By Rob Higson (Learning Technologist – Curriculum Development)
The co-creation of module content as part of Higher Education courses helps students to be actively involved and engaged with the development of teaching and learning on their course.
Within the new Psychology, Nature & Wellbeing module, Dr Caroline Harvey (Senior Lecturer in Psychology) wanted student involvement in developing materials for the course, particularly around newer areas of research which would be introduced in the module. To address this, a Research Assistant work experience opportunity was created for students, and Chris Winson (BSc Psychology student) was employed to help co-create learning materials.
From the initial work experience engagement, a dedicated module component based on the research was designed, and a blog post was published by Chris.
Alongside the development of the module, the role enabled Chris to develop academic skills, research techniques and grow his confidence in these areas, both of which carried forward into his level 5 studies.
During the Festival of Learning 2021, Caroline and Chris presented an overview of their work, highlighting the benefits of the module, how it helped the Caroline, and what it meant to Chris.
UoD staff, students, and staff at partner institutions can watch the recording here (the presentation runs up until the 15:30 mark). (Click to open in a new tab).