Partnering with students to redesign an introductory chemistry laboratory course: An exploration of the process and implications

Abstract

The most effective teaching and learning environments are those in which students are involved as active partners with faculty, and the greatest impact occurs when faculty go beyond asking students for feedback and instead involve them in design, production, and implementation. In this paper, we explore the process of student-faculty co-creation by presenting a specific case involving students as partners in the redesign of an introductory chemistry laboratory course to incorporate more group learning, support students’ skill development, and increase students’ sense of belonging in chemistry. This case study investigates how faculty can set up and structure a successful co-design partnership and attend to potential challenges as well as how educational developers and teaching centers can work in partnership with faculty and students to design or redesign courses.

Humanizing STEM education through student-faculty pedagogical partnerships

“…Similarly, a chemistry instructor who worked with several student partners to redesign an introductory chemistry laboratory course asserted that the lessons they learned "were invaluable and not only enhanced this specific course, but their teaching overall" (Jardine et al, 2023).…”

“…Mercer-Mapstone et al ( 2021) also report that students and faculty working together on an academic development project aiming to enhance the inclusivity of science curricula experienced changes in perception, like an increase in sense of belonging for both faculty and students and fairness in decisionmaking for students. Likewise, Jardine et al (2023) report that participation in a course redesign project increased student partners' sense of belonging. And finally, Bunnell et al (2021) explain that: "The experience of co-creating the Being Human in STEM Initiative increased the pioneers' stakes in the Amherst community, providing a thread of continuing connection, belonging, and personal investment" (37).…”

Fostering Student Well-being in Higher Education

“…Promising examples of doing so encompass students-as-partners approaches, namely, perceiving students as co-creators of their studies. Academic research has started to embed the students-as-partners approach as an initiative for teaching to involve students in the educational design (Jardine et al, 2023). Anderson and colleagues (2023) identified four beneficial themes for students experiencing co-design settings.…”

“…Beyond that, other case studies have identified further positive outcomes of students-as-partner practices in course design. Students experience positive learning experiences, increased skill and personal development, flexibility, empowerment, and effective communication systems (Georgieva et al, 2023;Jardine et al, 2023;Payne et al, 2023). Furthermore, teachers benefit from directly perceiving students' development (Payne et al, 2023).…”

“…The innovative nature of the intervention may have been an obstacle, as teachers may not have seen all possibilities that come with a co-creational approach despite having been informed about it beforehand. Nevertheless, students-as-partners approaches hold considerable promise for academia (Georgieva et al, 2023;Jardine et al, 2023;Payne et al, 2023). As a relatively new field in educational research, realising student-as-partners or co-creational initiatives may still seem unconventional and challenging the academic hierarchy.…”