Students and research
Healey and Jenkins (2009b) have suggested that linking teaching and research can be considered in four ways around two axes, each of which is a continuum:
· Students as audience to students as participants – how actively they are engaged in the production of knowledge and its debate
· Emphasis on research content to emphasis on research processes and problems (Fig 1).
Figure 1: Engaging students in research
1. Research-led teaching: the curriculum is structured around teaching subject content. This forms the basis for all teaching in higher education (students learning about others’ research).
2. Research-oriented teaching: the curriculum emphasises how knowledge is constructed in the subject or discipline. Students encounter this through skills and methods modules in particular (students learning to do research).
3. Research-based teaching: students undertake research and inquiry. Students will encounter this through Group Projects and individual Dissertations or Projects (students learning in research mode).
4. Research-tutored teaching: the curriculum emphasises learning focussed on students reading, writing and discussing papers or essays. Some students will encounter this through seminar-based courses, particularly in their final year as an undergraduate or as a postgraduate student (students engaging in research discussion).
Students should experience all four quadrants throughout their programme. In some instances this experience may occur in one module.
