Students as Partners - Creating a Community

Students as Partners: Creating a Community 'Much of the rhetoric about the value of a higher education market treats students as purchasers, customers or consumers. These terms are anathema to much of higher education… because teaching and learning are seen as symbiotic. Students do not consume knowledge but construct it… they are co-producers and collaborators’ (Gibbs, G, 2012)

Dr Andy Clegg

Aims Aims: ยง Examine the notion of community and how we can establish this

in the context of the Business School ยง Discuss the concept, context and potential benefits of

partnership in Higher Education

ยง Implement practical ways of engaging students as partners

using the HEA partnership framework

Developing Communities Activity 1: • What do we mean by community? What does or what should this community look like in the Business School? • What does the idea of community actually mean to students?

Developing Communities

Students as Partners

Partnership Activity 2: • What do we mean by partnership?

• What are the potential benefits of partnership working in HE? • What are the potential challenges?

The Case for Partnership Students as 'co-producers', not as 'consumers' … are viewed as essential partners in the production of the knowledge and skills that form the intended learning outcomes of their programmes. They are therefore given responsibility for some of the work involved, and are not passive recipients of a service (Streeting and Wise 2009, p. 2) The concept of ‘partnership’ has gained significant currency (Little 2013) We define student-faculty partnership as a collaborative, reciprocal process through which all participants have the opportunity to contribute equally, although not necessarily in the same ways, to curricular or pedagogical conceptualization, decision-making, implementation, investigation, or analysis (Cook-Sather, Bovill and Felten 2014, pp. 6–7)

The Case for Partnership • To design and deliver engaging student learning experiences • To make higher education more accessible and inclusive • To align with personal beliefs and values about learning and teaching • To develop a sense of community and belonging; • To develop student and staff knowledge and capabilities • To address some of the challenges currently facing higher education • To offer a constructive alternative to consumerist models of higher education • To align with national policy imperatives which place engagement and partnership as key to quality enhancement

Students as Partners

Benefits • Increased student engagement with learning • Development of knowledge and skills to support employability • Greater sense of belonging and community • Transformed staff experience and thinking about practice • Deeper understanding of contributions to an academic community?

Students as Partners

Engagement enhancing motivation and learning

Awareness developing meta-cognitive awareness and a stronger sense of identity [Source: Cook-Sather, Bovill and Felten, 2014]

Enhancement improving teaching and the classroom experience

Students as Partners

Students as Partners Activity 2: • Identify areas of partnership working within the HEA partnership model • What kinds of activities are we already undertaking?

• What do we have to do to develop this area further?

Students as Partners Activity 2: Now consider: • When does this partnership approach start/finish? • What does partnership look like at Level 4, Level 5, Level 6, Level 7?

Students as Partners Principles Authenticity – all parties have a meaningful rationale for investing in partnership, and are honest about what they can contribute and the parameters of partnership Inclusivity – partnership embraces the different talents, perspectives and experiences that all parties bring, and there are no barriers (structural or cultural) that prevent potential partners getting involved Reciprocity – all parties have an interest in, and stand to benefit from, working and/or learning in partnership Empowerment – power is distributed appropriately and all parties are encouraged to constructively challenge ways of working and learning that may reinforce existing inequalities

Students as Partners Principles Trust – all parties take time to get to know each other, engage in open and honest dialogue and are confident they will be treated with respect and fairness Challenge – all parties are encouraged to constructively critique and challenge practices, structures and approaches that undermine partnership, and are enabled to take risks to develop new ways of working and learning Community – all parties feel a sense of belonging and are valued fully for the unique contribution they make Responsibility – all parties share collective responsibility for the aims of the partnership, and individual responsibility for the contribution they make

Resources

[Source: tsep.org.uk/]

Resources

Students as Partners: Creating a Community 'Much of the rhetoric about the value of a higher education market treats students as purchasers, customers or consumers. These terms are anathema to much of higher education… because teaching and learning are seen as symbiotic. Students do not consume knowledge but construct it… they are co-producers and collaborators’ (Gibbs, G, 2012)

Dr Andy Clegg