Embracing online engagement with undergraduate supervisors: Collective perspectives on the online pivot

Abstract

The sudden national move to online/remote teaching and learning has presented a unique dual opportunity to explore the strategic value and importance of embracing learning technology to increase the proportion of the undergraduate (UG) supervision community actively developing their practice. We have delivered a redesigned module as part of an accredited professional development (PD) masters programme, which offers online practices and approaches sought by UG supervisors. This paper proposes an experiential and reflective contribution by educational developers in supporting the PD of UG supervisors. Our aim is to boost institutional informal conversations on UG supervision through formal engagement strategies in the online accredited PD module. We discuss pedagogical practices and challenges of the undergraduate supervision module, present the perspective of those involved in UG supervision on their online journey, and their views on developing their technology-enabled assessments and how these can give impetus to their own online supervision practice.