ‘Using group supervision for undergraduate dissertations: a preliminary enquiry into the student experience’ Practice and Evidence of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 4 (2). pp. 77-94. 

Wenger, E. (1999) Communities of Practice. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 

Young, S. (2018) Evaluation of the Leeds Beckett Prison: Learning Together Programme 2017. Available online at https://www.prisonerseducation.org.uk/resources/evaluation-of-leeds-beckett-university-prison-learning-together-programme-2017 Published online October 2018.  

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