Reflections on the Manchester Workshop by Robbie Bickerton, Troy Astarte & Gemma Crowe
Reflections on the Manchester Workshop by Robbie Bickerton, Troy Astarte & Gemma Crowe
Robbie Bickerton:
The HIDIM workshop in Manchester was a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas and hear different perspectives.
I came to this workshop as a mathematician with an interest in history and the different contexts underlying mathematical developments. The workshops was a great opportunity to connect with others who have similar interests and learn from their expertise and suggest areas for collaboration. In particular it is exciting to see how such discussions around history, diversity and bias can be embedded into the teaching of maths going forward.
Troy Astarte:
Perhaps it was the theming of this workshop around co-creation, but I noticed a distinctly reflective tone creeping into many discussions—on- and off-stage—as participants thought about their relationships with students in a deeper way than in others. Indeed, the presence of some students grounded our talk in real student experiences in a way that reporting on outcomes didn’t quite provide. Perhaps we should seek to have regular student members of the working group? We must also remember, however, that the students who are sufficiently keen not only to engage in co-creation but to travel to a workshop outside of term-time might not fully represent the entire cohort! On a more personal note, I enjoyed the discussions of neurodiversity and queerness coming in, and I believe this was the event that I have attended with the highest proportion of non-binary people outside specifically queer spaces. Small wonder I felt comfortable in the space!
Gemma Crowe:
Tom Coleman (University of St Andrews) gave an excellent talk entitled “Student-staff co-creation for accessibility and inclusion”, in which he discussed three student co-creation projects. The talk was followed by a closely related panel discussion on co-creation projects. Many of the outputs from these projects are now available on the HIDIM repository (https://www.mathshist4edi.org.uk/). Here are some of my thoughts and takeaways from these discussions.
“Guide rather than a boss”
This was a quote from Tom about how we approach student-staff co-creation which really stuck with me. It gives students more agency, but I think, crucially, it helps to bridge the gap between students and what can often feel like the ‘intimidating’ lecturer. I think it can be easy to forget as staff that as a student, approaching staff can be daunting for students. However, leaving students somewhat in the dark with no guidance at all may also prove unproductive.
Projects as modules?
There are pros and cons to running these projects as credited undergraduate courses. There can be better engagement and motivation, and staff have direct contact with students. On the other hand, marking can be difficult and time-consuming.
Feedback from students
Two points were made about what students found enjoyable or helpful in these projects. One was the sense of community created by working in pairs or groups and exchanging ideas. The other was enthusiasm from their teachers! Having an open line of communication throughout meant that staff were approachable and helped break this barrier. Tom also emphasised in his talk how much we can learn from students that we otherwise wouldn’t think about – for example, the STARMAST website gained more attention and awareness through a social media campaign by the university.
Setting up projects
Student-staff co-creation can be a win-win: students gain valuable experience and skills for career development, as well as pay for their contributions. Staff get fresh ideas and innovation, direct feedback on course material and engagement of students, and most importantly, create high-quality resources with the students.
In terms of finding students to work with, it was noted that grades don’t mean everything. Students who find the work more challenging may also be the best candidates and will get the most out of projects like these. One thing to consider is to seek out ‘keen’ students (e.g. those who come to office hours) who may have a more personal investment in the project.