Three ways to turn students into active partners in their education

Empowering students in programme design and delivery can cultivate a sense of shared responsibility between students and staff. Here’s how we’ve embedded student co-creation into our master’s programme for education.

1. Equip student representatives to become strategic partners

Student representatives are usually students elected within their institution to voice concerns and liaise between the student body and staff. They can detect early signs of academic or personal difficulties among their peers, and amplify voices that might otherwise be overlooked, especially those of quieter or marginalised classmates. They are indispensable partners in building an inclusive academic community. 

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However, providing them with more mentorship and support can elevate these benefits. It not only gives programme administrators valuable insight into the student experience but offers an opportunity to cultivate a participatory environment.

There is a view that student representatives are more likely to access internships, compensation and privileged information. But emphasising inclusivity, collegiality and participation can reframe the position as a distributor of roles and responsibilities in the greater community of learners, rather than as self-serving members. 

Student representatives create more opportunities for their peers to establish close ties with academic staff through extracurricular activities. Some also help maintain classroom order. For instance, they arrive earlier than others to prepare the classrooms or lecture halls. This not only ensures a smooth beginning of the lesson but encourages their peers to respect the importance of the class and get deeply involved in the course content. 

Plus, when student representatives are entrusted with responsibilities, it motivates them to better perform their duties and serve as role models to their peers. During this process, their enthusiasm, commitment and sense of belonging form a virtuous cycle that benefits the entire learning community. 

The most active student representatives receive certificates, which acknowledge their valuable roles and underscore appreciation from the programme administration. Some former student representatives have found this experience helpful when they start careers in education themselves.

2. Rethinking the student support system 

Student support is an essential task for academic and administrative staff. With class sizes increasing, offering sustained and personalised attention to each student can be difficult. Passive support can only do so much, and when students experience serious problems, they can quickly escalate into crises if they can't get through to their educators. 

How to prevent problems in advance? Student representatives can be crucial here. Most students will have a closer relationship with their peers than with their educators, and student representatives can become active partners in providing support to others.

3. Design a learning assessment together with students

Students can also be effective partners when designing learning assessment assignments. 

Last year, we noticed that some students were unfamiliar with the pre-assigned presentation topics and felt anxious. Teachers and administrators encouraged the students to propose their own topics within the course framework, and they received this suggestion with enthusiasm. The co-design approach helped develop students’ skills in topic selection and scope definition, while ensuring alignment with the established learning goals.

This approach not only respects students’ voices but stimulates their thirst for knowledge. It transforms the class into a collaborative space and helps shift the role of students from passive learners to active co-creators.

The future of higher education will be built on a foundation of care. By empowering our students to help each other, we’ve laid the groundwork for a dynamic and engaged learning community. 

Anatoly Oleksiyenko is professor in the department of education policy and leadership, Weiyan Xiong is assistant professor, and Jing Zhang is a graduate student, all at The Education University of Hong Kong.

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