Cohort Supervision (Supervising Cohort Postgraduate Groups)

Due to resource and quality pressures, combined with trends that have emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic, new models of supervision have been prompted. Cohort supervision is one such option.
Senior degree students who enroll within a discipline in a particular year may compose a collaborative learning cohort. A faculty member(s) serves as cohort coordinator and mentor to promote the guidance of students into a research culture. Cohort groups meet regularly, in person or via electronic means, thus promoting a community of practice/research. Students present their work from time to time to cohort members, and during meetings students might discuss a range of issues related to their studies (e.g., research methodology, appropriate and useful literature, data techniques). They can also form smaller `buddy¿ groups within the larger cohort. Supervising through or within such a process has both advantages and disadvantages. These issues are explored by this short course.