Enhancing digital teaching and learning
A students as partners approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v10i1.6703Keywords:
partnership, collaboration, inclusion, student voiceAbstract
The following article presents a review and reflection on digital teaching, learning, and assessment (TL&A) in higher education (HE) in the context of the emergency pivot to online delivery during the pandemic, as experienced by the Enhancing Digital Teaching and Learning (EDTL) student interns across multiple disciplines and institutions. The project was led by the Irish Universities Association (IUA, https://www.iua.ie/ourwork/learning-teaching/digital-learning/) and funded by the Irish Higher Education Authority (HEA, https://hea.ie/). Additionally, this review draws upon previous literature related to successful staff-student partnerships, advocating the inclusion of the student voice in all aspects of teaching and learning, specifically in relation to the adoption of digital technologies, assessment, and teaching strategies within education. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of the original interns (n=7) representing HE universities in Ireland in 2021. Key findings from this study highlight a strong sense of inclusion, partnership and collaboration within each intern’s institution.
Downloads
References
Alawamleh, M., Al-Twait, L. M., & Al-Saht, G. R. (2020). The effect of online learning on communication between instructors and students during Covid-19 pandemic. Asian Education and Development Studies, 11(2), 380-400. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEDS-06-2020-0131
Baumber, A., Kligyte, G., van der Bijl-Brouwer, M., & Pratt, S. (2020). Learning together: A transdisciplinary approach to student–staff partnerships in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 39(3), 395-410. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2019.1684454
Beckingham, S. (2020). Co-creating learning experiences with students as partners. The Journal of Social Media for Learning, 1(1), 70-77. https://doi.org/10.24377/LJMU.jsml.vol1article394
Bovill, C. (2020). Co-creation in learning and teaching: The case for a whole-class approach in higher education. Higher Education, 79(6), 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
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Bron, J., Emerson, N., & Kákonyi, L. (2018). Diverse student voice approaches across Europe. European Journal of Education, 53(3), 310-324. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12285
Brown, A.M., & Nurser, T.A. (2011). Students as Change Agents - new ways of engaging with learning and teaching in Higher Education. Higher Education Academy. https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/students-as-change-agents-new-ways-of-engaging-with-learning-and-
Bryant, P., Phipps, L., & Lanclos, D. (2023). The end of learning design? An interactive panel on the challenges of finding equilibrium, navigating the snap back and leading innovation in post-crisis teaching and learning. ASCILITE Publications.
Buckley, K., Stone, S., Farrell, A. M., Glynn, M., Lowney, R., & Smyth, S. (2021). Learning from student experience: Large, higher education classes transitioning online. Irish Educational Studies, 40(2), 399-406. https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2021.1916566
Caena, F., & Redecker, C. (2019). Aligning teacher competence frameworks to 21st century challenges: The case for the European Digital Competence Framework for Educators (Digcompedu). European Journal of Education, 54(3), 356-369. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12345
Cobo-Rendón, R., Bruna Jofre, C., Lobos, K., Cisternas San Martin, N., & Guzman, E. (2022). Return to university classrooms with blended learning: A possible post-pandemic COVID-19 scenario. Frontiers in Education, 7, 933457. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.957175
Collins, T., Gormley, B., Murray, J., O'Connor, B., Purser, L., O'Sullivan, D., & O'Brien, T. (2016). Enhancing student engagement in decision-making: Report of the working group on student engagement in Irish higher education. Higher Education Authority. https://www.iua.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/HEA-IRC-Student-Engagement-Report-Apr2016.pdf
Cutri, R. M., Mena, J., & Whiting, E. F. (2020). Faculty readiness for online crisis teaching: Transitioning to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. European Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4), 523-541. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1815702
Fedoruk, L., Wright, A., Anowai, A., & Osondu, Y. (2021). Students as partners in a COVID-19 online teaching and learning environment. International Journal on Innovations in Online Education, 5(1). https://onlineinnovationsjournal.com/streams/scholarship-of-online-teaching-and-learning/22c62f2d451dba6b.html
Ferrer, J., Ringer, A., Saville, K., Parris, M. A., & Kashi, K. (2020). Students' motivation and engagement in higher education: The importance of attitude to online learning. Higher Education, 83, 317-338. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00657-5
Fielding, M. (2001). Students as radical agents of change. Journal of Educational Change, 2(2), 123-141. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017949213447
Flynn, S. (2021). Education, digital natives, and inequality. Irish Journal of Sociology, 29(2), 248-253. https://doi.org/10.1177/07916035211004815
Flynn, S. (2022). The enhancing digital teaching and learning project. Irish Universities Association. https://www.iua.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IUA_EDTL_Project-Report-2022.pdf
Flynn, S., & Noonan, G. (2020). Mind the gap: Academic staff experiences of remote teaching during the Covid 19 emergency. All Ireland Journal of Higher Education, 12(3). https://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/view/495
Flynn, S., Ongolly, F., & Fhionnlaoich, M. (2023). Students as partners in digital teaching and learning: A case of the IUA-EDTL project. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368447231
Godbold, N., Hung, T.-Y., & Matthews, K. E. (2021). Exploring the role of conflict in co-creation of curriculum through engaging students as partners in the classroom. Higher Education Research & Development, 41(7), 2276-2290. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2021.1887095
Gravett, K., Kinchin, I. M., & Winstone, N. E. (2020). 'More than customers': Conceptions of students as partners held by students, staff, and institutional leaders. Studies in Higher Education, 45(12), 2574-2587. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1623769
Guangul, F. M., Suhail, A. H., Khalit, M. I., & Khidhir, B. A. (2020). Challenges of remote assessment in higher education in the context of COVID-19: A case study of Middle East College. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 32(4), 519-535. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-020-09340-w
Hall, J., Velickovic, V., & Rajapillai, V. (2021). Students as partners in decolonising the curriculum: Lessons learnt at the University of Brighton, UK. Journal for Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change, 7(1). https://journals.studentengagement.org.uk/index.php/studentchangeagents/article/view/1036
Healey, M., Bovill, C., & Jenkins, A. (2015). Students as partners in learning. In J. Les (Ed.) Enhancing learning and teaching in higher education: Engaging with the dimensions of practice (pp. 141-172). Open University Press.
Healey, M., & Healey, R. L. (2024). The role of academic developers in initiating, developing, and supporting student-staff partnerships in learning and teaching in higher education: A systematic narrative literature review and a new framework. International Journal for Academic Development, 29(3), 289-317. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2024.2338487
Healey, R. L., & France, D. (2024). 'Every partnership [... is] an emotional experience': Towards a model of partnership support for addressing the emotional challenges of student–staff partnerships. Teaching in Higher Education, 29(2), 657-675. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1080/13562517.2021.2021391
Hickling, S., Bhatti, A., Arena, G., Kite, J., Denny, J., Spencer, N. L., & Bowles, D. C. (2021). Adapting to teaching during a pandemic: Pedagogical adjustments for the next semester of teaching during COVID-19 and future online learning. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 7(2), 95-102. https://doi.org/10.1177/2373379920987264
Hill, K., & Fitzgerald, R. (2020). Student perspectives of the impact of COVID-19 on learning. All Ireland Journal of Higher Education, 12(2). https://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/view/459
Irish Higher Education Authority. (n.d.). Home. https://hea.ie/
Irish Universities Association. (n.d.). Home. https://www.iua.ie/ourwork/learning-teaching/digital-learning/
Klinkenberg, E. F., Versteeg, M., & Kappe, R. F. (2023). Engagement and emotional exhaustion among higher education students: A mixed-methods study of four student profiles. Studies in Higher Education, 49(2), 335-349. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2281533
Knox, M., Hawkins, C., & Wilson, S. (2020). Students as partners: Lessons from student perspectives during COVID-19. Teaching Matters 2020–Learning in 2021: Strengthening Connections. https://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/507800
Lockee, B. B. (2021). Online education in the post-COVID era. Nature Electronics, 4(1), 5-6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-020-00534-0
Lowney, R., Flynn, S., Byrne, J., Hamill, D., Molloy, K., Moloney, D., . . . O'Mara, T. (2019). Enhancing digital capacity in teaching and learning in Irish universities. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344355695
Mahaye, N. E. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on education: Navigating forward the pedagogy of blended learning. Research Online.
McLeod, J. (2011). Student voice and the politics of listening in higher education. Critical Studies in Education, 52(2), 179-189. https://doi.org/10.1080/17508487.2011.572830
Mercer-Mapstone, L., Dvorakova, S. L., Matthews, K. E., Abbot, S., Cheng, B., Felten, P., . . . Swaim, K. (2017). A systematic literature review of students as partners in higher education. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i1.3119
Munro, M., Corr, E., Abraham, C., Gottlöber, S., Nagi, J., Meyler, R., & Waters, M. (2022). Learning together in, and about, student-staff partnership in higher education. AISHE-J: The All Ireland Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 14(1), 1-19. https://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/view/651
Nordmann, E., Horlin, C., Hutchison, J., Murray, J.-A., Robson, L., Seery, M. K., & MacKay, J. R. (2020). Ten simple rules for supporting a temporary online pivot in higher education. PLOS Computational Biology, 16(10), e1008242. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008242
Núñez-Canal, M., de Obesso, M. d. l. M., & Pérez-Rivero, C. A. (2022). New challenges in higher education: A study of the digital competence of educators in Covid times. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 174, 121270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121270
Sah, R. (2021). Students as partners in learning and teaching: Assessing the effectiveness of student evaluation of teaching. Asian EFL Journal, 28(3), 66-85. https://www.elejournals.com/asian-efl-monthly-editions/aej-monthly-edition-2021/volume-28-issue-3-1-june-2021/
Sam, A. H., Reid, M. D., & Amin, A. (2020). High‐stakes remote‐access open‐book examinations. Medical Education, 54(8), 767-768. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14247
Stoker, C., & Cole, J. (2025). Communicating compassionately: How the University of Exeter is changing the way it speaks with its students and why. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 29(1), 3-7. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603108.2025.2474559
Varwell, S. (2021). Models for exploring partnership: Introducing sparqs' student partnership staircase as a reflective tool for staff and students. International Journal for Students as Partners, 5(1), 107-123. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v5i1.4452
Whelehan, D. F. (2020). Students as partners: A model to promote student engagement in post-COVID-19 teaching and learning. All Ireland Journal of Higher Education, 12(3). https://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/view/479
Yang, L. H. (2021). Online learning experiences of Irish university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. All Ireland Journal of Higher Education, 13(1). https://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/view/499
Zarandi, N., Soares, A. M., & Alves, H. (2022). Student roles and behaviors in higher education co-creation–A systematic literature review. International Journal of Educational Management, 36(7), 1297-1320. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-08-2021-0317
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 David Hamill, Ben Ryan, Ruairi O’Gallchoir, Alice Hynes, Aoibhinn Nic Giolla Mhartain, Katharina Kurz, Robyn Myler, Lauren Muldowney
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process - this applies to the submitted, accepted, and published versions of the manuscript. This can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access).
