Five lessons learned from the Students as Change Agents (SACHA) series
In this post, the co-editor of the Students as Change Agents (SACHA) June-July 2024 series, Emma Taylor, presents a reflective round-up from the ten blog posts, offering five lessons learned from the series. Emma is the Students as Change Agents Programme Manager, where she leads on the development, delivery, and management of SACHA. (Please note: this blog post format and the LinkedIn newsletter is currently replacing the Teaching Matters Adobe Express newsletter format).
Lesson 1: The work of community will always be worth it
Community and sense of belonging was a recurring theme throughout the SACHA series, beginning with the introductory post, by Ruth Donnelly and Emma Taylor, reflecting on the importance of SACHA’s ‘Change Agents for Life’ community:
“SACHA participants are strongly encouraged to see themselves as life-long ‘Change Agents’ with the skills and confidence to have a positive impact in the world.”
As a diverse community of alumni, external host organisations, and staff, Change Agents for Life cultivates an environment where opportunities are shared, and ideas are championed.
“SACHA alumni have taken their experiences further through activities such as volunteering with host organisations, securing internships, sitting on university strategy groups, and even returning to host challenge questions themselves as ‘change agents’ in their graduate roles.”
However, creating community can be hard work – as Change Agents, Della Yang, Hera Li, and Lilette Burga, discussed in their post about experiential learning for international students. Studying at a large university can make it difficult to create genuine connections, particularly as an international student. Creating intentional pockets of community through opportunities like SACHA opens up possibilities for students looking for a space to connect:
“SACHA provides students with a safe space where we can interact and connect with people from diverse backgrounds without worrying about being judged. It also gives us the experience of working with a multidisciplinary team, and all that we achieve has both tangible and intangible impact. This helps to distinguish us as unique students and boosts our self-esteem, fostering a sense of belonging.”
Beyond creating a sense of belonging, working in small, diverse teams highlighted the value of individual differences for innovation:
“Our differences sparked creativity while our individual strengths and limitations compensated for each other. The diversity in our mindsets and knowledge allowed us to look at the problem from different perspectives that an individual would not be able to think of alone.”
The importance of community took on an entirely different perspective in the reflections of online students, Foster Osei, Mteeve Amugune, and Nisha Daniel. Studying online can create a sense of disconnection and distance from the ‘real’ university:
“[A]s an online student, sometimes you feel lost and no sense of belonging especially when you are worlds apart from the university. It feels like you are only on a program to obtain a degree but there is nothing that makes you feel a part of the university.”
As technology continues to breakdown geographic barriers and the physical boundaries of university campuses are redefined, these reflections reminded us how important it is to create meaningful opportunities for everyone to feel part of our community:
“Through this program, we had the opportunity to interact and collaborate with diverse student groups, fostering a sense of inclusivity and expanding our network beyond our individual disciplines. By actively engaging with The University of Edinburgh initiatives and working closely with several staff members, we felt a deeper sense of belonging and connection to our institution.”
Lesson 2: Intentionality sparks growth
Encouraging students to meaningfully engage with informal and non-subject-related learning can pose a challenge, particularly if seen as an add-on to the core curriculum. Being intentional can make all the difference when it comes to student engagement, as David Wilson, Finn Eilenberger, and Zoe Lai, pointed out in their blog about the power of reflection:
“Intentional reflection cultivates self-awareness, a growth mindset, and the ability to purposefully chart our trajectory through conscious examination of strengths, weaknesses, and progress”.
However, as they discovered through personal experience, it’s easy to lose motivation when instructors tie reflection to a grade or steer too far in the other direction and never follow up at all:
“The [reflective poster] came with prescribed sections and guiding questions, making it feel more like a checklist rather than an authentic reflection. I felt pressured to tailor my responses to meet the grading criteria, which accounted for 60% of my grade. This approach made my reflections feel forced, detracting from the genuine self-assessment that reflection should promote.”
“In some of our courses, we were encouraged to keep weekly journals to reflect on our learning progress. However, without feedback, it felt pointless, and motivation dwindled.”
Identifying ways to incorporate personal reflection without synonymising ‘meaningful’ with ‘marked’ can lead to more impactful outcomes for students.
Intentionality can also lead to growth by empowering students’ voice, as Della, Hera, and Lilette noted in their post. For students who may feel uncomfortable asking for help, consistent communication and support can encourage them to step out of their comfort zone:
“I learned that asking for help is crucial for resilience, not weakness. Through open conversations with the supportive staff, I gained invaluable guidance and fresh perspectives. … More importantly, it reminded me that I don’t have to face every obstacle alone – seeking support is a strength.”
Being intentional with how we offer support can strip away much of the inherent ‘teacher-student’ power dynamics of university structures, and can encourage students to seek advice for personal growth:
“Student-facing staff should reflect on how they communicate to ensure students feel comfortable asking for support. Building an environment where seeking help is encouraged, not stigmatized, can foster resilience in students as they navigate academic challenges.”
Lesson 3: Variety is the spice of (academic) life
It’s all too easy to fall back into old habits and routines when university life gets busy. In their reflections on their experiences as distance learners, Foster, Mteeve, and Nisha reminded us of the importance of incorporating variety into academic experiences if we want to keep learning apathy at bay:
“SACHA’s focus on experiential learning was a breath of fresh air compared to traditional courses. Instead of just theory, we dove headfirst into practical application, making the learning process far more engaging. This hands-on approach solidified concepts in a way lectures never could.”
Their reflections also made us stop and think about whether the diverse learning options on offer are accessible to all the students in our learning community, whether sitting in the classroom or in front of a computer:
“I think that one of the more specific elements I’d also love to see integrated into the curriculum is the use of tools like MURAL boards for academic brainstorming activities. MURAL boards could be used from a participative lesson planning and curriculum designing to creating a transparent peer review system and/or for receiving constructive feedback.”
Aidan Tracey and Emma Taylor challenged us to think about variety in learning and teaching from a different perspective in their post on using GIFs in academic environments. They highlight GIFs as a way to foster approachability and insert a light-hearted break in content:
“Lightening up extended, text-heavy messages with a dynamic image can make lengthy bits of content seem less daunting and, through the image used, instantly communicate the message’s importance to the reader.”
Amidst the never-ending stream of emails, messages, and Learn notifications, GIFs can also serve as a beacon for finding key messages:
“GIFs also have the added benefit of being memorable and eye-catching, making it easier for individuals to find what they’re looking for when scrolling back through their messages in search of a specific piece of information.”
Whether through hands-on learning, interactive web tools, or cheerful GIFs, there’s a compelling case for embracing academic variety in the physical and virtual classroom.
Lesson 4: Learning is a two-way street
In theory, staff-student co-creation can be an invaluable tool in developing a curriculum that is relevant, inclusive, and practically feasible. In reality, getting staff and students on board can prove difficult, as Pooja Suresh Kumar and Ankita Chattopadhyay discussed in their post on co-creation:
“[G]etting students to actively participate can be challenging. Many might feel they don’t have enough expertise or unsure about their contributions. … Faculty are busy with teaching and research, making it hard to find time for collaborative curriculum design. Some staff fear losing control over curriculum and teaching methods.”
Their own experiences of co-creation during the SACHA programme underscored the message that it may not be institutional knowledge or academic insight that matter most after all:
“My SACHA experience taught me the importance of student-staff partnerships in curriculum design. … It emphasized clear communication, flexibility, and adaptability in overcoming technical and scheduling challenges, reinforcing my belief in co-creation’s transformative power in higher education.”
In their experiences as Challenge Hosts, Cathy Bovill and Matt Lawson, echoed the importance of centring student voice in academic processes:
“The ideas that emerged were not necessarily what I expected students to focus on – and to me that is the added value of SACHA Think Tank, to create unexpected outcomes and ideas to challenge our thinking.”
“Recommendations were drawn directly from their own student experience. This was incredibly valuable, as it allowed us to better understand trends and differences across different levels of study and degrees.”
Reflecting on the student experience from her vantage point as both a student representative and international student, Shirley Tian drew our attention to the parallels between co-creation and student agency in her post on inclusive education:
“When students are given a voice in how their curriculum is designed, they typically feel more empowered and are more likely to take ownership of their learning journey[.]”
Offering a space where meaningful student-staff collaboration could move from theory to practice provided evidence that co-creation could, in fact, work:
“[M]y SACHA experience was proof that those frequently advertised concepts of open communication, collaborative problem-thinking, independent research and mentor-style teaching were not just theoretical concepts, but lived experiences[.]”
Lesson 5: There’s more than one way to climb a tree
As creatures of habit, it’s all too easy to unconsciously believe our way of doing things is the only sure path to success. In their blog on common group dynamics, Aidan Tracey and Emma Taylor remind us that there’s no one set recipe for success:
“The real beauty of teamwork is its rich tapestry, there isn’t one fixed perfect approach. Working together in your group to find an approach that suits you all is all part of the unique experience.”
While it’s tempting to approach each group scenario with a universal list of norms and expectations or a pre-prescribed set of questions to encourage participation, being adaptive and responsive to group dynamics can lead to better outcomes – whether incorporating more team activities for ‘independent worker’ groups or reminding your ‘overachiever’ groups to prioritise boundary setting.
In their top tips blog, SACHA coaches, Lesley Kelly, Sophie Rippinger, Valerie McIntosh and Amer Khushman, reminded us that learning should also be guided by student needs, rather than by prescribed objectives alone:
It’s also helpful to try to find out what each member of the group wants to get out of the experience. This provides information about motivations and expectations and can help coaches to adapt their approach to suit the group members.
Of course, adaptive learning can feel more daunting than sticking to a pre-set list of talking points, especially when trying to move students towards a specific outcome. At times, the solution may be to take a step back and re-evaluate the necessity of reaching a particular outcome in the first place:
“Listen deeply and let go of knowing the answer – take time to pause, be curious and ask for more.”
Emma Taylor
Emma Taylor is the Students as Change Agents Programme Manager, where she leads on the development, delivery, and management of SACHA. Her background is in Education, with experience teaching and tutoring at a variety of levels, from primary grades to master’s courses. Emma is currently completing a PhD in International Development.
Jill Haldane
Philip Davies
Faith Dillon-Lee