Cultivating student-led digital transformation

Student partners’ insights into best practices for investigating students' digital needs

Authors

  • Lauren Bolz University of Oxford
  • Charlie Baxter University of Oxford
  • Rachel Hu
  • Samira Mohammed Ibn Moro
  • Carmelo Radici
  • Evelyn Tang
  • Helen Webster University of Oxford

Keywords:

staff student partnership, digital skills, Educational research, students as researchers

Abstract

In an ever-evolving digital landscape, understanding and addressing students' digital needs have become paramount for higher education institutions. This article provides insights into one approach to this task—a partnership between students and staff that aimed to investigate students' digital needs over a 10-week summer internship. Through this exploration, this article aims to provide insights into the challenges, questions and solutions that arose during our project, thereby offering a practical guide for institutions and educators contemplating a similar journey. Key lessons learned from this project include the importance of establishing students and staff as peers, embedding care into student support structures, and prioritising student-led contributions in overcoming some of the challenges inherent to student-staff partnership work. 

Author Biographies

Lauren Bolz, University of Oxford

Lauren Bolz is an Educational Development Project Officer in the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Oxford. 

Charlie Baxter, University of Oxford

Charlie Baxter was a student partner in the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Oxford, studying for an MMath in Mathematics.

Rachel Hu

Rachel Hu was a student partner in the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Oxford, studying for an MPhil in International Relations.

Samira Mohammed Ibn Moro

Samira Mohammed Ibn Moro was a student partner in the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Oxford, studying for an MSc in African Studies.

Carmelo Radici

Carmelo Radici was a student partner in the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Oxford, studying for an BA in English.

Evelyn Tang

Evelyn Tang was a student partner in the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Oxford, studying for an MSc in Education (Digital and Social Change).

Helen Webster, University of Oxford

Helen Webster is an Educational Development Consultant on Academic Skills in the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Oxford.

References

Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C. and Felten, P. (2014). Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching: A Guide for Faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN: 1118836065

Krantz, C. M. and Smith, L. G. (2020) Beyond Think-Pair-Share: A Quick Guide to Effective Collaboration. London: Routledge. ISBN: 9781000201581

McGill, L. (2023). Framework for digital transformation in higher education. Jisc. Available at: https://beta.jisc.ac.uk/guides/framework-for-digital-transformation-in-higher-education (Accessed 30 September 2023)

Mercer-Mapstone, L., Islam, M. and Reid, T. (2021) ‘Are we just engaging “the usual suspects”? Challenges in and practical strategies for supporting equity and diversity in student–staff partnership initiatives’, Teaching in Higher Education, 26(2), 227-245. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2019.1655396

Ollis, L. and Gravett, K. (2020) ‘The Emerging Landscape of Student–Staff Partnerships in Higher Education.’ In: Gravett, K., Yakovchuk, N. and Kinchin, I. M. (eds.) Enhancing Student- Centred Teaching in Higher Education: The Landscape of Student-Staff Research Partnerships, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 11-27. ISBN: 9783030353964 Reid, T. (2023) ‘Keynote: EDI Student-staff partnerships,’ Change Agents' Network

Conference, Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire and Jisc.

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Published

05/10/2024

How to Cite

Bolz, L., Baxter, C., Hu, X., Mohammed Ibn Moro, S., Radici, C., Tang, Y., & Webster, H. (2024). Cultivating student-led digital transformation: Student partners’ insights into best practices for investigating students’ digital needs. The Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change, 10(1). Retrieved from https://journals.studentengagement.org.uk/index.php/studentchangeagents/article/view/1291

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 1 (2024): Reimagining partnerships to generate new learning opportunities: Conference Special

Section

Case Study

License

Copyright (c) 2024 The Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change

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Copyright is held by the journal. The author has full permission to publish to their institutional repository. Articles are published under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence.