There are various ways in which students and staff can collaborate in partnership. Dr Catherine Bovill and Dr Cathy Bulley developed a “Ladder of Participation.” This model is particularly useful when reflecting on the types of participation and partnership that may occur between students and staff. The figure below (developed by Dr’s Bovill and Bulley) highlights the range of ways in which students and staff may engage with one another when designing curriculum or engaging in initiatives.
To find out more about the Ladder of Participation, you may want to read this fantastic chapter:
Bovill, C. and Bulley, C.J. (2011) A model of active student participation in curriculum design: exploring desirability and possibility. In Rust, C. Improving Student Learning (18) Global theories and local practices: institutional, disciplinary and cultural variations. Oxford: The Oxford Centre for Staff and Educational Development, pp176-188.

Dr Catherine Bovill, Institute for Academic Development, University of Edinburgh catherine.bovill@ed.ac.uk