Students as Partners

In Europe, the focus of student engagement in representation and governance has shifted over time from that of protest to that of service provision (see, e.g. Klemenčič 2011), with students' unions increasingly taking on the role of service provision. This shift has been noted elsewhere (see Luescher 2010) and associated with the strengthening grip of managerialism and a neoliberal discourse. This erosion of the traditional role of student representation has been contrasted against the ideal of more meaningful engagement of students as partners, and indeed examples of the latter exist. This paper draws upon research funded by the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education in the UK into leadership for student engagement in challenging conditions, and explores the benefits and the costs of engaging as partners in governance and learning for both student representatives and their institutions.  

Recognizing that university statements about equity, diversity, and inclusion are often cosmetic, performative, or at best, aspirational, rather than indicative of on-campus realities, this project analyzes interpretations of student identity and diversity through publicly available materials. The primary purpose of this research was to investigate how university messages about equity, diversity, and inclusion, available through public websites, are interpreted by faculty and students. Using a students-as-partners approach, we identified and analyzed themes based on our own perceptions and understandings of each of five university

Undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) have long been shown to support student learning in higher education, but most of the research on UTAs has been done in Western contexts. The aim of this study was to pilot a UTA programme within a first-year, interdisciplinary, team-based qualitative research methods course with fieldwork component at a large university in Singapore and evaluate the overall UTA experience. The findings pinpoint the UTAs’ motivations to serve, self-assessed contributions to student learning, expected and realized challenges, personal benefits both sought and gained, and post-course reflections as well as suggestions for improvement in future programmes. These UTAs, like their Western counterparts, are committed and capable peer mentors who can collaborate meaningfully with instructors to enhance undergraduate learning.

This article focuses on the process of conducting a research project which explored the university student experience across three different geopolitical contexts using students studying at an English university as co-inquirers. The project sample included students at different stages of their  university experience (undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral) studying across a range of disciplines in India, Ireland and England. Qualitative interview data were collected by the student co-inquirers using Skype technology. The student co-inquirers were equal partners in all
aspects of data collection and analysis but were not part of the initial theoretical framework and methodological decisions. The student engagement as co-inquirers
provided a particular space for the student voice to be heard in making multiple meanings from the data. The shifting identities of the co-inquirers and the impact of taking part in the project on their ability to enact agency with a particular voice within a democratic, participatory research framework is discussed. The authors conclude that participation of students in research as co-inquirers involve both
risks and benefits mainly associated with the inherent difficulties with unequal power relationships, managing student agency and understanding multifaceted
complexities that arise from shifting identities.

Keywords: student as co-enquirer;

Student engagement has been widely hailed as the solution to all that ails higher education but there is little agreement on the meaning or ambit of the term. Similarly, literature concerning ‘non-traditional’ students is characterised by a multiplicity of meanings and assumptions, seldom spelled out, ascribed to the term, which is nonetheless imbued with analytical and predictive significance. This paper uses data from early stages of the research to illustrate the importance of conceptual clarity in a study of engaging non- traditional students, illuminated through the lens of the Marxian notion of ‘chaotic conceptions’. The paper examines the ideological work being done in disguising interests and inequities through the use of chaotic conceptions and uses the examples of students who define themselves as ‘non-traditional’ in their own study contexts to illustrate the problems of deploying such chaotic conceptions for purposes beyond description.

Recognizing that university statements about equity, diversity, and inclusion are often cosmetic, performative, or at best, aspirational, rather than indicative of on-campus realities, this project analyzes interpretations of student identity and diversity through publicly available materials. The primary purpose of this research was to investigate how university messages about equity, diversity, and inclusion, available through public websites, are interpreted by faculty and students. Using a students-as-partners approach, we identified and analyzed themes based on our own perceptions and understandings of each of five university websites University of Calgary (Canada), University of Alabama (USA), Deakin University (Australia), University of Exeter (UK), and Portland State University (USA). While equity, diversity, and inclusion are signature initiatives at many universities, we found that analyses of their websites suggest that the ways in which those are operationalized differ. ...

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Newcastle University ePrints-eprint.ncl.ac.uk Könings KD, Bovill C, Woolner P. Towards an interdisciplinary model of practice for participatory building design in education.

Students and staff from KCL’s Social Sciences BA programme turn the research lens back on their own world and together explore the many challenges of ‘trying to do things differently’ in Higher Education. In doing so, they grapple with fundamental questions in education such as: how to meaningfully foreground democracy, partnership, and emotional care; the role and limits of free speech; and how to deconstruct enduring inequality and marginalisation. In a period of considerable change and challenge for education, there is surely no better time to be critically analysing the principles guiding our universities through the lens of real-life practice. "In a period when university arrangements are being rethought in the wake of COVID-19 and the resurgence of Black Lives Matter, this compelling text is both timely and forward looking. ‘We’re trying to do things differently’ successfully brings together first year undergraduates and lecturers to research, analyse and document how students and staff co-create meaningful educational experiences. The authors offer a nuanced picture of the centrality of relationships and recognition to the degree course. It shows how the students foreground love, kindness and social justice, rather than curriculum and outcomes, while being alert to the politics of difference and absence in higher education classrooms. The book draws on well-worn and innovative writing styles to produce analyses and arguments that are eye-opening, persuasive and raise difficult questions for future educational practices. This book is a must for anyone interested in championing excellence and social justice in higher education." - Ann Phoenix, Professor of Psychosocial Studies, UCL Institute of Education "This is a book with a difference. It is based on critical scholarship and draws on reflexive analysis but – and this is the important and unique part - it is a book written mainly by university students about how to enact meaningful relationships in the academy. It takes as its substantive focus one new undergraduate programme but the agenda is about change, social justice and the hard work of real inclusion. This book stands as a wake-up call to all of us who care deeply about socially just education and democracy in our institutions of higher education. It is also a wonderful example of how to write something that really matters!" - Meg Maguire, Professor of Sociology of Education, King’s College London

This case study discusses the implementation of Healey, Flint, and Harrington's (2014) model of student engagement through partnership with staff. Healey et al. (2014) identify issues associated with “putting partnership into practice” including inclusivity and scale, power relations, reward and recognition, transition and sustainability, and identity. Faculty, staff, and students participating in a Students as Partners (SaP) Program at McMaster University’s MacPherson Institute encountered these issues during a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) project. This paper explores our reflections and suggests refinements related to the above five issues. It concludes by identifying possible new directions for SaP programs.

A useful way of exploring partnership between staff and students is through visual representations of partnership, where the concept sits alongside other ideas in scales or diagrams. They enable comparison, benchmarking and reflection in a way that is facilitative rather than instructional. Many such tools approach partnership in different ways and can be used in various contexts by staff and students. This article explores some of those tools, and introduces sparqs’ student partnership staircase, a simple tool which places partnership at the top of a four-step scale, prompting conversations about the role that students can and should play in shaping quality and how staff and institutions can enable this. Consideration is given to how the staircase can be used to create mutual learning spaces for staff and students and prompt shared understandings about partnership in quality.

Students and staff from KCL’s Social Sciences BA programme turn the research lens back on their own world and together explore the many challenges of ‘trying to do things differently’ in Higher Education. In doing so, they grapple with fundamental questions in education such as: how to meaningfully foreground democracy, partnership, and emotional care; the role and limits of free speech; and how to deconstruct enduring inequality and marginalisation. In a period of considerable change and challenge for education, there is surely no better time to be critically analysing the principles guiding our universities through the lens of real-life practice. "In a period when university arrangements are being rethought in the wake of COVID-19 and the resurgence of Black Lives Matter, this compelling text is both timely and forward looking. ‘We’re trying to do things differently’ successfully brings together first year undergraduates and lecturers to research, analyse and document how students and staff co-create meaningful educational experiences. The authors offer a nuanced picture of the centrality of relationships and recognition to the degree course. It shows how the students foreground love, kindness and social justice, rather than curriculum and outcomes, while being alert to the politics of difference and absence in higher education classrooms. The book draws on well-worn and innovative writing styles to produce analyses and arguments that are eye-opening, persuasive and raise difficult questions for future educational practices. This book is a must for anyone interested in championing excellence and social justice in higher education." - Ann Phoenix, Professor of Psychosocial Studies, UCL Institute of Education "This is a book with a difference. It is based on critical scholarship and draws on reflexive analysis but – and this is the important and unique part - it is a book written mainly by university students about how to enact meaningful relationships in the academy. It takes as its substantive focus one new undergraduate programme but the agenda is about change, social justice and the hard work of real inclusion. This book stands as a wake-up call to all of us who care deeply about socially just education and democracy in our institutions of higher education. It is also a wonderful example of how to write something that really matters!" - Meg Maguire, Professor of Sociology of Education, King’s College London

Recognizing that university statements about equity, diversity, and inclusion are often cosmetic, performative, or at best, aspirational, rather than indicative of on-campus realities, this project analyzes interpretations of student identity and diversity through publicly available materials. The primary purpose of this research was to investigate how university messages about equity, diversity, and inclusion, available through public websites, are interpreted by faculty and students. Using a students-as-partners approach, we identified and analyzed themes based on our own perceptions and understandings of each of five university websites University of Calgary (Canada), University of Alabama (USA), Deakin University (Australia), University of Exeter (UK), and Portland State University (USA). While equity, diversity, and inclusion are signature initiatives at many universities, we found that analyses of their websites suggest that the ways in which those are operationalized differ. ...

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Newcastle University ePrints-eprint.ncl.ac.uk Könings KD, Bovill C, Woolner P. Towards an interdisciplinary model of practice for participatory building design in education.

Roman coins provide rich and wide-ranging opportunities for student learning about the ancient Mediterranean. In this article we examine how Roman coins can serve as a catalyst for student research, teaching, and learning projects. We use the pedagogical approach Students-as-Partners as a framework, both in terms of students as curriculum developers and as peer-teachers, to discuss the implementation of experiential learning projects using Roman coins. These projects provide students with a unique opportunity to re-contextualise what they have learned and to communicate that knowledge to their peers.

As a case study, we provide details about the creation and presentation of a teaching module on Roman coins written for From Stone to Screen–a student-run, digital humanities project. We identify some of the challenges that may arise from Students-as-Partners projects and provide an appendix with practical suggestions for each component of the project, as well as possible assessments which could be adapted and implemented in other teaching contexts. Our aim is to encourage others to consider utilizing Students-as-Partners projects as a way to increase accessibility to departmental and museum collections and provide students the opportunity to forge their own connections to the ancient world.

The Onsite/Offsite Insights (OOI) project aims to foster ‘transformative learning in a research-enriched environment’ (Framing Our Futures) for Ancient History students through exploratory design and co-curricular testing of archaeological fieldwork training activities in collaboration with student consultants as firstly, participant-observers and, ultimately, participant-contributors. Ancient History students have limited opportunities to participate in archaeological fieldwork in genuine ancient contexts: over the past 5 years an average of 9 of the c. 800 enrolled undergraduate students have completed the fieldwork unit annually (Departmental estimates). For the small cohort who does, there is little access to pre-departure field skill training embedded within the curriculum. In response to the needs of these students, the Telemachus Ancient History Mentor Program (hereafter Tele’s Angels) began offering peer-led Archaeological Fieldwork Seminars in 2008 (average yearly attendance: n=40) in consultation with Macquarie University’s Egypt, Mediterranean and Near East archaeological field directors to advise potential ‘dig’ students from application to life on-site. In addition to the financial pressures experienced by university students however, recent global developments and new university health and safety requirements for international excavations have placed further constraints and competition on fieldwork prospects. Given the reduced opportunities and access to practical learning experiences (Ulm, Mate, Dalley & Nichols, 2013), it is not surprising that recent results from the Australian University Survey of Student Engagement reveal that less than 25% of students feel their studies contributed to their ability to solve complex, real-world problems (A.C.E.R., 2012); while the Graduate Course Experience Survey shows that approximately 50% of students feel university staff are primarily concerned with student rote learning (memorization) than understanding (Carroll, 2013). Archaeological fieldwork accelerates thinking skills, metacognition and independent learning for both future career professional archaeologists and the majority who will find employment outside the field (Brookes, 2008; Ulm, Nichols & Dalley, 2013). This project responds to the learning experience and skill gap (Colley, 2007) through: exploratory design of practical fieldwork activities, led by the long existing staff-student community of practice in the Department of Ancient History (Tele’s Angels); testing in co-curricular contexts facilitated by students; and application of the results to curriculum teaching practice of Ancient History and BArch units for the benefit of all students.

o processo de transição da forma de Estado ditatorial, implantada durante o regime cívico-militar no Brasil (1964-1985), para a forma de um Estado Democrático de Direito embasado pelo princípio dos direitos humanos. Pela ótica da Justiça de Transição, busca-se compreender as nuances de seu uso no Brasil e sua real capacidade de intervenção no plano político-institucional. Percebendo a transversalidade da questão de disputa por hegemonia e suas consequências, como a organização de blocos no poder para implementação de projetos políticoeconômicos, o artigo trata de identificar o papel do neoliberalismo nesse processo transicional, da ditadura para a democracia, identificando as perspectivas teóricas acerca da democracia, os direitos e as atribuições do Estado. Identifica-se que as intersecções entre neoliberalismo e Justiça de Transição potencializam uma "excepcionalidade continuada" no Estado brasileiro, fazendo com que se mantenham, ainda que sob a forma de Estado Democrático de Direito, estruturas antidemocráticas.

We explored opportunities, advantages and barriers to enabling students to establish student-led learning events at a New Zealand university. We used an action-research approach to explore if students felt empowered to use the infrastructure of this university to realise something that they themselves set out to achieve. We discovered that, in achieving a series of open discussions about sustainability, students adopted a democratic, distributed form of decision-making, not unlike a typical academic model, with leaders taking temporary roles that included passing on responsibility to those who followed. Students were proud of the events they created and identified the discussion format as something different from their experience as undergraduate students in our institution. This article, co-authored by staff and students, considers whether higher education processes that do empower students do so adequately and the extent to which students are prepared by higher education to take on powerful roles after they graduate. Keywords Students as partners Á Empowered students Á Students as teachers Á Student-centred learning and teaching Á Blurring of teaching and learning roles

This paper examines one specific question: How students as partners have contributed to the First Year Transition Program (FYTP), student engagement and retention. The partnership with senior students as First Year Transition Officers (FYTOs), First-Year Mentors (FYMs), and staff in the academic space at the selected university created a shared responsibility to first year student retention goals. This paper describes the new First Year Transition Program (FYTP) piloted in 2019 at the selected university. It further describes how the student partnership enhanced first-year student engagement, transition and retention. An interpretivist approach was used to collect qualitative data from the First Year Transition Officers (FYTOs) who are postgraduate students located in each of the seven faculties. Literature on students as partners framed and guided the institution's first year transition program. This paper includes examples of how the more personalised and interactive approach of the FYTP enhanced peer engagement and active participation in academic support. The program also empowered the FYTOs as it improved their self-efficacy and confidence which resulted in the student leaders (FYTOs) taking ownership of the transition program that elevated it to enhance first year transition. The findings of this study indicate that a carefully designed and intentional use of students as partners in the FYTP can achieve successful results. The study demonstrates that the sharing nature of the reciprocal partnership with student leaders and academics, and the peer-to-peer supportive relationships increased feelings of acceptance, trust and mutual respect that contributed to the students' sense of connectedness and engagement to the university.

This article looks at the issues surrounding the Student Voice aspect of Periodic Review of taught degree programmes at the University of Reading, focusing on current students, and describes how steps have been taken to make it a more informative and effective contribution to the process in the form of the Student Submission.

Sector-wide research has shown the benefits of student-staff partnerships in course design whilst highlighting the complexity of this work, and the difficulties in gaining traction to create sustained ways of working. Reflections by academic developers on the roles and partnerships in course design at one Australian university reveal the critical three-way partnership among academic developers, students, and academics. The benefits brought by a Course Design Studio model in providing a liminal space to sustain positive threeway collaborations are outlined. This paper offers a conceptual argument that addresses areas of concern often encountered in traditional course design student-staff partnership relationships.

Recognizing that university statements about equity, diversity, and inclusion are often cosmetic, performative, or at best, aspirational, rather than indicative of on-campus realities, this project analyzes interpretations of student identity and diversity through publicly available materials. The primary purpose of this research was to investigate how university messages about equity, diversity, and inclusion, available through public websites, are interpreted by faculty and students. Using a students-as-partners approach, we identified and analyzed themes based on our own perceptions and understandings of each of five university websites University of Calgary (Canada), University of Alabama (USA), Deakin University (Australia), University of Exeter (UK), and Portland State University (USA). While equity, diversity, and inclusion are signature initiatives at many universities, we found that analyses of their websites suggest that the ways in which those are operationalized differ. ...

This study aimed to assess the perceptions of staff and students as to the type of support required to complete a technology-based assessment task effectively and whether students see the value to their own learning in the creation of videos to explain complex biological phenomona to their peers. The post-assessment survey responses revealed a level of satisfaction with the project, but it also revealed several shortcomings, particularly in communication, planning and implementation, and the design of the individual projects. This intervention is a good example of how using new technologies in teaching can lead to clear learning and teaching benefits such as increased student engagement and improved student understanding.

This paper examines one specific question: How students as partners have contributed to the First Year Transition Program (FYTP), student engagement and retention. The partnership with senior students as First Year Transition Officers (FYTOs), First-Year Mentors (FYMs), and staff in the academic space at the selected university created a shared responsibility to first year student retention goals. This paper describes the new First Year Transition Program (FYTP) piloted in 2019 at the selected university. It further describes how the student partnership enhanced first-year student engagement, transition and retention. An interpretivist approach was used to collect qualitative data from the First Year Transition Officers (FYTOs) who are postgraduate students located in each of the seven faculties. Literature on students as partners framed and guided the institution's first year transition program. This paper includes examples of how the more personalised and interactive approach of the FYTP enhanced peer engagement and active participation in academic support. The program also empowered the FYTOs as it improved their self-efficacy and confidence which resulted in the student leaders (FYTOs) taking ownership of the transition program that elevated it to enhance first year transition. The findings of this study indicate that a carefully designed and intentional use of students as partners in the FYTP can achieve successful results. The study demonstrates that the sharing nature of the reciprocal partnership with student leaders and academics, and the peer-to-peer supportive relationships increased feelings of acceptance, trust and mutual respect that contributed to the students' sense of connectedness and engagement to the university.

Recently, there have been several scathing critiques of student engagement research for being under-theorised (Gourlay, 2016; MacFarlane & Tomlinson, 2017), and whilst this is a significant generalisation with the danger of undermining many beneficial student engagement efforts, there is a growing sense that we must ensure co-creation, partnership and student engagement work retains or adopts a critical stance. In this context, I have had some concerns that it is not always clear who makes decisions and how decisions are made within partnerships and it is sometimes overlooked that students and staff might have different roles in co-creation at different stages. In response, I present below three different frameworks that I have found useful in furthering discussions about decision-making in partnership: 1) Early design decisions in co-creating curricula (Bovill, 2014); 2) Decision mode levels (Heron, 1992); and the participation matrix (DFID, 2003; Konings, Bovill & Woolner 2017; Bovill, 2017). These frameworks enable us to analyse how different individuals are involved in different ways at different stages of any co-creation process.

This case study discusses the implementation of Healey, Flint, and Harrington's (2014) model of student engagement through partnership with staff. Healey et al. (2014) identify issues associated with “putting partnership into practice” including inclusivity and scale, power relations, reward and recognition, transition and sustainability, and identity. Faculty, staff, and students participating in a Students as Partners (SaP) Program at McMaster University’s MacPherson Institute encountered these issues during a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) project. This paper explores our reflections and suggests refinements related to the above five issues. It concludes by identifying possible new directions for SaP programs.

This paper explores a model for developing student and staff partnerships to enhance the quality of teaching and learning and situates the model in literature on student engagement. The model enables staff and students to step outside their normal roles and the traditional student-teacher relationship into a less pre-defined mode of interaction and liminal space where conversations about teaching and learning can take place. At the most transformative, this model enables academic staff to get a sense of learner perspectives and to view students as partners and collaborators while students develop insights into the perspectives of staff. The authors argue that the model represents an innovative approach to engaging students in a meaningful way in enhancing teaching and learning and has the potential to reframe the student-teacher relationship into a more collaborative one that goes beyond listening to students.

In this article, we describe our students-as-partners process for bringing undergraduate and academic staff together to develop a mobile application (app) - CampusFlora - for use across our campuses. Our project at the University of Sydney, Australia, was conceived as a way to improve the botanical literacy of biology students by engaging undergraduates to develop online maps of plant locations coupled with information relevant to biology curriculum. Through continuous improvements to the CampusFlora app system, we have expanded the user-base well beyond the life  science student cohorts and now offer content that embraces cultural competence and organisational health initiatives. We offer reflections from student and staff partners on the project that highlight the value of the students-as-partners approach, and the potential value of establishing student partnerships across disciplines, across institutions, and into the community at large.

This paper explores how the English language privileges and empowers certain epistemologies and ontologies in international higher education in the UK. The author discusses how the English language is used to construct assumptions and practices to legitimise particular ways of constructing knowledge. The main argument is that language provides a lead in silencing and marginalising alternative forms of coming to know within diverse cultures, thus creating feelings of disempowerment and dislocation for some learners. The paper highlights how learners from different cultures make sense of the role of language within the context of UK higher education, in terms of power, cultural politics and intellectual hegemony. It also suggests that ontological and epistemological stances are socially and culturally constructed, albeit reduced to linguistic constructions within UK university contexts.

In this article, we describe our students-as-partners process for bringing undergraduate and academic staff together to develop a mobile application (app) - CampusFlora - for use across our campuses. Our project at the University of Sydney, Australia, was conceived as a way to improve the botanical literacy of biology students by engaging undergraduates to develop online maps of plant locations coupled with information relevant to biology curriculum. Through continuous improvements to the CampusFlora app system, we have expanded the user-base well beyond the life  science student cohorts and now offer content that embraces cultural competence and organisational health initiatives. We offer reflections from student and staff partners on the project that highlight the value of the students-as-partners approach, and the potential value of establishing student partnerships across disciplines, across institutions, and into the community at large.

Recently, there have been several scathing critiques of student engagement research for being under-theorised (Gourlay, 2016; MacFarlane & Tomlinson, 2017), and whilst this is a significant generalisation with the danger of undermining many beneficial student engagement efforts, there is a growing sense that we must ensure co-creation, partnership and student engagement work retains or adopts a critical stance. In this context, I have had some concerns that it is not always clear who makes decisions and how decisions are made within partnerships and it is sometimes overlooked that students and staff might have different roles in co-creation at different stages. In response, I present below three different frameworks that I have found useful in furthering discussions about decision-making in partnership: 1) Early design decisions in co-creating curricula (Bovill, 2014); 2) Decision mode levels (Heron, 1992); and the participation matrix (DFID, 2003; Konings, Bovill & Woolner 2017; Bovill, 2017). These frameworks enable us to analyse how different individuals are involved in different ways at different stages of any co-creation process.

Many authors have drawn attention to the difficulty in defining student engagement (see for example Bryson, 2014; Dunne, 2016; and Trowler, 2010). This difficulty is deepened by national differences that Buckley (2014) highlights, describing how in the UK, student engagement is used to refer to issues of governance as well as pedagogy, whereas in the USA the term tends to focus more specifically on pedagogy. Trowler (2010) drawing on the work of others highlights the behavioural, emotional and cognitive aspects of engagement, while Bryson emphasises the importance of acknowledging the differences between engaging students (what institutions do to engage students) and students engaging (what students do to engage). Anyone exploring student engagement, faces the challenge of articulating the focus of engagement: for example, defining what is being engaged with (e.g. learning processes, learning design, online/classroom based learning, extra-curricular activities, institutional governance, see Trowler, 2010) and whether student engagement is seen as a pre-condition/influence, a process or an outcome (see for example Kahu, 2013 for a helpful ‘conceptual framework of engagement, antecedents and consequences’). Student engagement is a multifaceted concept that overlaps with related constructs and factors such as student partnership
and student motivation, as demonstrated in Dunne’s (2016) recent list of the diverse ways in which student engagement activities are currently described in higher education and thus explaining the usefulness of a ‘jargon buster’ (Hancock, this volume) in some settings. The work contained in this volume that reflects the work of the REACT Project is focused on engaging hard to reach students. To add to the complexity of defining student engagement, many of the authors in this volume report the difficulties faced in defining ‘hard to reach’ students. Sims et al (this volume) outline a common range of student groups often considered to be ‘hard to reach’, including: part time; commuters; first generation; international; men; black and minority ethnic; mature; and those with learning difficulties. However, several authors in this volume raise concerns that ‘hard to reach’ is a term that implies students are responsible in some way for being difficult or different and it is therefore their fault that they are disengaged in learning or in university life. Questioning the use of the term ‘hard to reach’ highlights that it may be staff and higher education institutions that actively disengage students by not responding to the diversity of student voices effectively. Our understanding of this more critical perspective can be enhanced further by looking at the seminal work of Sarah Mann on student alienation. Mann’s work, highlights seven ways in which students are often alienated within and by higher education – outlined briefly here.

Problem Statement: Based on 2016 Student Evaluation data, students found the threshold learning concept associated with anatomy difficult to master, as content can be overwhelming due to the perceived need to memorise a large volume of material. Student feedback suggested increased anxiety, potentially resulting in academic underperformance and/or high attrition rates during the first weeks of semester. Since 94% of the second year, Musculoskeletal Anatomy cohort were aged 24 years or younger, unique barriers of teaching digital learners included the need for instant gratification and immediate rewards.
Initiative Purpose: Consistent with Dunne and Zandstra’s (2011) model for students-as-change agents, I developed the ‘Peer2Peer Alliance in Anatomy’ Program, in which the most substantial contribution was co-creation to promote a learning community, through embedding peer-teaching into the curriculum and facilitating active learning through co-design of revision content by 3rd year high achieving students. The peer leaders transformed the digital strategy, under a Teaching with Technology Framework, to create an inclusive student experience, based on learning preferences and social media integration to change interaction patterns between learners and teachers.
Methodology: Deployment of VARK demonstrated that 63% of students were kinaesthetic/visual learners; inspiring the design of visual experiences in blended classrooms. Youtube (84%) was the preferred online content interface, followed by Echo360 (83%) and quizzes (74%). Such data informed the utility of social media for the pastoral care component of the modified Flipped Classroom model, co-created pre-class videos, post-class quizzes and revision podcast, and modern media streams. Specifically, the lightboard has been embraced by co-creation quality enhancement projects across Medicine and Dentistry Disciplines.
Contributions: The program’s success was attested to by improvement in overall student satisfaction in course facilitation and improvement in academic performance. Fail rates decreased from 36% in 2015 to 14% in 2018. 93% of students reported an increased sense of community evidenced by “I really loved having the peer leaders in this course. It was great being able to ask them questions and gain useful advice from them, since they’ve already done it before” (Focus Group, 2017); while student engagement improved, with 73% attending lectures. The retrospective design of the Students as Partners model saw students develop leadership qualities, resulting in empowerment, inclusivity, and improved communication skills to prepare them for STEM related careers

Ancient Ways of Doing
As self-appointed learning and teaching student partners in the Telemachus Ancient History Mentor Program (Tele’s Angels) at Macquarie University, and avid scholars of the discipline of Ancient History, we are very familiar with Aristotle’s peripatetic style of engagement with his pupils at the Lyceum, Athens —walking and talking. What a joy it was to learn that the archaeological evidence at Nalanda University in India (established in AD 450) revealed that student and teaching living spaces were adjacent to a large learning space around a central podium. Both of these examples came into being long before Humboldt’s (1970) articulation of students’ direct involvement in speculative thinking and research communities without strictly planned courses in nineteenth century AD. Or indeed before Benjamin’s (2004) framing of the measure of university’s success through the productivity of its students—positioning  students simultaneously as both teachers and learners in the twentieth century. When did the prominent role of students as active partners in the production and progress of knowledge cease to be standard or best practice? Now, as staff contributors to higher education over the past decade, we wonder: why is it so difficult to gain support for students as partners (SaP) projects, whether it be for institutional funding, or for departmental and faculty peer endorsement and collaboration? Is it because it is perceived as a risky non-traditional pedagogy, despite historical evidence to the
contrary? Could the answer lie in seminal SaP experiences in our own learning history/ies? Perhaps reflection on answers to these questions may provide opportunities to challenge and transform cultures towards SaP initiatives and ensure their sustainability as a fundamental learning experience within higher education.