AUN-1 ผลการเรียนรู้ที่คาดหวัง (Expected Learning Outcomes)

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The programme committee rated criterion 1 based on the following evidence:

1. The expected learning outcome have been clearly stated and aligned with the vision and mission of the university

   As King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) strives to be a world class research university, the PhD programme was also designed to centred around research; i.e. how we can produce graduates with strong research skills who can produce qualified research outputs. Therefore the expected learning outcome was formulated through the discussion of the committee based on the research done in other international institutions which offer the PhD programme in Applied Linguistics, TESOL, TEFL and English Language Studies. Market survey was also conducted to see the current needs of target customers who are university lecturers, M.A/M.Ed graduates in those fields including the M.A. graduates from KMUTT.

   It is widely known that the PhD graduates who will become university lecturers are expected to conduct research and the students in the PhD programmes are those working at the university. The expected learning outcomes of the programme are continuously discussed and rechecked by taking into account KMUTT Students’ Qualification Framework, views from stakeholders such as the graduates’ bosses, support staff who work closely with the students; feedbacks from the graduates and current students; views from the teachers who teach in the PhD programme. In order to respond to the vision of the university in producing graduates who are proficient and continue to search for knowledge in order to be at the forefront of research in order to become a world-class university, we also look at the European Framework for Research Careers as a guideline for researcher’s attributes so that our PhD graduates are able to work in the universities around the world.

According to the framework, there are 4 stages of researchers. The four broad profiles with the working titles are presented below:

R1 First Stage Researcher (up to the point of PhD)
R2 Recognised Researcher (PhD holders or equivalent who are not yet fully independent)
R3 Established Researcher (researchers who have developed a level of independence.)
R4 Leading Researcher ( researchers leading their research area or field)

    The European Framework for Research Careers builds on the European Qualifications

    Framework for lifelong learning4 (EQF) and the Bologna Framework for Qualifications in the     European Higher Education Area5. The second profile (R2) of the researchers’ framework

    corresponds with completion of the highest levels of EQF (level 8) and Bologna (third cycle) (Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/pdf/research_policies/Towards_a_European_ Framework_for_Research_Careers_final.pdf, 27/8/2015).

2. The expected learning outcomes cover both subject specific and generic (i.e. transferable) learning outcomes

    From the discussion among the programme committee and the supervisors, we agreed that the expected learning outcomes of the PhD students should cover the generic and specific skills for R2 because they are expected to be qualified researchers who are able to make contribution in the field both nationally and internationally. How the expected learning outcomes of the PhD students are translated into the programme through courses offered, formal assessment and other activities provided to the PhD students is shown in the Appendix (See Appendix 1_PLO-course worksheet).

We identified seven key Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) as follows:

  1. Students will be able to demonstrate systemic understanding of research
  2. Students will be able to demonstrate systemic understanding of Applied Linguistics
  3. Students will be able to design, analyse and evaluate research
  4. Students will be able to analyse, critique, solve problems and innovate
  5. Students will be able to communicate effectively
  6. Students will be self-motivated, curious and wanting to contribute
  7. Students will be responsible and interpersonal leaders

   For each PLO, sub-skills were identified together with knowledge, attitudes and competences where appropriate. In the appendix (See Appendix 1_PLO-course worksheet). these sub-skills, knowledge, attitudes and competences are linked to courses and other activities on the PhD program to show how they are manifested and how they can be evaluated.

   The sub-skills cover both generic skills and those specific to the programme. The knowledge covered is specific to the programme, whereas the attitudes and competences are generic. The generic sub-skills are:

  • Students will be self-motivated, curious and wanting to contribute
  • Students will be able to negotiate and deal with challenges
  • Students will be able to write persuasive articles
  • Students will be able to present at conferences
  • Students will be able to explain knowledge to different audiences in appropriate ways
  • Students will be able to discuss and present arguments

The specific sub-skills are:

  • Students will be able to critique research
  • Students will be able to analyse research
  • Students will be able to apply linguistics knowledge to problems and issues
  • Students will be able to conceive appropriate research plans
  • Students will be able to design ethically sound research
  • Students will be able to design valid research procedures
  • Students will be able to identify suitable and useful areas for research
  • Students will be able to identify suitable and useful specific goals for research
  • Students will be able to implement research procedures and solve problems
  • Students will be able to justify criticisms
  • Students will be able to justify decisions in research
  • Students will be able to synthesise arguments

The knowledge areas covered are:

  • Research paradigms
  • Research methodology
  • Linguistic knowledge
  • Linguistic, learning and educational theories

The attitudes promoted are:

  • Self-efficacy
  • Empathy
  • Confidence
  • Self-motivation; curiosity

The competences promoted are:

  • Achievement orientation
  • Adaptability and flexibility
  • Analytical thinking
  • Creative thinking
  • Critical thinking
  • Ethical sense
  • Innovation
  • Logical thinking
  • Objective-based management
  • Planning
  • Problem solving
  • Self-motivation
  • Sense making
  • Systemic thinking
  • Teamwork
  • Verbal skill
  • Writing skill

   The programme has put more emphasis on research rather than taught courses. Therefore, the PhD programme offers two study plans, Plan A or those who do research only and Plan B or those who take 4 courses and do research. Plan A students are the candidates who have experiences doing research before and are ready to start their research right away. Their proposals have to demonstrate their research-mindedness and their potential to develop the proposal into a more structured research proposal within one semester. Plan B students had two more semesters to search for their interest and they can develop their proposals in the third semester after finishing the course work. Because the focus of the programme is on producing graduates who are capable researchers, assignments of the four courses offered encouraged the students to develop small scale research which can be presented in the conferences.

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3. The expected learning outcomes clearly reflect the requirements of the stakeholders

    The requirements of the stakeholders who are university administrators are obvious in that they want their colleagues to acquire research skills to become independent researchers who can conduct good research and can publish in prestigious journals. We also did a survey with the graduates’ bosses and newly graduates through interviews in order to improve the programme (See Appendix 2_Interview PhD graduate’s boss).  We invited Prof.Christine Goh from National Institute of Education, Nanyang University to review the PhD programme and voices of the current students from her report helped us to provide more help to the current students because they expressed that they wanted more guidelines of how much they have to do in each semester when they start their research in order to make enough progress (see Appendix 3_External reviewer report). The guidelines were provided and announced to the students so that they could plan their work more effectively (see Appendix 4_Models for planning a thesis).

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