This paper describes the progress of a project running at the University of Glasgow to develop elements of Enquiry Based Learning (EBL) in undergraduate degree courses across a range of disciplines. It focuses on the second part of the project but an overview of the first part is also given. During phase 1 of the project, in the summer of 2007, seven undergraduate students spent four weeks working together exploring enquiry based learning (EBL) in the institution’s central, educational development unit. This phase was approached as an EBL exercise itself; the student groups were given full responsibility for the process with the proviso that by the end of this phase they would have developed a guide for staff and students about EBL. The second phase of the project continues throughout the academic year 07/08.  Here, each student worked alongside a member of staff from their department of study to develop discipline specific EBL activities taking a research-informed approach to this development.   All pairings were charged with introducing EBL such that no major course change procedures had to be followed; this hopefully ensured the sustainability of such adjustments. Staff and students involved in the project represent dentistry, chemistry, biology, theology, law and psychology and the courses under development range from large first year classes to small honours level courses. An overview of the range of enquiry-based learning developments within the courses will be described

Blanton, Ward

Bridges, Madeleine

Carroll, Jacqueline

Crothers, Andrew

Fletcher, Maria

Hood, Alistair

Hope, Daisy

MacKenzie, Jane

Matthew, Bob

Morrow, Lorna

Pritchard, Jane

Storck, Lisa

Thomson, Kate

Tierney, Anne

Wisbey, Jamie

This paper describes the progress of a project running at the University of Glasgow to develop elements of Enquiry Based Learning (EBL) in undergraduate degree courses across a range of disciplines. It focuses on the second part of the project but an overview of the first part is also given. During phase 1 of the project, in the summer of 2007, seven undergraduate students spent four weeks working together exploring enquiry based learning (EBL) in the institution’s central, educational development unit. This phase was approached as an EBL exercise itself; the student groups were given full responsibility for the process with the proviso that by the end of this phase they would have developed a guide for staff and students about EBL. The second phase of the project continues throughout the academic year 07/08. Here, each student worked alongside a member of staff from their department of study to develop discipline specific EBL activities taking a research-informed approach to this development. All pairings were charged with introducing EBL such that no major course change procedures had to be followed; this hopefully ensured the sustainability of such adjustments. Staff and students involved in the project represent dentistry, chemistry, biology, theology, law and psychology and the courses under development range from large first year classes to small honours level courses. An overview of the range of enquiry-based learning developments within the courses will be described

Matthew, Robert

Tierney, Anne Margaret

Heriot Watt Pure

Developing the Enquiring Student and Enhancing the Research-Teaching Interface: Student-led Pedagogical Research and Educational Initiatives in Enquiry Based Learning

Pritchard, J.

Matthew, B.

Tierney, A.

MacKenzie, J.

Storck, L.

Thomson, K.

Hood, A.

Carroll, J.

Crothers, A.

Wisbey, J.

Fletcher, M.

Hope, D.

Morrow, L.

Bridges, M.

Blanton, W.

Enlighten

       Pritchard, J., Matthew, B., Tierney, A., MacKenzie, J., Storck, L., Thomson , K., Hood, A., Carroll , J., Crothers, A., Wisbey, J., Fletcher, M., Hope, D., Morrow, L., Bridges, M. and Blanton, W.. (2008) Developing the enquiring student and enhancing the research-teaching interface: student-led pedagogical research and educational initiatives in enquiry based learning. Practice and Evidence of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 3 (1). ISSN 1750-8428  http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/39240/  Deposited on: 23 September 2010   Enlighten – Research publications by members of the University of Glasgow http://eprints.gla.ac.uk Developing the Enquiring Student and Enhancing the Research-Teaching Interface: Student-led Pedagogical Research and Educational Initiatives in Enquiry Based Learning   Jane Pritchard∗ Higher Education Academy, Engineering Subject Centre Loughborough University jane@engsc.ac.uk Tel. 01509 227174   Bob Matthew University of Highlands and Islands   Anne Tierney Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow   Jane MacKenzie Learning and Teaching Centre, University of Glasgow   Lisa Storck, Kate Thomson and Alistair Hood Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow   Jacqueline Carroll and Andrew Crothers School of Dentistry, University of Glasgow   Jamie Wisbey and Maria Fletcher School of Law, University of Glasgow   Daisy Hope and Lorna Morrow Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow   Madeleine Bridges  and Ward Blanton Theology & Religious Studies, University of Glasgow        Abstract   This paper describes the progress of a project running at the University of Glasgow to develop elements of Enquiry Based Learning (EBL) in undergraduate degree courses across a range of disciplines. It focuses on the second part of the project but an overview of the first part is also given. During phase 1 of the project, in the summer of 2007, seven undergraduate students spent four weeks working together exploring enquiry based learning (EBL) in the institution’s central, educational development unit. This phase was approached as an EBL exercise itself; the student groups were given full responsibility for the process with the proviso that by the end of this phase they would have developed a guide for staff and students about EBL. The second phase of the project continues throughout the academic year 07/08.  Here, each student worked alongside a member of staff from their department of study to develop discipline specific EBL activities taking a research-informed approach to this development.   All pairings were charged with introducing EBL such that no major course change procedures had to be followed; this hopefully ensured the sustainability of such adjustments. Staff and students involved in the project represent dentistry, chemistry, biology, theology, law and psychology and the courses under development range from large first year classes to small honours level courses. An overview of the range of enquiry-based learning developments within the courses will be described.     Key words:  Enquiry based learning, staff-student partnerships, course design     Introduction   This paper describes the progress of a project running at the University of  [x] to develop elements of Enquiry Based Learning (EBL) in undergraduate degree courses across a range of disciplines. The project has two distinct phases and is characterised by staff and undergraduate students working together to undertake the curriculum developments as both consider appropriate to the discipline and particular course in question.  An outline of the first phase is given but the paper will focus on the progress of the project in phase two.    This work directly addresses the University’s Learning and Teaching Strategy by engaging students in developing EBL activities within their courses alongside staff.     ‘As an institution, we are committed to international excellence in research and a belief that our research activity informs student learning in a myriad of ways which deliver a high quality student learning experience. We want our students to have a rewarding and fulfilling time in Glasgow, and to provide them with a rich learning environment. We will engage them with teaching and approaches to learning which support their development as motivated learners, independent and critical thinkers, and promote confidence and awareness in their skills, knowledge and understanding. We will promote a learning environment that develops and values these attributes’.  Learning and Teaching Strategy 2006-10, University of Glasgow    EBL describes an environment in which learning is driven by a process of enquiry owned by the student (Kahn and O’Rourke, 2004, Hutchings, 2006).  The tutor establishes the task and facilitates the process, but the students pursue their own lines of enquiry, draw on their existing knowledge and identify the consequent learning needs. They seek out relevant evidence and take responsibility for analysing and presenting this appropriately, either as part of a group or as an individual supported by others.  They are thus engaged as partners in learning (Hudspith and Jenkins, 2001).     This project is an example of bridging the research-teaching interface within this research-intensive university and further embedding EBL across the university from the students’ perspective and creating a university of enquiry at all stages of the undergraduate programme.  Matthew and Pritchard (forthcoming, 2008) consider what, for them, is the fundamental position of enquiry within the academy:   ‘After all, surely the focus of the university is to foster and support a culture of enquiry and preparing students for life beyond the disciplines’ (p.118).     Healey (2005) has described the four main conceptions of the research-teaching relationship as,    • Teaching can be research-led: the teacher structures the students learning based on the students learning about the content of their research areas. This is described as teacher-focused practice with an emphasis on research content.   • Teaching can be research-oriented: here the teacher structures the learning to make more explicit the processes of research, i.e. inquiry and research ethos through the teachers’ experiences. This is described as teacher-focused practice with an emphasis on the research process and problems.  • Teaching can be research-tutored: here the focus is more on the student than before and the student engages in activities such as writing and discussing papers or essays.  • Teaching can be research-based: here the focus is on the student engaging more fully with the research process and more enquiry-based activities are evident. A two-way relation between the students and teacher comes to the fore.    Griffiths (2004) adds a further category, one of research-informed, where the teacher is looking into the pedagogy itself and enquiring into the teaching and learning process itself. We can see from the above descriptors of the many possible ways of linking research and teaching that the project described here focuses on research-based activities in the courses. However, it could be said that the engagement by both staff and students in considering not just the content (the what of the course) but also how it is taught allows us to consider that both staff and students are engaging in a manner with research-informed curriculum design.     The EBL project was aimed at encouraging both staff and students to create spaces within their courses to enable students to experience this research-based approach to their learning.    Similarly, as Barnett (2000) stated:   ‘The issue is whether lecturers adopt teaching approaches that are likely to foster student experiences that mirror the lecturer’s experiences of research’   (Barnett 2000 p.163)   The project was also designed with the aim of raising staff awareness of a research-based approach to teaching.  It is anticipated that the collaborative nature of the EBL course development will have a two-fold effect:  first, to enhance the level of student-led enquiry providing more opportunities for ways of thinking and practising reflective of the discipline to occur (Entwhistle, McCune & Hounsell, 2002) and secondly the process of staff working with students will encourage both groups to consider the how and what of our teaching practices and provide room and feedback from both students and teacher around teaching and learning activities. At this stage no formal evaluation of the whole project has been implemented, however, an informal monitoring of the presence of EBL across the institution will be maintained as well as the individuals involved and their practice.      Phase One – The Summer Projects Office   The project was initiated through a collaboration between staff in the Learning and Teaching Centre (first and second authors) and the Faculty of Biomedical and Life Sciences (AT).  Funding was obtained from two sources: GU’s Chancellor’s Fund and the Higher Education Academy Centre for Bioscience’s Teaching Development Fund.     Phase one of the project took place during a four week period in summer 2007 when the Learning and Teaching Centre, University of Glasgow housed a summer projects office for seven GU undergraduate students (employed as student associates) from different disciplines and years of study (Table 1).  During this stage the seven undergraduate students worked under the guidance of the project leaders (first and second authors) to undertake an EBL exercise around ‘what EBL is.’  During this phase the group visited the Centre for Excellence in Enquiry Based Learning where they spent two days working alongside the centre’s team and talking with student interns around their experiences of being a student in an EBL environment. The group also experienced an EBL group exercise on privacy (a subject not familiar to any of them) and this again allowed them to reflect on the relative merits of this approach to supporting learning as well as some of the potentially negative areas regarding time and resources.    The anticipated outcome of this phase of the project was a student-authored guide about EBL for staff and students of the institution. By the end of this phase, in addition to the guide, the group had also produced posters highlighting the benefits of EBL for both staff and students and a website resource, (http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/learningteaching/goodpracticeresources/enquirybasedlearningebl)     Phase Two: Staff-student EBL course development   Phase two of the project is currently progressing and will continue throughout the 2007/08 academic year.  It involves each student working in partnership with a member of academic staff from their department of study to co-design elements of EBL for inclusion into their courses. The students are paid a stipend for this period to support their work (equivalent time of 0.5 day a week for 2 semesters). Each staff-student pair is further supported by a member of the academic development unit within the University’s Learning and Teaching Centre (see Table 1) .   Table 1.         Participants in phase 2 of the EBL project    Discipline Student and year of study Staff member Academic Development Unit Staff Biology – 1st year Lisa Storck (3rd year, Chemistry) Kate Thomson (3rd year Zoology) Anne Tierney  Jane MacKenzie Biology – 4th year Alistair Hood (4th year) Anne Tierney  Jane MacKenzie Dentistry Jacqueline Carroll (2nd year)  Andrew Crothers  Mary McCulloch Law Jamie Wisbey (3rd year) Maria Fletcher Mary McCulloch Psychology Daisy Hope (4th year) Lorna Morrow Jane MacKenzie Theology and Religious Studies Madeleine Bridges (3rd year)  Ward Blanton Sarah Mann   During discussions early in phase 2 of the project it was decided that a key factor to enable a successful outcome from this phase of the project was to avoid any arduous course change administrative procedures.  Thus, all changes are considered ‘minor’ as far as the quality assurance documentation is concerned.   This was considered vital if project participants were to encourage colleagues to introduce more EBL approaches in their courses and thus, hopefully, ensure the sustainability of the EBL activities beyond the lifetime of the current funding.    To illustrate the current progress of phase 2 within each discipline specific projects occurring with each staff-student grouping the students and staff have written their own accounts of their projects and their progress. It was decided that it would be more powerful for them to describe their own work in their own voice. What follows are 6 narratives each giving an account of their of their progress to date as well as their future plans.    EBL in 1st year Biology: Lisa Storck (Undergraduate 3rd year Chemistry ) and Kate Thompson (Undergraduate 3rd year Zoology) and Anne Tierney (University Teacher)        EBL in 4th year Biology: Alistair Hood (Undergraduate 4th year Anatomy) and Anne Tierney (University Teacher)        EBL in Dentistry: Jacqueline Carroll (Undergraduate Year 2) and Andrew Crothers (Senior Clinical University Teacher)        EBL in Law: Jamie Wisbey (Undergraduate year 3) and Maria Fletcher (Lecturer)      EBL in Psychology: Daisy Hope (Undergraduate 4th year) and Lorna Morrow (University Teacher)         EBL in Theology and Religious Studies: Madeleine Bridges (Undergraduate 3rd year) and  Ward Blanton, (Lecturer)          Summary   This paper has provided an overview of a project to enhance the elements of EBL within one institution from the starting point of staff-student pairings working together on course development.  Students involved in the project immersed themselves in learning about EBL during phase one of the project in the summer of 2007.  Phase two of the project, which is on-going at the time of writing, has had a dual purpose.  First, enabling students to work in partnership with staff members has allowed both parties’ to further develop their awareness and conceptualisation of EBL.  And, secondly, it has provided the necessary momentum to bring about the introduction of elements of student enquiry in the courses involved in the project. It is of note that aspects of EBL have and will be introduced into a range of courses representing a wide spectrum of different disciplines, different year groups from 1st through 4th year and different teaching contexts both small and large classes.  Thus, the project has demonstrated the potential for further development of greater enquiry-based teaching and learning spaces throughout the institution. All changes made thus far have avoided the need for formal course change procedures; this has been considered to be a great enabler in ensuring the success of the ‘enquiry-innovation’. As the move to enhance research-teaching linkages within institutions continues apace this project is just one example of acknowledging the student voice in shaping the HOW of what we teach as well as the WHAT of the teaching and learning environment. Students here are not just accessing the discipline specific research but also work collaboratively with staff on enquiring into the pedagogy of the subject.       Acknowledgements   The authors would like to acknowledge the support provided by the University of Glasgow’s Chancellors Fund as well as the Higher Education Academy Bioscience subject centre. Additionally the authors would like to thank colleagues in the Learning and Teaching Centre, University of Glasgow for their support during phase one and especially Heather Keating and Pauline Kennedy-Allen for sorting out the summer projects office with computers and ensuring the students were paid! Thank you to Karen O’Rourke and her colleagues at the Centre for Excellence in Enquiry Based Learning, University of Manchester for hosting us for 2 days in June 2007.      References   Barnett, R. (2000) Realizing the University in An Age of Supercomplexity ( Buckingham, The Society for Research into Higher Education).   Entwistle, N., McCune, V. and Hounsell, J. (2002) Approaches to Studying and Perceptions of University Teaching–Learning Environments: Concepts, Measures and Preliminary Findings, Universities of Edinburgh, Coventry and Durham: Enhancing Teaching–Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses (ETL) Project, Occasional Report No. 1,             http://www.ed.ac.uk/etl/publications.html [accessed 10 January 2008].   Griffiths, R. (2004) Knowledge production and the research–teaching nexus: the case of the built environment disciplines, Studies in Higher Education, 29, 709-726   Healey, M (2005), Linking research and teaching: disciplinary spaces in R. Barnett (Ed.) Reshaping the university: new relationships between research, scholarship and teaching, 30-42, McGraw Hill/Open University Press   Houben, G. Lenie, K. and Vanhoof, K. (1999) “A knowledge-based SWOT-analysis system as an instrument for strategic planning in small and medium sized enterprises” Decision Support Systems, 6:2, 125-135   Hudspith, B., and Jenkins, H. (2001). Teaching the Art of Inquiry. Halifax, NS: Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.   Hutchings, B (2006), Principles of Enquiry-Based Learning [online], Centre for Excellence in Enquiry- Based Learning, University of Manchester,            http://www.campus.manchester.ac.uk/ceebl/resources/general/ceeblgr002.pdf [accessed 10 January 2008]   Kahn P. and O’Rourke K. (2004) Guide to Curriculum Design: Enquiry-Based Learning [Online], York, Higher Education Academy, Available:      http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources.asp?process=full_record&section=generic&id=359 [Accessed 1o January 2008] Learning and Teaching Strategy 2006-10, University of Glasgow www.gla.ac.uk/services/planning/stratplan200610.html  [accessed 9th January 2008]         Matthew, R.G. and Pritchard, J  (2008, forthcoming), Hard and Soft – A Useful Way of Thinking about Disciplines? Reflections from engineering education on disciplinary identities, Chapter 5, in Kreber, C (Ed.) The university and its disciplines:  Teaching and learning within and beyond disciplinary boundaries, Routledge.    Sargeant, A. and Jay, E. (2004) “The fundraising Audit” , Fundraising Management: Analysis, Planning &Practice” Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 23.   Tennant, C. and Roberts, P. A. B. (2000) “Hoshin Kanri: A Technique for Strategic Quality Management” Quality Assurance 8:2, 77-90   ∗ Corresponding author   

English

Approaches to Studying and Perceptions of University Teaching–Learning Environments: Concepts, Measures and Preliminary Findings,

Hoshin Kanri: A Technique for

Knowledge production and the research–teaching nexus: the case of the built environment disciplines,

Principles of Enquiry-Based Learning [online], Centre for Excellence in EnquiryBased Learning, University of Manchester, http://www.campus.manchester.ac.uk/ceebl/resources/general/ceeblgr002.pdf [accessed 10

Realizing the University in An Age of Supercomplexity ( Buckingham, The Society for Research into Higher Education).

The fundraising Audit” , Fundraising Management: Analysis, Planning &Practice” Routledge,

Developing the enquiring student and enhancing the research-teaching interface: student-led pedagogical research and educational initiatives in enquiry based learning

Enlighten: Publications

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pritchard, J., Matthew, B., Tierney, A., MacKenzie, J., Storck, L., 
Thomson , K., Hood, A., Carroll , J., Crothers, A., Wisbey, J., Fletcher, 
M., Hope, D., Morrow, L., Bridges, M. and Blanton, W.. (2008) 
Developing the enquiring student and enhancing the research-teaching 
interface: student-led pedagogical research and educational initiatives in 
enquiry based learning. Practice and Evidence of the Scholarship of 
Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 3 (1). ISSN 1750-8428 
 
http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/39240/ 
 
Deposited on: 23 September 2010 
 
 
Enlighten – Research publications by members of the University of Glasgow 
http://eprints.gla.ac.uk 
Developing the Enquiring Student and Enhancing the Research-
Teaching Interface: Student-led Pedagogical Research and 
Educational Initiatives in Enquiry Based Learning 
  
Jane Pritchard∗ 
Higher Education Academy, Engineering Subject Centre 
Loughborough University 
jane@engsc.ac.uk 
Tel. 01509 227174 
  
Bob Matthew 
University of Highlands and Islands 
  
Anne Tierney 
Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow 
  
Jane MacKenzie 
Learning and Teaching Centre, University of Glasgow 
  
Lisa Storck, Kate Thomson and Alistair Hood 
Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow 
  
Jacqueline Carroll and Andrew Crothers 
School of Dentistry, University of Glasgow 
  
Jamie Wisbey and Maria Fletcher 
School of Law, University of Glasgow 
  
Daisy Hope and Lorna Morrow 
Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow 
  
Madeleine Bridges  and Ward Blanton 
Theology & Religious Studies, University of Glasgow  
  
  
  
Abstract 
  
This paper describes the progress of a project running at the University of Glasgow to 
develop elements of Enquiry Based Learning (EBL) in undergraduate degree courses 
across a range of disciplines. It focuses on the second part of the project but an 
overview of the first part is also given. During phase 1 of the project, in the summer 
of 2007, seven undergraduate students spent four weeks working together exploring 
enquiry based learning (EBL) in the institution’s central, educational development 
unit. This phase was approached as an EBL exercise itself; the student groups were 
given full responsibility for the process with the proviso that by the end of this phase 
they would have developed a guide for staff and students about EBL. The second 
phase of the project continues throughout the academic year 07/08.  Here, each 
student worked alongside a member of staff from their department of study to develop 
discipline specific EBL activities taking a research-informed approach to this 
development.   All pairings were charged with introducing EBL such that no major 
course change procedures had to be followed; this hopefully ensured the sustainability 
of such adjustments. Staff and students involved in the project represent dentistry, 
chemistry, biology, theology, law and psychology and the courses under development 
range from large first year classes to small honours level courses. An overview of the 
range of enquiry-based learning developments within the courses will be described.   
  
Key words:  Enquiry based learning, staff-student partnerships, course design 
  
  
Introduction 
  
This paper describes the progress of a project running at the University of  [x] to 
develop elements of Enquiry Based Learning (EBL) in undergraduate degree courses 
across a range of disciplines. The project has two distinct phases and is characterised 
by staff and undergraduate students working together to undertake the curriculum 
developments as both consider appropriate to the discipline and particular course in 
question.  An outline of the first phase is given but the paper will focus on the 
progress of the project in phase two.  
  
This work directly addresses the University’s Learning and Teaching Strategy by 
engaging students in developing EBL activities within their courses alongside staff.   
  
‘As an institution, we are committed to international excellence in research and a belief 
that our research activity informs student learning in a myriad of ways which deliver a high 
quality student learning experience. We want our students to have a rewarding and 
fulfilling time in Glasgow, and to provide them with a rich learning environment. We will 
engage them with teaching and approaches to learning which support their development 
as motivated learners, independent and critical thinkers, and promote confidence and 
awareness in their skills, knowledge and understanding. We will promote a learning 
environment that develops and values these attributes’.  
Learning and Teaching Strategy 2006-10, University of Glasgow  
  
EBL describes an environment in which learning is driven by a process of enquiry 
owned by the student (Kahn and O’Rourke, 2004, Hutchings, 2006).  The tutor 
establishes the task and facilitates the process, but the students pursue their own lines 
of enquiry, draw on their existing knowledge and identify the consequent learning 
needs. They seek out relevant evidence and take responsibility for analysing and 
presenting this appropriately, either as part of a group or as an individual supported by 
others.  They are thus engaged as partners in learning (Hudspith and Jenkins, 2001).   
  
This project is an example of bridging the research-teaching interface within this 
research-intensive university and further embedding EBL across the university from 
the students’ perspective and creating a university of enquiry at all stages of the 
undergraduate programme.  Matthew and Pritchard (forthcoming, 2008) consider 
what, for them, is the fundamental position of enquiry within the academy: 
  
‘After all, surely the focus of the university is to foster and support a culture of enquiry 
and preparing students for life beyond the disciplines’ (p.118).   
  
Healey (2005) has described the four main conceptions of the research-
teaching relationship as,  
  
• Teaching can be research-led: the teacher structures the students learning based on the 
students learning about the content of their research areas. This is described as teacher-focused 
practice with an emphasis on research content.   
• Teaching can be research-oriented: here the teacher structures the learning to make 
more explicit the processes of research, i.e. inquiry and research ethos through the teachers’ 
experiences. This is described as teacher-focused practice with an emphasis on the research 
process and problems.  
• Teaching can be research-tutored: here the focus is more on the student than before 
and the student engages in activities such as writing and discussing papers or essays.  
• Teaching can be research-based: here the focus is on the student engaging more fully 
with the research process and more enquiry-based activities are evident. A two-way relation 
between the students and teacher comes to the fore.  
  
Griffiths (2004) adds a further category, one of research-informed, where the teacher 
is looking into the pedagogy itself and enquiring into the teaching and learning 
process itself. We can see from the above descriptors of the many possible ways of 
linking research and teaching that the project described here focuses on research-
based activities in the courses. However, it could be said that the engagement by 
both staff and students in considering not just the content (the what of the course) but 
also how it is taught allows us to consider that both staff and students are engaging in 
a manner with research-informed curriculum design.   
  
The EBL project was aimed at encouraging both staff and students to create spaces 
within their courses to enable students to experience this research-based approach to 
their learning.  
  
Similarly, as Barnett (2000) stated: 
  
‘The issue is whether lecturers adopt teaching approaches that are likely to foster student 
experiences that mirror the lecturer’s experiences of research’   (Barnett 2000 p.163) 
  
The project was also designed with the aim of raising staff awareness of a research-
based approach to teaching.  It is anticipated that the collaborative nature of the EBL 
course development will have a two-fold effect:  first, to enhance the level of student-
led enquiry providing more opportunities for ways of thinking and practising 
reflective of the discipline to occur (Entwhistle, McCune & Hounsell, 2002) and 
secondly the process of staff working with students will encourage both groups to 
consider the how and what of our teaching practices and provide room and feedback 
from both students and teacher around teaching and learning activities. At this stage 
no formal evaluation of the whole project has been implemented, however, an 
informal monitoring of the presence of EBL across the institution will be maintained 
as well as the individuals involved and their practice.  
  
  
Phase One – The Summer Projects Office 
  
The project was initiated through a collaboration between staff in the Learning and 
Teaching Centre (first and second authors) and the Faculty of Biomedical and Life 
Sciences (AT).  Funding was obtained from two sources: GU’s Chancellor’s Fund and 
the Higher Education Academy Centre for Bioscience’s Teaching Development 
Fund.   
  
Phase one of the project took place during a four week period in summer 2007 when 
the Learning and Teaching Centre, University of Glasgow housed a summer projects 
office for seven GU undergraduate students (employed as student associates) from 
different disciplines and years of study (Table 1).  During this stage the seven 
undergraduate students worked under the guidance of the project leaders (first and 
second authors) to undertake an EBL exercise around ‘what EBL is.’  During this 
phase the group visited the Centre for Excellence in Enquiry Based Learning where 
they spent two days working alongside the centre’s team and talking with student 
interns around their experiences of being a student in an EBL environment. The group 
also experienced an EBL group exercise on privacy (a subject not familiar to any of 
them) and this again allowed them to reflect on the relative merits of this approach to 
supporting learning as well as some of the potentially negative areas regarding time 
and resources.  
  
The anticipated outcome of this phase of the project was a student-authored guide 
about EBL for staff and students of the institution. By the end of this phase, in 
addition to the guide, the group had also produced posters highlighting the benefits of 
EBL for both staff and students and a website resource, 
(http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/learningteaching/goodpracticeresources/enquirybasedl
earningebl) 
  
  
Phase Two: Staff-student EBL course development 
  
Phase two of the project is currently progressing and will continue throughout the 
2007/08 academic year.  It involves each student working in partnership with a 
member of academic staff from their department of study to co-design elements of 
EBL for inclusion into their courses. The students are paid a stipend for this period to 
support their work (equivalent time of 0.5 day a week for 2 semesters). Each staff-
student pair is further supported by a member of the academic development unit 
within the University’s Learning and Teaching Centre (see Table 1) . 
  
Table 1.         Participants in phase 2 of the EBL project  
  
Discipline 
Student and year of 
study 
Staff member 
Academic 
Development Unit 
Staff 
Biology – 1st year 
Lisa Storck (3rd year, 
Chemistry) 
Kate Thomson (3rd year 
Zoology) 
Anne Tierney  Jane MacKenzie 
Biology – 4th year Alistair Hood (4th year) Anne Tierney  Jane MacKenzie 
Dentistry 
Jacqueline Carroll (2nd 
year)  
Andrew Crothers  Mary McCulloch 
Law Jamie Wisbey (3rd year) Maria Fletcher Mary McCulloch 
Psychology Daisy Hope (4th year) Lorna Morrow Jane MacKenzie 
Theology and 
Religious Studies 
Madeleine Bridges (3rd 
year)  
Ward Blanton Sarah Mann 
  
During discussions early in phase 2 of the project it was decided that a key factor to 
enable a successful outcome from this phase of the project was to avoid any arduous 
course change administrative procedures.  Thus, all changes are considered ‘minor’ as 
far as the quality assurance documentation is concerned.   This was considered vital if 
project participants were to encourage colleagues to introduce more EBL approaches 
in their courses and thus, hopefully, ensure the sustainability of the EBL activities 
beyond the lifetime of the current funding.    
To illustrate the current progress of phase 2 within each discipline specific projects 
occurring with each staff-student grouping the students and staff have written their 
own accounts of their projects and their progress. It was decided that it would be more 
powerful for them to describe their own work in their own voice. What follows are 6 
narratives each giving an account of their of their progress to date as well as their 
future plans.  
  
EBL in 1st year Biology: Lisa Storck (Undergraduate 3rd year Chemistry ) and Kate 
Thompson (Undergraduate 3rd year Zoology) and Anne Tierney (University 
Teacher) 
  
  
   
EBL in 4th year Biology: Alistair Hood (Undergraduate 4th year Anatomy) and 
Anne Tierney (University Teacher) 
  
   
  
EBL in Dentistry: Jacqueline Carroll (Undergraduate Year 2) and Andrew 
Crothers (Senior Clinical University Teacher)  
  
 
  
 EBL in Law: Jamie Wisbey (Undergraduate year 3) and Maria Fletcher (Lecturer) 
  
 
  
EBL in Psychology: Daisy Hope (Undergraduate 4th year) and Lorna Morrow 
(University Teacher)   
  
  
  
EBL in Theology and Religious Studies: Madeleine Bridges (Undergraduate 3rd 
year) and  Ward Blanton, (Lecturer)   
  
 
  
  
Summary 
  
This paper has provided an overview of a project to enhance the elements of EBL 
within one institution from the starting point of staff-student pairings working 
together on course development.  Students involved in the project immersed 
themselves in learning about EBL during phase one of the project in the summer of 
2007.  Phase two of the project, which is on-going at the time of writing, has had a 
dual purpose.  First, enabling students to work in partnership with staff members has 
allowed both parties’ to further develop their awareness and conceptualisation of 
EBL.  And, secondly, it has provided the necessary momentum to bring about the 
introduction of elements of student enquiry in the courses involved in the project. It is 
of note that aspects of EBL have and will be introduced into a range of courses 
representing a wide spectrum of different disciplines, different year groups from 1st 
through 4th year and different teaching contexts both small and large classes.  Thus, 
the project has demonstrated the potential for further development of greater enquiry-
based teaching and learning spaces throughout the institution. All changes made thus 
far have avoided the need for formal course change procedures; this has been 
considered to be a great enabler in ensuring the success of the ‘enquiry-innovation’. 
As the move to enhance research-teaching linkages within institutions continues apace 
this project is just one example of acknowledging the student voice in shaping the 
HOW of what we teach as well as the WHAT of the teaching and learning 
environment. Students here are not just accessing the discipline specific research but 
also work collaboratively with staff on enquiring into the pedagogy of the subject.   
  
  
Acknowledgements 
  
The authors would like to acknowledge the support provided by the University of 
Glasgow’s Chancellors Fund as well as the Higher Education Academy Bioscience 
subject centre. Additionally the authors would like to thank colleagues in the Learning 
and Teaching Centre, University of Glasgow for their support during phase one and 
especially Heather Keating and Pauline Kennedy-Allen for sorting out the summer 
projects office with computers and ensuring the students were paid! Thank you to 
Karen O’Rourke and her colleagues at the Centre for Excellence in Enquiry Based 
Learning, University of Manchester for hosting us for 2 days in June 2007.  
  
  
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∗ Corresponding author  
 


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Developing the Enquiring Student and Enhancing the Research-Teaching Interface: Student-led Pedagogical Research and Educational Initiatives in Enquiry Based Learning

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