PRAK6300 Assessing students' teaching competence and fitness for practice Course description

The master’s thesis is an independent, analytical work with a scope of 30 ECTC credits of relevance to the subject areas in the programme. The students must choose a topic to be explored through systematic use of qualitative and/or quantitative methods. The research question can be of a theoretical or an empirical nature. The master’s thesis can be submitted as a monograph or as an article-based thesis (article manuscript and introductory chapter (kappe).

The language of instruction is English.

Students must have passed all courses in the master’s degree programme before they can submit their master’s thesis for assessment.

Etter fullført emne har studenten følgende læringsutbytte definert som kunnskap, ferdigheter og generell kompetanse:

Kunnskap

Studenten

• har solid kunnskap om aktuelle nasjonale og lokale styringsdokumenter som omhandler vurdering i pedagogisk praksis
• har bred kunnskap om vurdering på ulike arenaer i pedagogisk praksis
• har bred kunnskap om etiske perspektiver i vurdering av studenter i pedagogisk praksis
• har solid kunnskap om skikkethetsvurdering av studenter i pedagogisk praksis

Ferdigheter

Studenten

• kan observere og vurdere studenter i pedagogisk praksis utfra en helhetlig kompetanse og skikkethet
• kan gjennomføre vurderingsarbeid av studenter i pedagogisk praksis i samsvar med lover, forskrifter, og nyere forskning på feltet
• kan formidle fremover- og tilbakemeldinger som fremmer mestring og motivasjon hos studenten
• kan legge til rette for faglige vurderingssamtaler i tråd med læringsutbyttebeskrivelsene for praksisopplæringen

Generell kompetanse

Studenten

• kan identifisere og drøfte etiske utfordringer og dilemmaer knyttet til vurdering i pedagogisk praksis.
• kan samarbeide med utdanningsinstitusjonen om vurderingen av studenter i praksis
• kan bidra i utvikling av koherens og samarbeid mellom lærerutdanningsinstitusjonene og praksis
• er godt kjent med forskrifter og prosedyrer angående tvil om skikkethet og fare for ikke bestått praksis, og kan handle i samsvar med disse

Se programplanen

Compulsory activities must be completed and approved by the given deadline in order for the student to take the exam:

• A two page project outline must be submitted and approved. If the project outline is not approved by the supervisor, the student is allowed to submit an improved version once within the specified deadline.
• A signed agreement between the student and the supervisor must be submitted by a set date.

The exam consists of two parts: the Master's thesis itself and an oral examination.

Monograph

An individual thesis must have a scope of 52 pages (+ / - 10 percent), in Calibri 12 with line spacing 1.5 (excluding table of contents, foreword, summary, references and appendix). The thesis is to be written in the APA style. A thesis written by two students must have a scope of 77 pages. Co-writing has to be approved by the course coordinator.

Artitcle based thesis

the student can write an article based master’s thesis consisting of one ready to submit article manuscript intended for a peer reviewed journal (level one or two). Theses in article form written by two students should consist of two such article manuscripts. Along with the article(s) there must be an introductory chapter (in Norwegian referred to as "kappe") consisting of 14 pages (excluding table of contents, foreword, summary, references and appendix). The introductory chapter must be in the APA style. The article should be in the style of the journal.

Oral exam

The Master's thesis must receive a passing grade before the student can sit for the oral examination. The oral examination begins with the student presenting their Master's thesis in lecture format (30 minutes, 45 minutes if co-authored with another student). Following this, the student will participate in an individual, oral discussion and assessment (of approx. 45 minutes).

The student can choose to receive the grade on the written master's thesis before the oral presentation of the thesis (the lecture) commences.

The oral presentation (the lecture) and the subsequent individual, oral discussion and assessment can change the grade that is given for the Master's thesis. After the oral examination, the final grade is set. The final grade is entered into the diploma.

When two students co-author a Master's thesis, both will receive the same grade for the written thesis. Each individual student will, however, individually present their part of the thesis in lecture form and subsequently participate in an individual, oral discussion and assessment. The presentation and oral discussion and assessment will be evaluated as the individual student’s contribution and will be used for possible adjustment of the final grade.

A student can deliver a new or revised Master's thesis one time if the Master thesis does not receive a passing grade. The student in this case will receive an offer of three-hours further supervision before submitting. Students receiving a passing grade on their Master's thesis do not have the right to have their thesis re-evaluated within the same study program.

All aids are permitted, as long as the student complies with the rules for source referencing.

Grade scale A - F.

All exam papers are assessed by one internal and one external examiner. The supervisor must not be an examiner. In the event of a complaint about the grade, a new committee will be appointed, and the master's thesis will be reassessed. A new oral exam will be held if the grade changes.

Simon Innvær