Duncan Cross

The University of Bolton is a Teaching Intensive Research Informed (TIRI) institution.
In 2016, a successful bid was made for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Catalyst fund in Innovation in teaching and learning. The bid written by the principal investigators was based on their mutual interest in students as partners and the co-production of technology-based learning interventions. The project engaged undergraduate students researching their own student body, to discover the needs of the student community. This paper discusses the process of the technological development of a mobile app and reflects on the project incorporating student and staff voice.

Anxieties can be typical to pregnancy. At the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, pregnant women were classified as at risk and advised to shield. This may have caused increased generalised anxiety disorder and health anxiety across the demographic. This study aimed to explore current, actual and perceived levels of generalised anxiety disorder and health anxiety in pregnant women during the COVID-19 outbreak. A sample of 674 participants completed an online questionnaire consisting of demographic and pregnancy related questions, the GAD-7 and HAI. The COVID-19 outbreak has increased self-reported levels of general anxiety and health anxiety in pregnant women. Of the sample, 633 (94%) agreed that the outbreak had increased their general anxiety; 607 (90.1%) also reported increased health anxiety. Due to the negative effects that anxieties may cause during pregnancy, it is recommended that reintroducing normality to pre- and postnatal healthcare, where safe to do so, will be beneficial.

This case study considers a students-as-partners’ research project that aimed to develop technologically-driven tools to enhance teaching and learning in higher education. It focuses on how the project enabled student participants to gain real world research skills and experience. We present reflections from both a student and a staff perspective and propose START (Support, Time, Adapt, Risks, Trust) as an approach to engage students to gain real-world research skills. Support refers to providing support for skills gaps and learning in an applied setting. Time refers to providing time to settle into the project and develop confidence, including realistic timeframes and deadlines. Adapt refers to giving students the space to develop not only the required skills but also the tools to develop their own abilities and confidence through a supportive, flexible and open environment. Risks refers to taking risks for example in terms of roles, responsibilities and leadership. Trust refers to providing guidance and encouragement that will allow students to achieve on their own and take shared ownership.

In order to enable learners to take control of their learning needs and actively contribute in their learning processes, educators can partner with students in various reciprocal student-staff partnership (SSP) settings where students can be co-creators, co-producers, curators or co-deliverers of the curriculum. This case study, undertaken to enhance the curriculum as part of teaching qualification, places emphasis on educators partnering with first-year undergraduate students over e-content creation within an existing module using readily accessible digital applications in order to promote active learning in students and improve student engagement. The extent to which SSP as an approach to the creation of e-learning materials using digital applications, enhanced learning and student engagement in an existing module, was evaluated. Results indicated, students’ perceived SSP to be an excellent platform for learning, actively engaging in the classroom as well as for developing various skills. However, some concerns were expressed with regards to overcoming the power hierarchy barrier within an SSP initiative.

We often talk about managing learner’s expectations, whether that be around attendance, achievement, career aspirations, university choices, further training or life generally. But the major issue with this is that we as educators are ‘managing’ someone else’s expectations, when we don’t necessarily have a true understanding of what is occurring with that person, writes Dr Duncan Cross, Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Bolton.

The rise in UK university fees has prompted significant investment in the student experience, with increased emphasis on an agenda that promotes student engagement and partnership. Government papers, both white and green, have set out a policymaking agenda and have led to a reorganisation of the UK higher education funding structures, with the dissolution of long-standing funding bodies into the Office for Students. This enshrines chapter B6 of the QAA UK quality code for higher education with regard to student engagement and would appear to be a positive move forward. However, the Office for Students has limited student representation and this raises the question: ‘Who sets this agenda and who are the stakeholders?’ This opinion piece seeks both to highlight the necessity for a joint agenda-setting approach and to engage the community in developing a joint agenda on student engagement and partnership.