Students as co-creators of learning and teaching: theoretical and practical considerations

Dr Catherine Bovill, Senior Lecturer

Academic Development Unit, Learning & Teaching Centre

Sheffield Hallam University, Seminar 3rd April 2014

Overview

Student co-creation roles Background and why co-create curricula? A ladder model to explore possible and

desirable levels of participation Students as partners (?) Pre-design decisions - inclusion and rewards Practical guidance

Student co-creation roles

Background to co-creating L&T

Students as participants, researchers, change agents, co-creators, co-producers… (Bovill et al, 2011& 2009; Dunne & Zandstra, 2011; McCulloch, 2009; Neary, 2010)

Influence of critical pedagogy and student voice in schools (Cook-Sather, 2007; Darder et al, 2003; Fielding, 2004; Giroux, 1983; Rogers and Freiberg, 1969)

Why would you co-create L&T?

“My course is broken” My students are not engaged I want to make my classroom more democratic The benefits look worth exploring The university is going through a structural change There is a small amount of funding available Students voices are important and

are currently missing or not valued

Student and staff benefits

Enhanced engagement – motivation and learning

Enhanced meta-cognitive awareness and a stronger sense of identity

Enhanced teaching and classroom experiences

Enhanced student performance in assessments

(Cook-Sather et al, 2014; Bovill et al 2011; Delpish et al, 2011; Mihans et al, 2008)

• Risky / nerve wracking• Intense / demanding• Rewarding experience from

genuine dialogue with students and witnessing benefits for students

• ‘Transformatory’

(Bovill et al 2011; Bovill, 2014)

Other staff experiences

Ladder of student participation in curriculum design

Partnership - a negotiated curriculum

Students in control

Student control of some areas of

choice

Students control of prescribed

areas

Wide choice from prescribed

choices

Limited choice from prescribed

choices

Dictated curriculum – no

interaction

Participation claimed, tutor in

control

Students control decision-making

and have substantial influence

Students have some choice and influence

Tutors control decision-making

informed by student

feedback

Tutors control decision-making

Students as full members of curriculum design team

Designing a VLE

Students designing their own learning outcome(s)

Students writing their own essay question

Gathering feedback from students…

Bovill & Bulley, 2011

Examples of student participation

• students choosing the topic for their research project• students co-designing marking criteria with staff• students and staff collaborate to choose a course text book• students influencing the content of the curriculum• students’ work forming the basis of the curriculum• students co-creating course resources• students co-designing the assessment

Words of caution…

Higher up the ladder is not necessarily ‘better’

Beware of chasing the ‘nirvana’ of total participation and totally equal participation

Different points on the ladder might be

possible or desirable in different contexts

The ladder is simply a model to facilitate

discussion

Students as partners (?)

Higher Education Academy theme

Partnership is high up the ladder

Equality?

Power

Voluntary

Some big questions…

We have a professional body that

constrains what we can do with our

curriculum…

I only teach these students for two

weeks and the course is co-ordinated by someone else…

We are all overstretched and this

sounds like more work…

My first years don’t have 20 years of

experience like me, to know what needs to be

in the content of the first year chemistry

curriculum…

Turning the ladder on its side?

Various factors might suggest an appropriate co-creation approach eg:

• Class size• Teaching space• Your experience• Students’ experience

Pre-design decisions: Inclusion

Staff act as gatekeepers of curriculum design (Bourner, 2004)

Which students do you involve?

Retrospective

Current

FutureBovill (2014)

Cohort of students or selection of students?

Criteria for inclusion

Pre-design decisions: rewards?

• Pay• Credit• Academic transcript• Beneficial outcomes• ‘D0’ of the UKPSF?

Student co-creation roles revisited

Which students?Rewards?

Guidance for staff

- Start small, be patient, ensure participation is voluntary, think carefully about which students to involve, create shared aims, cultivate support, learn from mistakes.

- Integrate partnerships into other work, give/get credit for working in partnership, enhance diversity in partnerships, CPD for staff and students involved, value the process, formally end partnerships when it is time.

- Consider your own attitude to roles and power, develop ways to negotiate, be honest about where power imbalance exists.

Cook-Sather, Bovill & Felten (2014) Engaging students

as partners in learning and teaching: a guide for faculty. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Implications

• Evaluation and evidence growing, more research needed• You may be doing this already - can you develop ideas

further? Can you evaluate what you are doing?• Feels risky for many staff, so start with smaller initiatives• Speak to colleagues and discuss possibilities• Talk to students

What is possible in your context?

What is particular about the context in which you work with students?

Out this month...

References

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