DEVELOPING INDEPENDENT LEARNINGTHROUGH UNDERGRADUATE SUPERVISION

The Research Project is a capstone module on many undergraduate courses and provides a valuable opportunity for students to develop Independent Learning (IL) skills (Rowley & Slack, 2004). 

However, observations and literature show that student often struggle to transition from directed learning to the autonomous, independent learning that is characteristic of final year Research Project. This poster outlines some of the ways in which supervision can limit the development of Independent Learning skills. It goes on to propose four interventions designed create supervision processes that scaffold and support the development of these skills, while responding to individual student needs.