By Dr Emma Waters, Researcher Development Specialist for PGRs
It is a well-recognised truth that the transition to doctoral study is a significant intellectual and environmental leap as PGRs navigate new learning environments and expectations as they transition from being taught to self-directing their research (McPherson et al, 2018).
From an institutional perspective, recent changes in the funding landscape mean that equipping researchers with thinking and self-reflection tools to handle and stay on track through the ongoing liminality of academic research, is more important now than ever
Like many HEI institutions, Glasgow has a range of support for new PGRs to help them get off to a great start to their doctoral studies. However, it is not a one-and-done hurdle. Developing a researcher identity is an ongoing transition, and one which can be even harder once the first shine of the new project adventure has started to tarnish.
PGR Induction Week at Glasgow is now well-established, and in its 6th year. After Induction though, there is no set time in the PGR lifecycle where our team have a chance to reintroduce ourselves to the cohort and remind PGRs about the importance of planning their development.
So what natural landmarks might we utilise to encourage the opportunity to stop and plan?
Transitions within the PGR lifecycle
Transitions between years mark concrete milestones for PGRs. These points create natural times for PGRs to think about the progress they have made and potentially worry about if they are succeeding as they compare their own personal journey to that of their peers. Informal reflection is good, but how could we strengthen the value this brings?
Additionally Annual Progress Reviews (APRs) are an annual requirement to formally evaluate and document PGRs research progress and their development as a researcher. This marks a point of assessment of the research undertaken and as such can be an anxious time for PGRs. Part of the APR documentation includes PGRs documenting their development activities and planning their future development. We realised that for some PGRs a lack of experience and guidance on how to do reflective practice well is a real barrier to them getting the most out of their APR, so how could we strengthen the value for them here too?
Reflect and Reconnect: Planning Your Route to PGR Success.
At the University of Glasgow we have developed a new workshop designed to provide guided reflection for PGRs around the time of their APRs. Entitled ‘Reflect and Reconnect: Planning Your Route to PGR Success’ the workshop is an opportunity for PGRs to step in a neutral space to discuss their progress, away from their day-to-day settings and with researchers and research professionals who are not familiar with their work and have no supervisory relationship of power over them.
The aim of the workshop is to provide structured activities to help researchers who are unfamiliar with reflective practice to meaningfully prepare for upcoming questions about their development in APR meetings. Below I share the design underpinning this session as part of sharing good practice, hoping it will give inspiration to other Researcher Developers who are designing mid-doctorate support, and I would love to hear from anyone who is also piloting initiatives in this space.
The 3-hour workshop and was structured around Gibb’s reflective cycle. Rather than using the cycle to focus on an individual experience we used it to allow each person to reflect on the PGR journey so far, be that 6 months, or 3 years. The steps of the reflective cycle were divided among 3 guided activities:
| Stages of Gibbs’ reflective cycle | Activity | Time allowed |
| Describe the situation. Explore how you felt about the situation. Evaluate what was good and bad about the experience. | Mapping the PGR journey | 1 hour |
| Analyse why things did or didn’t go well. Make conclusions about what they learned from the experience. | Skill Interest Matrix | 30 minutes |
| Action Planning. | Setting goals for future development | 30 minutes |
Mapping the PGR journey
For the first hour PGRs mapped their PGR journey creatively thinking about 4 categories:
- Achievements and things you are proud of
- Challenges you’ve faced
- Opportunities you’ve taken
- Day-to-day task and work undertaken
We gave no set format for this mapping but provided pens, paper, stickers, glue and other arts and crafts supplies. Along with mapping their experiences we asked PGRs to add notes about their feelings about these experiences. Once completed PGRs sat around a table to discuss what they had learned or thought about during the activity. Themes that came up included achievements being both big and small, important learning coming from challenges and not recognising skills that had been gained because they became ‘part of the day-to-day’.
Skills Will Matrix
The second activity introduced PGRs to a skill-will matrix where they were asked to categorise their experiences and work they had undertaken against their level of skill (high to low) in doing these activities their level of interest in them (high to low).
We used this to group activities and types of work into areas that were ‘High Skill, High Interest’, ‘Low Skill, High Interest’, ‘High Skill, Low Interest’ and ‘Low Skill, Low Interest’.
Discussion following this mapping focussed on identifying what provided job satisfaction, what they really didn’t enjoy and what activities risked causing burnout if done for a long period. Additionally, we explored where PGRs had identified areas that were ‘Low skill, High Interest’ as potential areas of development.
Making plans for future development
The final activity focussed on setting goals for future development activities. This was a chance to compile all the reflections made in the day and decide what the next steps to take were for each individual. At this point we explored opportunities available from our team in Research Services – Research Culture and Researcher Development – and also discussed the idea that development is an ecology, with opportunities available in many places.
Value of structured reflection sessions
Designing support for a PGR transition for a community which can reach over 4000 PGRs was a tricky piece of work. Each PGR I worked with in these sessions had a unique journey and reason for coming to the session, and all were welcome. Some were just 6 months into their PhD, others were looking towards their first Annual Progression Review and others were nearing their viva. The reflections and future goals were unique to everyone’s experience and aspirations.
What was common across the PGRs I worked with was the value of protected and structured time to engage in mapping and planning their journeys. The workshops provided an opportunity both to realise, and to value, what they had achieved so far and feel positive about their PGR experience. For PGRs facing a transition between years the workshops also helped them to refocus if they felt lost or demotivated.
PGRs self-selected to attend the workshop, meaning only a small selection of the PGR community engaged with the provision. For the PGRs who attended we saw real benefit in engaging with an impartial space where they were guided in a new practice and given freedom to explore their own journey without fear of judgement. Most rewarding of all was the support and learning the PGRs offered each other when sharing their own journeys and helping each other highlight their successes.
While some PGRs likely engage in high quality discussions about their development locally with supervisors, mentors and APR panels, the space created by Reflect and Reconnect offered an alternative for those PGRs more comfortable engaging in a space detached from their everyday environment, that gave then time to think, feel, and prepare for the formal assessment that followed.
The Auditorium: a research culture and researcher development blog 