The master’s thesis is designed for the students to use their knowledge to analyze and solve a complex problem with some help from the supervisor. Without proper scaffolding, students might be overwhelmed and demotivated in completing their masters’ thesis. Besides inefficient time and task management due to the wrong number of ‘freedoms,’ scope widening and task digressing also make on-time completion of the thesis difficult. Instructional scaffolding can be an effective method of facilitating a student’s solutions to complex tasks such as writing a thesis. The six important steps of scaffolding include 1) recruitment, 2) reduction in degree of freedom, 3) direction maintenance, 4) marking critical features, 5) frustration control, and 6) demonstration.
Scaffolding ensures that the supervision plan considers the student’s needs and mitigates misaligned expectations regarding supervision through discussion between student and supervisor. Through regular student-supervisor communication, the supervisor can develop critical scaffolding processes that match student’s expectations, motivation, and level of relevant knowledge. A combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation through regular meetings, constructive feedback, and acknowledgment of students’ progress from the supervisor are needed to ensure the successful completion of the thesis.
The amount of assistance provided by the supervisor should be compatible with the students’ capability of overcoming the current obstacles. However, the freedom of students in exploring the relevant topic during the learning process should not be restricted due to micromanagement by supervisors. In short, the roles and responsibilities of supervisors change during the development of the thesis. More support is given to the students in the early stages when the students still lack the necessary skills to manage the task. Once students have become familiar with their topic and its requirements, supervisors should not intervene when the students want to explore new material and angles. As the current task is within the students’ capabilities, allowing the students to do as much as they can without help will help their developments. The scaffolding is removed gradually when students demonstrate mastery of the task. These processes stipulate that the student should work independently throughout the majority of the project, while still ensuring that the thesis is completed on time.
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