Learning a practice through practise: presenting knowledge in doctoral spoken presentations

ABSTRACT

Learning to ‘become doctor’ requires PhD candidates to undertake progressive public displays – material and social – of knowledge. Knowledge in doctoral pedagogy is primarily realised textually, with speaking and writing remaining as the primary assessment rubrics of progress and of the qualification. Participating textually begins, in a public sense, with the Confirmation of Candidature presentation/paper and culminates in a Viva Voce/dissertation. Drawing on linguistic ethnographic observations and analyses, this paper uses practice-based perspectives to examine a doctoral candidate practising to present knowledge publicly in a university research centre. The paper focuses on sociomaterial shifts in the trial run and final delivery of the two presentations examining how the candidate is initiated into new actions in response to these changes. Findings reveal how the candidate engages with collective understandings of the practice of presenting knowledge provided by feedback from her doctoral ‘friends’. Learning a practice through practise highlights the importance of participating as learning and learning as participating. This is particularly so in a time of change for doctoral pedagogy, when honing a practice collectively is argued to be advantageous in a localised setting that recognises and fosters the benefits of participation.

KEYWORDS:

• Doctoral pedagogy
• practice learning
• spoken presentations

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge and thank academics and PhD candidates from The Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation (CHERE), University of Technology Sydney, for their participation in and contribution to this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Marie Manidis is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Technology Sydney (UTS). She holds a PhD (UTS); an MEd (by thesis); a Graduate Diploma in Multicultural Education; a Secondary Teachers Diploma; and a B.A. degree.

Rebecca Addo is a PhD student at the Centre for Health Economic Research and Evaluation, University of Technology Sydney. She holds a Master of Public Health, and a BSc Nursing degree.

ORCID

Marie Manidis http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3723-0956

Notes

1 From the centre's website at http://www.uts.edu.au/research-and-teaching/our-research/health-economics-research-and-evaluation/about-centre/about-us.

2 An investigation of International HDR students' first year of study at UTS – what are the factors that best support their learning? UTS HREC REF NO. 2014000331.

3 Integrating and Improving the International UTS HDR Experience – UTS HREC REF No. 2014000337.