Connecting research requires thinking at the course, department and institutional level. Given your current role, what are changes you could implement?
- Course Level Strategies
- Department Level Strategies
- Institutional Level Strategies
Course Level Strategies- Basic Model
This is a basic model that individuals and course teams can adapt and use to consider their current curriculum and in designing new courses.
- Develop students understanding of the role of research in their discipline
- Develop the curriculum to bring out current/or previous research developments in the discipline.
- Develop student awareness of learning from staff involvement in research.
- Develop student understanding of how research is organized and funded in the discipline/institution.
- The three illustrative case studies develop this approach (See Case Studies).
- Develop students abilities to carry out research/consultancy in their discipline
- Develop the curriculum, in particular how students learn in ways that mirror/support the research/consultancy processes in the discipline.
- Assess students in ways that mirror/support the research/consultancy processes in the discipline. For example requiring students to have their work assessed by colleagues according to the house style of a (fictitious) journal before submitting it to you; this mirrors how academic journals use referees to decide on whether an article is to be published.
- Provide training in relevant research/consultancy skills/knowledge
- Require all students to undertake some research
- This is the effective approach developed in those UK/Australian institutions which require a dissertation for Honours Degrees.
- Develop student involvement in staff research/consultancy
- This is the approach of many US universities - often supported by national/ corporate sponsorship.
- Perhaps, restrict certain research opportunities to selected students
- In the USA, which has long operated a mass higher education system, students' involvement in research with staff is generally restricted to those with high grades.
- Manage student experience of staff research/consultancy
- Limit the negative consequences for students of staff involvement in research/consultancy. Most important here is managing the student experience of the days (and sabbatical terms) when staff are 'away' doing research.
- At a minimum, students need clear information as to when staff are available/away.
- Evaluate/research student experience of research/consultancy and feed that back into the curriculum
- Support students in making clear to them the employability elements of research and consultancy
- This is particularly important for those students whose focus is on using a degree to get employment - and who may not otherwise appreciate the value of a research-based approach.



