(Universidad de Murcia, 2019) Fidalgo, Camino; Collado, Silvia; Senís, Juan
Master’s Thesis (TFM) is a difficult task for Master students. They face the writing and oral
examination with anxiety, low levels of self-efficacy and a general lack of the necessary
competencies for its correct execution. Our study reflects the results of a teaching
innovation project aimed at reducing students’ anxiety and increasing their self-efficacy to
face their TFM. Five theoretical-practical seminars were designed to improve student’s
competences related to academic-scientific skills, both oral and writing ones. Through a
pre-post experimental procedure, we evaluated students’ self-efficacy and levels of anxiety
towards their TFM. In addition, students’ performance has been examined through a
simulation of TFM and its subsequent oral defense. Our results show statistically significant
differences between pre and post-intervention in all the aspects evaluated in the program.
On one hand, participants obtained in their TFM when compared with the students of
previous years which did not take part in this project. On the other hand, participants were
more successful in completing their TFM and showed lower levels of anxiety after taking
the seminars