Scottish Higher Education Developers October 2018 | Page 16

STUDENTS AS COLLEAGUES IN THE REVIEW OF TEACHING PRACTICE

Rachel Murray, Edinburgh Napier University
Students as Colleagues( SaC) is an award winning initiative created by and run out of the Department of Learning and Teaching Enhancement at Edinburgh Napier University. SaC pairs volunteer lecturers with student volunteers, taken from different disciplines. The student trains in professional and academic skills such as collegiality, giving sensitive and useful feedback and conducting focus groups, then conducts evaluations of the lecturer’ s teaching practice, including using observations of teaching, focus groups with their students and looking at teaching materials. The project was inspired by Fielding’ s concept of‘ radical collegiality’; a form of collaboration that deliberately challenges traditional hierarchies of power( Fielding 1999). Working together as both learners and colleagues, the lecturer receives an innovative form of valuable objective student feedback, and the student receives a unique experience that adds to their employability and
Word cloud capturing quotes from empowers their voice. participating 2017 / 18 students
“ It was interesting to get out of my comfort zone and immerse myself into a radically different environment.”( Student participant)

STUDENTS as COLLEAGUES

“ I used my experience and some of my learning from it towards my own postgraduate studies, and as evidence towards my application for the Higher Education Academy”.( Staff participant)
Reference
Fielding, M., 1999. Radical Collegiality: Affirming Teaching as an Inclusive Professional Practice. The Australian Educational Researcher. 26( 2) pp. 1-34. Available at http:// dx. doi. org / 10.1007 / BF03219692
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Celebrating 25 years of SHED