“It’s nice to know you might make a difference”: engaging students through primary research as an authentic assessment

Journal article


Yates, E. and Oates, Ruby 2021. “It’s nice to know you might make a difference”: engaging students through primary research as an authentic assessment. Student Engagement in Higher Education Journal. 3 (2), pp. 1-19.
AuthorsYates, E. and Oates, Ruby
Abstract

This paper presents the views of undergraduate students on taking part in a small-scale student-staff research project to inform the design of a local community play space. The project repositioned students as researchers by providing them with an opportunity to engage in primary research with children through an authentic assessment task in a final year module. The students took on responsibility for the design and implementation of the primary research to elicit the views of young children aged 6-7 years, alongside Higher Education (HE) lecturers who collected the views of other key users of the space. The students experienced the project as engaging, challenging and as an opportunity for individual professional development, resulting in valuable learning including, increased confidence, professional aptitudes, and applied research skills. While finding much potential in co- research projects for student engagement, we recognise barriers within the higher education curriculum that mitigate against their success as part of assessment. The reconceptualization of HE within a market economy and the changing expectations of students further limit the success of such projects.

KeywordsStudent engagement; authentic assessment; student researchers; staff -student research
Year2021
JournalStudent Engagement in Higher Education Journal
Journal citation3 (2), pp. 1-19
PublisherRAISE network
ISSN2399-1836
Web address (URL)https://sehej.raise-network.com/raise/article/view/1040
hdl:10545/625649
Output statusPublished
Publication dates23 Feb 2021
Publication process dates
Deposited08 Mar 2021, 15:29
Accepted03 Oct 2020
Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

ContributorsUniversity of Derby
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https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/93v47/-it-s-nice-to-know-you-might-make-a-difference-engaging-students-through-primary-research-as-an-authentic-assessment

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