Co-creation in Education

What is co-creation? 

Co-creation is a term commonly used in the field of business; however, it has a place in education as well. In education, co-creation involves inviting students to participate in constructing knowledge or designing materials, activities, and assessments for a course. Co-creation acknowledges the value of student voices and experiences to learning, and it promotes student engagement and ownership of the learning.  

To better understand co-creation, it is helpful to explore the different levels of student participation or involvement in the curriculum. One way to explore this concept is by looking at a model called the Ladder of Participation, which is explained in the following video. The video includes three questions to help you reflect on your experiences with student participation in the curriculum.  

Ladder of Participation Video

What are the benefits of co-creation? 

Co-creating with your students has many benefits, including the following as outlined in Co-creating with Students, 2022. 

  • Stronger learning relationships that promote empathy and trust 
  • Improved disciplinary learning (students) and learning about teaching (teachers) 
  • Deeper engagement as students and as teachers 
  • More confidence as learners or teachers 
  • Shift toward shared responsibility for learning and teaching 
  • Stronger sense of belonging to a learning community  
  • Enhanced curricular materials and teaching approaches  

What are the challenges of co-creation? 

Despite the many benefits of co-creation, there are a few challenges to consider when planning to engage students in co-creation.  

  • Co-creation “requires the teacher to relinquish some inherent power and, similarly, requires students to take responsibility in their empowered status as partners in the classroom.” (Deely and Bovill, 2017, p. 465). In this case, it is important to build trust, establish transparency, and work together to establish guidelines for the co-creation process. 
  • Time management could be another challenge. Since the practice of co-creation might be new to some students, you might have to use some class time to acclimate them to the process and expectations.  

Types of co-creation 

Bovill et al. (2017) present different levels of student involvement in the curriculum. In the most restrictive form, the dictated curriculum, students have no control or input into the curriculum. In the least restrictive form, students negotiate learning activities with the instructor or have control of the curriculum design. According to Co-creating with Students (2022), here are four ways to involve students in co-creation: 

  • Partnership classroom. In the partnership classroom, all students contribute ideas and feedback on different aspects of the course throughout the semester. For example, an instructor can 
    • seek student input on the exam format prior to preparing for the exam 
    • ask students to contribute scenarios based on their experiences to incorporate into classroom activities 
    • survey students at intervals to adjust topics and upcoming assignments  
    • include space on an assessment for students to give written feedback to support learning  
    • solicit input from students to create course policies and build the syllabus 
  • Pedagogical consultation. Like the partnership classroom, the instructor incorporates students’ ideas and feedback to enhance teaching and learning; however, the consultation happens with a certain group of students instead of the full class. Examples could include   
    • identifying students who have interests or strengths in specific areas and consulting with them to co-facilitate lessons that relate to those areas 
    • asking students for examples in real-time and using them to demonstrate concepts during the lecture 
  • Curriculum co-design. This form of co-creation involves working with some students before, during, or after a subject to redesign the curriculum or co-design a whole new subject. For example, an instructor can 
    • work with a former student to restructure the course by identifying new materials, activities, or assessments 
    • ask students to redesign a completed assignment to make it ideal and then use the new iteration for the next assignment 
    • have students generate assessment questions, test them with their classmates, and add them to a test bank for future assessments 
  • Knowledge co-creation. This form of co-creation engages students in research and inquiry activities that contribute to new disciplinary knowledge, including pedagogical knowledge. For example, students can work alongside faculty to  
    • gather survey data   
    • write literature reviews  
    • conduct interviews  
    • conduct field or lab work 
    • Instructors can combine these strategies in a single course or engage students in different types of co-creation across semesters. Note: Some forms of knowledge co-creation can be done with current or former students and might require IRB approval.  

To better understand co-creation, it is helpful to explore the different levels of student participation or involvement in the curriculum. One way to explore this concept is by looking at the Ladder of Participation model, which is explained in the following video. The video includes three questions to help you reflect on your experiences with student participation in the curriculum.  

References: 

  • Bovill, C., Cook-Sather, A., Felten, P., Millard, L., & Moore-Cherry, N. (2015). Addressing potential challenges in co-creating learning and teaching: Overcoming resistance, navigating institutional norms and ensuring inclusivity in student–staff partnerships. Higher Education, 71(2), 195–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-015-9896-4  
  • Deeley, S. J., & Bovill, C. (2017). Staff student partnership in assessment: enhancing assessment literacy through democratic practices. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 42(3), 463–477. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2015.1126551  
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