Students as co- researchers in epistemic communities: new forms of

engagement and knowledge construction

Dr . Sue Timmis, Graduate School for EducationDr. Jane Williams, Centre for Medical Education

• Introduction• Models of undergraduate

research• Engagement and agency• Co-researcher model and

examples• Conclusions

Overview

Reconfiguring higher education relationships

• Students as producers: collaboration to create work of social importance ,full of academic content and value

• Communities of scholars(Neary & Winn, 2009).

• Academic apartheid v. inclusive knowledge-building communities (Brew, 2007)

What kinds of examples and models of

undergraduate research have you come across?

What do we mean by the term ‘engagement’?

• Many definitions imply normative requirements and desired outcomes

• But…‘requires feelings and sense making as well as activity’ (Harper & Quaye, 2009, p5.)

• Commitment and attachment

Engagement…..

Epistemic Engagement

..initiating and participating in epistemic or initiating and participating in epistemic or knowledge building practices typical of knowledge building practices typical of disciplinary communities through a wide disciplinary communities through a wide range of opportunities for intellectual range of opportunities for intellectual engagement and interaction(Larreamendy-engagement and interaction(Larreamendy-Joerns & Leinhardt, 2006)Joerns & Leinhardt, 2006)

Relational agency (Edwards, 2005)

“A capacity to align one’s thought and actions with those of others in order to interpret problems of practice and to respond to those interpretations” (Edwards, 2005, p.169)

Engagement in digital media practices

• Boundary crossings across formal and informal

• Ethical concerns associated with capturing digital data created outside of institutional ‘walls’

• Participatory research - authentic, situated data

Students as co-researchers

• Epistemic engagement and relational agency as underpinnings

• Authenticity - students’ own digital media practices, knowledge creation activities they initiate and sustain.

• Relevance for students own work and development

• Research involving students own digital media practices ‘in the wild’ across and beyond institutional boundaries.

• Community based - developing shared goals and activities , students valued as members of the collaborative team

• Longitudinal rather than focussing on short term ‘snapshots’, exploring changing practices over time.

Understanding students’ uses of digital tools when working on clinical placements

ProjectsInvestigating undergraduate online communication and collaborative practices

Exploring the role of digital media in supporting non traditional students in higher education

Some challenges

power relations

differences in purposes

Accreditation and assessment constraints

equality of access and involvement

Conclusions

• Collaborative research models aim at being mutually beneficial to all members

• Authenticity, value and relevance to students’ epistemic community

• Epistemic engagement - knowledge creation, research expertise

• Relational agency through reconfigured relationships

Sue.Timmis@bristol.ac.uk

J.Williams@bristol.ac.uk

ReferencesBased on our new book chapter….•Timmis, S. E. & Williams, J. (2013 forthcoming) Students as co-researchers: a collaborative, community-based approach to the research and practice of technology enhanced learning in The Student Engagement Handbook: Practice in Higher Education. E Dunne & D Owne, Eds , Emerald

Other references

•Brew, A. (2007). Research and teaching from the students’ perspective’. International policies and practices for academy enquiry. . An International Colloquium on Research and Teaching. . Winchester, UK. Retrieved from http://portallive.solent.ac.uk/university/rtconference/2007/resources/angela_brew.pdf•Edwards, A. (2005). Relational agency: Learning to be a resourceful practitioner. International Journal of Educational Research, 43(3), 168–182. doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2006.06.010•Harper, S. R., & Quaye, S. J. (2009). Beyond sameness, with engagement and outcomes for all: An Introduction. In S. R. Harper & S. J. Quaye (Eds.), Student Engagement in Higher Education Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations (pp. 1–15). Routledge.•Larreamendy-Joerns, J. J., & Leinhardt, G. (2006). Going the distance with online education. Review of Educational Research, 76(4), 567–605.•Neary, M., & Winn, J. (2009). The student as producer: reinventing the student experience in higher education . In L. Bell, H. Stevenson, & M. Neary (Eds.), The future of higher education: policy, pedagogy and the student experience (pp. 192–210). London: Continuum.•Trowler, V. (2010). Student Engagement Literature Review (p. 74). York, UK. Retrieved from http://www-new2.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/studentengagement/StudentEngagementLiteratureReview.pdf