While co-creation is hardly a new approach, it resonates at a time when higher education is increasingly tuned in to the student voice, and as equity, belonging and flexibility are prioritised in teaching. This approach, where educators and students collaborate on how learning is achieved, offers students insight into the teaching process and develops their critical thinking skills, while educators gain from seeing learning, assessment and engagement through other viewpoints.
Whether applied to curricula, course materials, in-class exercises or assessment, co-creation requires agility, openness, transparency, trust and confidence from educators as well as students. Students need to be willing to bring their experiences into their learning; teachers need flexibility to apply different pathways to learning outcomes; and course controllers and departments need to allow space for pedagogies that challenge traditional learning hierarchies.
In this 60-minute discussion, we ask four experts from Australian Campus+ partner institutions to draw out the skills, institutional support and elements such as psychological safety required for effective co-creation in the classroom.
Our panellists are:
Kathleen Mahon is a senior lecturer in higher education innovation in the Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation at the University of Queensland.
Joseph Wenta is a lecturer and programme convenor in the School of Law and Justice at the University of Newcastle, Australia.
Lorelle Burton is the associate provost at the University of Southern Queensland, an award-winning educator, author of psychology textbooks, researcher and co-convenor of Student Voice Australasia.
Iven Mareels is pro vice-chancellor for research and innovation and the executive dean of the Institute for Innovation, Science and Sustainability at Federation University Australia. He has previously served as a director of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, a partner in IBM Consulting and director of the Centre for Applied Research at IBM Australia and was dean of engineering at the University of Melbourne from 2007 to 2018.
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