Constructing partnerships: is the ‘how’ more important than the ‘what’?

Description

In this workshop I will encourage participants to debate the meanings of student-staff partnerships, and what they might look like in practice. The purpose is to highlight some of the implications arising from different interpretations, and the need for these to be addressed early in partnership relationships.
I will begin the session with a short introduction to the URB@N (Undergraduate Research Bursaries @ Northampton) scheme at the University of Northampton, where staff and students work together in partnership to undertake pedagogic research projects. The context for the scheme, along with its aims and structure will be outlined. Participants will then be invited to take part in an activity to explore the meaning of partnerships, adapted from one I use during the induction session for staff and students starting an URB@N project. The aim of this activity is to unpick different definitions and interpretations of partnership, and discuss the implications for these.
In the second part of the workshop, I will explore different models of partnership working. These identified models stem from empirical research conducted with former staff and students who have been part of URB@N. Participants will debate the varying manifestations of partnerships in practice, and associated considerations arising from these.
The workshop activities and surrounding discussions will provide participants with the opportunity to explore how and why staff and students embarking on partnership working for the first time need to be encouraged to discuss these issues from the outset to facilitate the building of a productive relationship.

Period	16 Sep 2019
Event title	Towards Meaningful Partnerships: Student-Staff Collaborations to Enhance Learning and Teaching across the Disciplines: Symposium
Event type	Other
Location	Guildford, United Kingdom
Degree of Recognition	National