“Do you? I don’t!” – Engaging students in research on technologies for inquiry-based learning

Sabine Little s.little@shef.ac.ukRyan Jendoubi jpa05rj@shef.ac.uk

www.shef.ac.uk/cilass

LICK, Edinburgh, 30th October 2008

Staff-student partnerships???Please spend 10-15 minutes walking about, looking at the

various quotes and chatting to each other about this concept.

An example of partnership?

• Barbara

CILASS & the SAN

• HEFCE-funded CETL working with 26 departments to enhance inquiry-based learning

• Student representation from bid stage onwards• Student Ambassador Network – 28 SAs, 60

hours/year, £7/hour, 1 student co-ordinator, 105 hours/year

• 5 Working groups, engagement at departmental and institutional level

• No sabbaticals

The Networked Learning Study

• 2007/08: students from the departments of Music and Law, in-depth discussions regarding their use of technology for IBL

• Expansion for 2008/09:– the inclusion of further subject areas, in order to provide a

broader picture of technology use for both formal and informal IBL; and

– the involvement of students as partners in the research process.

• Five students from six disciplines:– Music– School of East Asian Studies– History– Law– Sociology– Politics

Meet the team

Chloe – Music Barbara – Law Su – Sociology

Ryan – School of East Asian Studies

Phil - CILASS

Georgie - History Sabine - CILASS

Research Questions

1. a) How do students in the Arts and Social Sciences use technology for the inquiry process in formal and informal learning situations? b) What are the implications of 1a) for the use of technology to support various aspects of IBL, e.g. collaborative inquiry, reflection, information literacy and creativity?

2. What do students perceive as an ‘innovative’ use of learning technologies for inquiry?

3. What (if any) are the issues surrounding disciplinarity in the development of teaching and learning resources using technology to support the inquiry process?

Things we grapple with

Power?

• Georgie

Whose benefit?

• Chloe

Are students “good enough”?

• Su

Discussion

• What can staff-student partnerships mean in the context of academic research?

• By whom and for whom is knowledge created?

• How can technology help (as an equaliser, communication aid, or...)?