Project Investigator(s): Tim Huh, Professor, Sauder School of Business, Sunah Cho, Gregory Werker
Project Description
This case study examines the value of student employees (graduate and undergraduate students) who took various roles behind the scenes of the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) project as contributors to the development of supplementary resources (tutorial videos and practice problems) for COMM290. Instead of viewing students as consumers of knowledge, in this study, we view students as partners in producing knowledge. We aim to explore the benefits to the student employees who were involved in the TLEF project, the instructors and TAs who taught the course with the supplementary resources, and the students of COMM290 who ultimately used the supplementary resources.
Research Questions
The purpose of this study is to identify the potential benefits that instructors and students gained from the TLEF project in the case of COMM290. We are interested in the benefits to the instructors and TAs, the student employees who were involved in developing the course content (supplementary resources), and the students of COMM 290 who directly benefit from the supplementary resources. How does student partnership enhance teaching and learning?
Impact on teaching and learning at UBC
We believe that, through the contribution of this empirical study to the existing literature on students as partners in education, we will strengthen the argument for partnership as an effective approach to student engagement for both teaching and learning practices. With the findings of our case study research, the faculty at UBC (particularly TLEF recipients) can be more encouraged to hire students for content development. Beyond UBC, the faculty of educational institutions will be engaged with more students as producers of knowledge through partnerships in pedagogical work and content development in order to enhance the teaching and learning experiences for all involved.
Project Outcomes
“Our earlier TLEF project developing supplementary resources (videos and problem sets) for COMM 290 (Introduction to Quantitative Decision Making) planted a seed for our SoTL Seed Grant project exploring the value of student contributors’ work in teaching and learning. A dozen student contributors (graduate and undergraduate students) developed 51 videos and 200 problem sets to provide COMM 290 learners who are new to the world of operations and logistics with an accessible and digestible way of learning about the core concepts. We learned that the contribution of the student contributors transformed the teaching experience for the faculty, while enhancing the learning experience for the class, as student contributors provided unique perspectives to educational development, which supports recent pedagogical approaches that students, when empowered, can elevate teaching and learning for all involved. The biggest lesson we learned in this project is to make necessary adjustments in utilizing the supplementary resources for future COMM290 students. Many studies have often shown partnerships between faculty and students are a good thing. Our study results also emphasize the beneficial impacts of student contributors’ work in teaching and learning. We hope our study findings can encourage more faculty members at UBC to engage with more students as producers of knowledge in educational development to enhance the teaching and learning experiences for all involved.”