Nothing about us without us

Students as Partners initiatives: Academic Skills, the University of Melbourne

Before sharing some of the key Students as Partners (SaP) initiatives we are undertaking, I thought I would share this quote as, for me, it gets to the heart of our approach – equality.

“The concept of ‘listening to the student voice’ – implicitly if not deliberately – supports the perspective of student as ‘consumer’, whereas ‘students as change agents’ explicitly supports a view of the student as ‘active collaborator’ and ‘co-producer’, with the potential for transformation” (Dunne & Zandstra, 2011, p. 4).

Reflecting on this notion prompted an important shift in thinking for our team and led to a revised approach to working with students. We realised that while we were good at listening to students – taking on board feedback and suggestions, implementing them and then listening again – we were not truly working in partnership.

The myriad benefits of working in true partnership with students are well documented (see Boville, Cook-Sather & Felten, 2011; HERDSA, 2014; Healy, Flint & Harrington, 2014; Higher Education Academy, 2015). For our team the three most important were the opportunity to: (1) increase student engagement with our resources; (2) create a sense of connectedness; and (3) develop staff and student knowledge and capabilities. Using the four-stage model of student engagement from the National Union of Students (NUS) and the Higher Education Academy (HEA) (as cited in Healy, Flint & Harrington, 2014, p. 16), we reviewed our existing programs and sought opportunities to move away from Consultation, towards Involvement, Participation, and Partnership.

Key initiatives

Melbourne Talks

Melbourne Talks is a free 6-week program for international students new to the University of Melbourne delivered by the Student Peer Leader Network in partnership with Academic Skills. It aims to help students become more familiar with Australian culture and University life and gain confidence communicating in English, while making friends with other students through fun, peer-led activities. Peer leaders develop and enhance their leadership, interpersonal, communication and networking skills in a professional environment and gain practical experience in group facilitation, program management and positively contribute to the overall University community.

A key success has been the shift in ownership of the program from our team to the Peer Leaders. Initially, we were highly involved in most aspects of the program, including promotion, content development, peer training, participant recruitment and evaluation. While we still offer support and guidance, primary responsibility for these tasks has now passed to the Peer Leaders. Feedback indicates that this partnership has led to a more engaging program, and both peers and participants report feeling an increased sense of connectedness to the university (see Peer Leader reflections for more detail). In the excerpt below, the Senior Peer Leader responsible for the program highlights how she views this partnership.

“Peer participation is central to Melbourne Talks. We are involved in every aspect of the program from the conceptual stages where we lead discussions about intended learning outcomes and decide on how to market the program, through to reading applications, managing communications with participants, and planning the sessions we facilitate. This has been a fantastic opportunity to learn professional skills that will be invaluable after leaving University. However, it also benefits participants when the Peers that actually see and work with them are included in conversations about the program’s future, and their insights and opinions are valued with changes being implemented. By being engaged throughout this process, Peers ultimately gain a sense of ownership over the program that undoubtedly makes for more passionate and engaging facilitations.” – Kelsey Hayes – Senior Peer Leader (Melbourne Talks)

Planned student co-creation projects

We are currently partnering with students in three co-creation projects. Watch this space!

• Project 1: Video resources for students and staff

Approximately 40 students will attend a half day workshop to create videos for both students and staff. These will be used in teaching (face-to-face and online), promotions and our teacher toolkits.

• Project 2: Codesign and delivery of intercultural communication skills programs / resources

We are partnering with students from Culture Bridge to help: redesign and deliver our Intercultural Communication workshops; review and develop online resources for both staff and students.

• Project 3: Incorporating student voice into our online resources

We have just recruited a student intern to work with our team to review and co-design our online resources.  

 

Final thoughts

Key for us in this new and exciting approach is the recognition that staff-student partnership is “a collaborative, reciprocal process through which all participants have the opportunity to contribute equally, although not necessarily in the same ways” (Cook-Sather, Bovill & Felten, 2014, p. 6). We have some way to go in terms of taking a true partnership approach with students, but we are very excited about the opportunities that this presents. Not just the ability to provide a better service to our students, but also the chance to learn from them. 

 

References

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. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2011.568690

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

Dunne, & Zandstra. (2011). Students as change agents – new ways of engaging with learning and teaching in Higher Education. Retrieved from http://escalate.ac.au/8064

Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2014). Engagement through partnership: students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. Retrieved from: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/engagement-through-partnership-students-partners-learning-and-teaching-higher

Higher Education Academic (HEA). (2015). Framework for student engagement through partnership. Retrieved from: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/downloads/student-enagagement-through-partnership-new.pdf