Taking time to appreciate the scenery: an exploration of PhD supervision as pedagogy

A PhD generates new knowledge and builds new links with existing research literature – by definition a ‘mind-bending’ exercise, even without the additional challenges brought on by Covid-19 restrictions. As an undertaking, it is both self-directed and requiring of sustained independence (a part-time PhD may require sustained investment for up to eight years) and demanding of trust and effective communication between candidate and supervisor. This project used visual and creative methodologies to explore an emerging PhD supervisory relationship as it developed during the lockdown restraints of the pandemic. It sought to understand this relationship through the development of a visual and creative methodology designed to help both parties understand the ontological and epistemological assumptions underpinning the research project. Visual artefacts and literary extracts were discussed as metaphors for the supervisor/supervisee relationship and the PhD ‘journey’, providing an exploration that proved valid and valuable to both supervisor and candidate.