Students as partners within a centre for teaching and learning: a qualitative analysis of challenges and benefits

ABSTRACT

Centres for teaching and learning (CTLs) often play a brokering and supporting role in student partnerships (SaP), but there is little research exploring partnerships between students and academic developers. Our study qualitatively examined whether students perceived themselves as partners within a CTL, even though this was not explicitly articulated as SaP. Results indicated students perceived themselves as partners and developed transferable skills: professionalism, communication and collaboration, leadership, and research. Additionally, the benefits enhanced the CTL mission for teaching and learning. Our findings imply that meaningful partnerships with students and related benefits can occur in a relationship-rich context outside a formally articulated SaP program.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic development
• centre for teaching and learning
• student partnerships
• transferable skills

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jade Roy

Jade Roy is a recent graduate from the Bachelor of Education program at Western University. Her research focuses on student partnerships, maker education, and mathematics. Prior to this, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at the University of Windsor.

Laura Chittle

Laura Chittle is a learning specialist in the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Windsor, Canada where her research currently focuses on student partnerships and curriculum development. She began this research during her doctoral studies in Kinesiology, where she was funded by a Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship, a Sport Canada Research Initiative Grant, and an Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

Elizabeth Ismail

Elizabeth Ismail is a PhD Candidate in Argumentation Studies at the University of Windsor. Her research focus is on Argument and Critical Thinking Education. She currently works as a Network Coordinator for the GATA Network at the University of Windsor.

Erika Kustra

Erika Kustra is the Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Windsor; Associate Professor, Department of Psychology; and Past-Chair of the Canadian Educational Developers Caucus (EDC). She has been an educational developer for over 20 years, with research interests and publications on assessing the impact of centres, educational leadership, students as partners, teaching culture, and indigenizing curriculum. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6902-2836