Curriculum enhancement through co-creation: Fostering student-educator partnerships in higher education

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v7i2.5280

Keywords:

co-creation, curriculum, recognition, students as partners, enhancement

Abstract

This case study presents an institutional approach to curriculum enhancement and co-creation. It explores how these two elements of a university’s strategy interlink through institutional values, curriculum development initiatives, and the advent of a new recognition scheme for student co-creators at Queen Mary University of London in the UK. It explores how the delivery of curriculum enhancement projects has been made possible through co-creation with students and discusses its outcomes: curriculum enhancement resources for staff and students, recognition for students, and joint presentations and publications. This case study also reflects on the experience of student co-creators and the benefits and challenges for staff and the institution, considers the specific contexts required to promote a shift in institutional culture towards co-creation, and shares successes and recommendations for implementing this approach.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

AdvanceHE (2023). Professional Standards Framework. York. AdvanceHE. https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/teaching-and-learning/psf

Bovill, C. (2020a). Co-creating learning and teaching: Towards a relational pedagogy in higher education. Critical Publishing.

Bovill, C. (2020b). Co-creation in learning and teaching: The case for a whole-class approach in higher education. Higher Education, 79, 1023–1037. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00453-w

Bovill, C., Cook-Sather, A., & Felten, P. (2011). Students as co-creators of teaching approaches, course design, and curricula: Implications for academic developers. International Journal for Academic Development, 16(2), 133–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2011.568690

Bovill, C., Cook-Sather, A., Felten, P., Millard, L., & Moore-Cherry, N. (2016). Addressing potential challenges in co-creating learning and teaching: Overcoming resistance, navigating institutional norms and ensuring inclusivity in student-staff partnerships. Higher Education, 71(2), 195–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-015-9896-4

Bovill, C., & Woolmer, C. (2019). How conceptualisations of curriculum in higher education influence student staff co creation in and of the curriculum. Higher Education, 78, 407–422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0349-8

Bron, J., Bovill, C., & Veugelers, W. (2018). Distributed curriculum leadership: how negotiation between student and teacher improves the curriculum. Journal of Ethical Educational Leadership, Special Issue, 1, 76–98. Retrieved from Academia.edu

Charlton, J. (2000). Nothing about us without us: Disability, oppression and empowerment. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Cook-Sather, A., & Matthews, K. E. (2021). Pedagogical partnership: Engaging with students as co-creators of curriculum, assessment, and knowledge. In L. Hunt & D. Chalmers (Eds.), University teaching in focus: A learning-centred approach (pp.243–259). Routledge.

Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., & Felten, P. (2014). Engaging students as partners in learning and teaching: A guide for faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Dunbar-Morris, H., Barlow, A., & Layer, A. (2019). A co-constructed curriculum: A model for implementing total institutional change in partnership with students. The Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change, 5(1). https://journals.studentengagement.org.uk/index.php/studentchangeagents/article/view/926

Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2014). Engagement through partnership: Students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. Higher Education Academy.

Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2016). Students as partners: Reflections on a conceptual model. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 4(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.4.2.3

Healey, M., & Healey, R. (2019). Essential Frameworks For Enhancing Student Success: Student Engagement Through Partnership. Advance HE. https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/essentail-frameworks-enhancing-student-success-student-engagment-through-partnership

Holen, R., Ashwin, P., Maassen, P., & Stensaker, B. (2021). Student partnership: Exploring the dynamics in and between different conceptualizations. Studies in Higher Education, 46(12), 2726–2737. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1770717

Lubicz-Nawrocka, T. M. (2018). Students as partners in learning and teaching: The benefits of co-creation of the curriculum. International Journal for Students as Partners, 2(1), 47–63. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i1.3207

Lubicz-Nawrocka, T. M. (2019). “More than just a student”: How curriculum co-creation fosters third spaces in ways of working, identity, and impact. International Journal for Students as Partners, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v3i1.3727

Lubicz-Nawrocka, T., & Bovill, C. (2021). Do students experience transformation through co-creating curriculum in higher education? Teaching in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2021.1928060

Mercer-Mapstone, L., & Abbot, S. (2020). The power of partnership: Students, staff, and faculty revolutionizing higher education. Elon University, Center for Engaged Learning Open Access Book Series.

Owen, J., & Wasiuk, C. (2021). An agile approach to co-creation of the curriculum. International Journal for Students as Partners, 5(2), 89–97. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v5i2.4475

Queen Mary University of London (2021). The Queen Mary Education Approach. London: Queen Mary University of London. https://www.qmul.ac.uk/queenmaryacademy/the-queen-mary-education-approach/

Queen Mary University of London (2019). Strategy 2030. London: Queen Mary University of London. www.qmul.ac.uk/strategy-2030/

Downloads

Published

2023-10-16

How to Cite

Cabral, A., Fuller, S., De Wilde, J., Khama, K., & Melsen, M. (2023). Curriculum enhancement through co-creation: Fostering student-educator partnerships in higher education. International Journal for Students As Partners, 7(2), 111–123. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v7i2.5280

Issue

Section

Case Studies