Excellence in teaching

Hilary Fraser holds a copy of her latest book "English Prose of the Nineteenth Centrury" in the Longman Literature in English Series co-written with former postgraduate student, now colleague, Daniel Brown.

Associate Professor Hilary Fraser has been teaching in the Department of English at UWA since 1983 and specialises in nineteenth-century English literature and visual culture. She won the Excellence in Research Supervision Award in 1996. These awards represent a joint effort by the Guild and the University to recognise and reward exemplary teaching.

Writing a thesis through the research, critical, analytical and communication skills it develops in relation to a specialised field of study, and the independent, self-directed learning process it entails, prepares students for lifelong learning. Postgraduate supervision therefore plays a key role in this development. I think a good supervisor must be above all supportive. Postgraduate study is often a rather lonely business, and students therefore can become unsure of themselves and of the value and standard of their work, and very dependent on their supervisor's advice and opinion. Constructive criticism is of course the supervisor's responsibility, but I always try to be as positive and encouraging as possible in my comments.

As a supervisor, one has a duty to provide guidance, and I make every effort to alert my students to recent work in their field, to help them clarify their ideas and define the scope and conceptual framework of their thesis, and to suggest directions it might take. However, I try not to impose my own ideas on their thesis - it is crucial that they feel they own it - and although I think it is important to share my own current enthusiasms and research projects with them, it is rather to make the point that we are engaged in similar activities.

When I first begin working with a new student, I put quite a lot of effort initially into helping them make what is for some a difficult transition from undergraduate to postgraduate work. I give them basic advice about, for example, using the library and preparing a bibliography, and talk with them about what form they would like their supervision to take. I emphasise not only my responsibilities as a supervisor, but also theirs as a research student. We meet regularly, and I help them to articulate their ideas and clarify their topic as soon as possible. I encourage them to do what they are good at. As they settle into their work, I allow them to set their own pace, although I take care to keep in close touch with their progress.

I believe that my role as a supervisor goes beyond the basic responsibility to direct, read and report back on drafts of chapters that eventually become a thesis, even though I take that responsibility very seriously. We all have lives outside our work, and few people sail through three or four years of their lives without encountering problems of some kind which inevitably affect their work. I attempt to ensure that there is good communication between myself and my students, so that I am aware of what they are working around, and they are aware of what I am working around. I try to help them work out their priorities, manage their time and responsibilities, and develop strategies for making progress on their thesis, even when other things in their lives are not going well.

I also believe that my responsibilities go beyond the bare requirements of the job in another sense. It is the supervisor's role to look for opportunities for their students' professional development: to encourage and offer assistance in getting their work published, giving conference papers, applying for research funding, and, eventually, applying for jobs. It is important that postgraduate students be able to see themselves in a broader context, both as part of a student body and a collegiate structure, and as professional academics on a career path.