The rewards of collaborative observation

In this latest episode, teaching staff and students from Loughborough University and Birmingham City University (BCU) come together to discuss the opportunities for enhancing the student learning experiences offered by a new collaborative observation project they’ve been engaged in.  

The podcast is chaired by QAA's Dr Kerr Castle, who observes that this Collaborative Enhancement Project has been grounded in a sense of humanity and practicality which seems especially appealing in the current HE environment. 

The project lead is Professor Matt O’Leary, Director of the Education Research Centre at BCU. Participants in the project – and in the podcast – also include Holly Pickford and Alistair Bardwell (lecturers in Health Sciences at BCU), Simran Gohil and Nikki Godridge (students in Health Sciences at BCU), and Dr Laura Jenkins and Dr Yanning Yang (university teachers in Psychology and Computer Science at Loughborough). 

Professor O'Leary explains that "the essence of this project is that we have a collaboration between staff and students working as equals – as partners – through the vehicle of a cycle of collaborative observation."  

The project has promoted opportunities for participants to reflect on their experiences of learning together and how these reflections have affected their overall understanding of their subject areas.

You can find out more about this QAA-funded Collaborative Enhancement Project by visiting our website.