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Setting up staff-student partnership working
Sarah Knight
#CAN2014 www.changeagentsnetwork.co.uk
Change Agents’ Network – Students as partners
Rachel Wenstone, Vice President (Higher Education), NUS
‘Students as partners is not just a nice-to-have, I believe it has the potential to
help bring about social and educational transformation, as long as we know
what we are trying to do and we maintain a critical attitude about the ways
the concept is adopted and used.’
A Manifesto for Partnership (November 2012)
Benefits of student partnerships/change agents
» Benefits for students:
› Gain an experience of leadership and influencing change.
› Gain experience of using research to shape change.
› Students can gain recognition through awards such as leadership awards,
academic credit, extra-curricular awards and awards accredited through external
bodies.
› Enhances student experience.
› Increases confidence & skills (e.g. communication, team-working, management,
research skills).
Enhances networking with e.g. employers, community.
›
› Improved employability and job prospects.
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Benefits of student partnerships/change agents
» Benefits for staff:
‘… the novice-expert dynamic has been overturned. Two years into the project,
we have observed and reflected on the fact that it is not us who are privileging
the Student Fellows by awarding them with these important roles, but rather we
who are privileged because of the insights we have gained from being allowed
into their worlds. Student Fellows have given us an honest insight into what
goes on behind the scenes when technology is brought into the mix and how reshaping feedback influences their confidence, self-belief, well-being, subject
knowledge and collaborative skills.’
Bath Spa University and University of Winchester, FASTECH project
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Benefits of student partnerships/change agents
» Institutional benefits:
› Opportunity for students to gain skills to support employability, and greater
involvement in the learning and teaching experience.
› Aids retention.
› Develops enhanced working/learning/assessment engagement between
students and tutors.
› Engages students with research-led change.
› Students inspire academics in technology-led educational innovation.
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Change Agents’ Network @CANagogy #CAN2014
» http://www.changeagentsnetwork.co.uk and join can@jiscmail.ac.uk by visiting
www.jiscmail.ac.uk
» Enhance student change agents’ understanding of effective practice and change issues.
» Identify and share effective practice in the area of students/student groups as change
agents working in partnership with staff.
» Provide a forum for support and sharing of ideas with events and webinars.
» Create and link to resources to support staff and students promoting the use of student
change agents sector wide.
» Developing a framework to support accreditation through SEDA and possibly ILM.
» Developing an open access Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change –
call in April and launched in Autumn 2014.
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Institutional case studies
• Some examples of institutional approaches to engaging students as
partners, champions and collaborators in the use of technology to
support learning and teaching:
• Students as digital pioneers – Oxford Brookes University, University of
Winchester/Bath Spa University
• Working in partnership – University of Reading, University of Bath and
Queen’s University Belfast
• Students as change agents – University of Greenwich, University,
University of Exeter and Birmingham City University
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Students as digital pioneers – Oxford Brookes University
»
Oxford Brookes InStePP project - Student partnerships offer a way to join up
provision for digital literacies for staff and students across the institution by
establishing, supporting and building recognition for the role of student
‘ePioneers’ within existing core academic and e-learning development activities.
» Resources available:
• 3-way partnership agreement model
• Development wheel
• Recruitment documentation
• ePioneer Role descriptors
• Endorsed professional body (ILM) scheme: FutureConsultants course outline
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InStePP Development Wheel
‘Students in partnership with staff can
motivate staff to adopt new digital
learning and teaching practices. It
indicates that the impact on practice is
potentially broader than just the use of
technology.
Student partners have helped staff to
hear the student voice, gain insights into
learners’ perspectives, and stimulated
them to think differently about learner
needs than they did before.’
InStePP Institutional Story,
http://bit.ly/1s2PW4m
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Students as digital pioneers - University of Winchester & Bath Spa
University (FASTECH project)
• Aim – to investigate, develop and pilot technology-enhanced solutions to
assessment and feedback issues
• Piloted with 16 Student fellows across 14 degree programmes
• They receive a bursary, training and support from project developers, and work
as members of their programme team.
• Particularly involved in the creation of A&F enhancement pilots and helped
gather and evaluate data.
• Student fellowships rolling out institutionally at Winchester in 2013-14
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Developing digital literacies
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Student as partners – University of Reading
» Focus: Student Employability and Digital Literacies
– “ensure all of our students have the opportunity to experience work-based and
–
placement opportunities whilst at the University”
Promote the student engagement agenda
» Engaged with students in a number of small initiatives
– Partnered with academics to research, implement change, and learn
– University placement schemes
» Positive experiences
– students for enhancing their skills and employability prospects
– staff for the input by students
– Establishment of the Partnerships in Learning and Teaching Scheme
supporting student-led initiatives
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Students as Partners - University of Bath - PRIDE project
‘The project has been an excellent
demonstration of the working ethos
of the University where students
are active partners in their learning
environment.
Students have played key roles as
part of the faculty learning
communities, the Steering Group
and the project team including the
students who helped to create the
tools that emerged as part of the
process.’
Alexander Pool, Education Officer,
Students’ Union, (2012-13)
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Developing digital literacies
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Students as Partners - Queen’s University Belfast
» As part of ‘Changing together’
» Overall methodology has been
Appreciative Inquiry – a positive
approach to change
» Intention was that as well as students
providing information, some would
collaborate with academic staff to
develop the use of technology and/or
redesign assessment and feedback
» Also a student on core project team
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Developing digital literacies
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Students as change agents – University of Greenwich
»
»
Greenwich Digital Literacies in Transition project - cross-university studentships foster a
community of student-led research to support and feed into all other aspects of the
project. Termed the IRG (Interdisciplinary Research Group), this group of students, their
mentors and members of staff from all aspects of the institution will engage in baselining
activities as well as develop digital literacy OERs.
Resources available:
•
Student journey questionnaire
•
Student journey badges
•
Resources relating to the Interdisciplinary Research Group e.g. recruitment process
•
Student blogs sharing their experiences are available from http://dlinhe.ning.com/
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Students as Change Agents – Birmingham City University
• The Jisc T-SPARC project engaged with students
through the University’s Student Academic Partners
(SAP) programme as part of a review of curriculum
design practices and processes.
• SAP aims to integrate students into the teaching and
pedagogic research community within BCU in order to
develop collaboration between students and staff.
• The T-SPARC project also produced a wider
stakeholder engagement model which could be used
when considering the development of student
engagement activities.
» http://www.bcu.ac.uk/about-us/celt/studentengagement/student-partnerships
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http://www.bcu.ac.uk/about-us/celt/student-engagement/student-partnerships
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Students as Change Agents – Exeter University (Cascade project)
» 17 student interns: post-graduate researchers
› Digital innovators and emerging subject specialists
› Influence undergraduates and staff
› Undertake programme of personal development
› Acting as co-researchers
› Leading digital literacy development in their
»
academic setting
› Focusing on taught modules identified during
baseline process
Project also working with student-facing services
across the university
» http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/Informatio
nAndGuidance/Documents/StudentsChangeA
gents.pdf
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Developing digital literacies
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http://bit.ly/diglitds
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Developing digital literacies
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Resources for your use…the Digital Student
http://digitalstudent.jiscinvolve.org
2/04/2014
Jisc Digital Student http://digitalstudent.jiscinvolve.org.uk
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Top tips cards
http://digitalstudent.jiscinvolve.org
2/04/2014
Jisc Digital Student http://digitalstudent.jiscinvolve.org.uk
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Jisc Summer of Student Innovation 2014
» How it works:
» Create – Make a video to explain
your idea
» Share – Upload your video and
encourage people to vote
» Vote - If you hit the voting target we
will consider it for funding
» So if you have a brainwave, come
and join us for a Summer of Student
Innovation:
» jisc.ac.uk/student-innovation
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Find out more…
www.jisc.ac.uk
http://bit.ly/diglitds
http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/digital-literacies/
http://digitalstudent.jiscinvolve.org
http://www.changeagentsnetwork.co.uk
#CAN2014 @CANagogy
can@jiscmail.ac.uk
Except where otherwise noted, this
work is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND
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