• About WordPress
    • WordPress.org
    • Documentation
    • Support
    • Feedback
  • Log In
  • About
    • Mission
    • Board of Directors
    • Committees
    • Bylaws
    • Strategic Plan
    • Annual Reports
    • Administrative Centre Staff
    • Contact Us
  • Members
    • Benefits of Membership
    • Join or Renew
    • Get Involved
    • Awards
  • Opportunities
    • Interest Groups
    • The Conference
    • The Journal
    • International Collaborative Writing Groups
    • ISSOTL Fellows Program
    • Committees
    • Board of Directors
  • Events
    • Annual Conference
      • Conference Listing
  • Publications
    • Teaching & Learning Inquiry
    • ISSOTL Blog
  • Updates
    • Blog
    • News
    • Jobs
    • ISSOTL Social Media
    • Become a Member
    • Log in
International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL)
  • About
    • Mission
    • Board of Directors
    • Committees
    • Bylaws
    • Strategic Plan
    • Annual Reports
    • Administrative Centre Staff
    • Contact Us
  • Members
    • Benefits of Membership
    • Join or Renew
    • Get Involved
    • Awards
  • Opportunities
    • Interest Groups
    • The Conference
    • The Journal
    • International Collaborative Writing Groups
    • ISSOTL Fellows Program
    • Committees
    • Board of Directors
  • Events
    • Annual Conference
      • Conference Listing
  • Publications
    • Teaching & Learning Inquiry
    • ISSOTL Blog
  • Updates
    • Blog
    • News
    • Jobs
    • ISSOTL Social Media
    • Become a Member
    • Log in

Blog

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Blog
  • Students as Partners: Surprised at ISSOTL17

Students as Partners: Surprised at ISSOTL17

  • Posted by ISSOTL Admin
  • Categories Blog
  • Date January 22, 2018

Written by Corinne Green, University of Wollongong (corinneg@uow.edu.au)

ISSOTL as a whole is remarkably welcoming of students, student voice, and student participation. This is particularly palpable at the annual conference, with student welcome events, student presentation and poster awards, and presentations about and for students. It was at ISSOTL16, my first international conference, that I first became aware of the concept of ‘Students as Partners’, along with a range of other new-to-me SoTL terms.

I was at ISSOTL16 as a research assistant and a soon-to-be PhD student and teacher educator, having been encouraged to come and accompanied by my colleague/supervisor/boss, Dr Michelle Eady. While there, we made connections with a number of people from around the world who were, like us, figuring out what SoTL means in our institutions and our work. Michelle and I (from Australia) became close with some delightful Irish folks (Dr Marian McCarthy, Dr Briony Supple, Jacinta McKeon, and James Cronin) as well as a lovely American (Ashley Akenson). Recognising that the significant conversations we were having in LA would likely be squashed by the realities of our real lives, with their pesky obligations, deadlines, and general busyness, we made a ‘pinky swear’ that we would keep in touch beyond the conference.

We video-conferenced from three time zones throughout the year, stretching and supporting each other’s understanding and implementation of SoTL in our contexts. We joyfully reunited at ISSOTL17, and presented our experiences at the conference (for more details about our SSONG – Small, Significant Online Network Group – and how you too can connect with international colleagues around SoTL, keep an eye out for our forthcoming paper!).

At this presentation, an insightful comment from Trent Maurer revealed that we had been engaging in a ‘students as partners’ project all year. This was, to be honest, a bit of a surprise! Of course, we knew that four out of the seven SSONG members (Ashley, Jacinta, James, and myself) were PhD students, and that the demands of their theses had prevented two of our number (Jacinta and James) from attending ISSOTL17, and yet it was still odd to think of our group as a ‘students as partners’ initiative.

Upon reflection, I have realised that this is perhaps how the best ‘students as partners’ projects should be. If you can get to the point where the students are equal contributors, where their voices and perspectives are given the same amount of respect and value as anyone else’s, then you may well have achieved true partnership.

For our group, I believe a catalyst for this partnership was the fact that we met on equal terms, as researchers, at a research conference. There was no need to segregate between the ‘students’ and the ‘academics’ – in fact, these lines were blurred by the very nature of our roles as researchers, educators, and learners. We noticed more difference (and I mean that in the most positive sense possible) between our contexts that in our status, and this led to fruitful conversations about SoTL around the world. Each member of our SSONG had expertise to share – from Marian’s poetic analogies of the work we were engaged with, to Ashley’s considered reflections, to my organisational skills. Because of these intentional and accidental aspects of our collaboration, we have all been equal and valued partners in our efforts to have significant conversations that go beyond the ISSOTL conferences.

While it was a surprise to discover that we were doing ‘students as partners’ work, it has been delightful and very rewarding to work in partnership with international colleagues as we explore the impact of SoTL in our own contexts. Can I encourage you – whether student, academic, or a bit of both – to consider how you can partner with your colleagues as we SoTL together?!

  • Share:
author avatar
ISSOTL Admin

Previous post

ISSOTL Elections - Spring 2018 (Nominations Due Feb 26)
January 22, 2018

Next post

Nancy Chick honored with 2017 Distinguished Service Award
March 19, 2018

You may also like

EdVee+Blog+Image
EdVee: A Visual Diagnostic and Course Design Tool for Constructive Alignment
27 January, 2023
75079_image
Searching and Reviewing the Literature on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL): An Academic Literacies Perspective Parts 1 & 2
27 January, 2023
69375_image
A Pedagogy of Slow: Integrating Experiences of Physical and Virtual Gallery Spaces to Foster Critical Engagement in SoTL
26 January, 2023

Search

Categories

  • Blog
  • Jobs
  • News
  • Teaching & Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal Content

Archives

  • January 2023 (7)
  • December 2022 (1)
  • November 2022 (1)
  • October 2022 (6)
  • September 2022 (2)
  • August 2022 (4)
  • July 2022 (5)
  • June 2022 (4)
  • May 2022 (2)
  • April 2022 (2)
  • March 2022 (9)
  • February 2022 (7)
  • January 2022 (6)
  • December 2021 (4)
  • November 2021 (4)
  • October 2021 (2)
  • September 2021 (1)
  • August 2021 (1)
  • June 2021 (1)
  • May 2021 (2)
  • April 2021 (1)
  • March 2021 (2)
  • February 2021 (5)
  • January 2021 (2)
  • December 2020 (4)
  • October 2020 (3)
  • September 2020 (2)
  • August 2020 (1)
  • June 2020 (4)
  • April 2020 (1)
  • March 2020 (3)
  • January 2020 (2)
  • November 2019 (5)
  • October 2019 (31)
  • September 2019 (3)
  • July 2019 (1)
  • April 2019 (3)
  • March 2019 (27)
  • January 2019 (2)
  • November 2018 (2)
  • October 2018 (6)
  • August 2018 (1)
  • July 2018 (1)
  • June 2018 (2)
  • May 2018 (9)
  • March 2018 (1)
  • January 2018 (3)
  • December 2017 (2)
  • November 2017 (1)
  • October 2017 (3)
  • September 2017 (2)
  • August 2017 (5)
  • June 2017 (4)
  • May 2017 (2)
  • April 2017 (2)
  • March 2017 (3)
  • February 2017 (2)
  • January 2017 (4)
  • November 2016 (3)
  • October 2016 (4)
  • September 2016 (1)
  • August 2016 (1)
  • May 2016 (1)
  • April 2016 (3)
  • March 2016 (1)
  • February 2016 (3)
  • January 2016 (1)
  • December 2015 (3)
  • November 2015 (6)
  • August 2015 (1)
  • July 2015 (1)
  • June 2015 (2)
  • May 2015 (2)
  • April 2015 (1)
  • February 2015 (2)
  • January 2015 (3)
  • December 2014 (2)
  • November 2014 (1)
  • August 2014 (1)
  • May 2014 (1)
  • April 2014 (1)
  • January 2014 (3)
  • December 2013 (3)
  • November 2013 (1)

ISSOTL

© 2023 International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) All rights reserved.

Contact Us

MENU

ABOUT

MEMBERS

OPPORTUNITIES

EVENTS

PUBLICATIONS

UPDATES

Facebook Twitter Linkedin Youtube

Web Design by Clio Websites. Powered by WordPress.

Login with your site account

Lost your password?