Being offered the position of a Student Researcher at the beginning of term 2 initially gave me the opportunity to develop my researcher identity and gain an interdisciplinary insight and understanding of the Higher Education system from an academic perspective – an opportunity that gradually evolved to become an experience surpassing my expectations. I believe my accounts of journeying through this role are worth sharing and may appeal to the academic community as an inspiration to cultivate student partnerships across our organisation.
The project I became involved with was one of the centrally funded Learning & Teaching projects that focused on the Graduate Teaching Demonstrator Scheme launched in 2020/2021. A cohort of recent first-class graduates were employed under this scheme to provide support to all faculties in the move to blended learning. The aim of the research project was to assess the effectiveness of the scheme from the different perspectives of the GTDs themselves in relation to their own personal and professional growth, the members of staff who benefited from the support of the GTDs, as well as the experience of students supported by GTDs. The University currently employs 16 GTDs and as part of the project we interviewed 9 GTDs in two semi-structured interviews as well as conducted a focus group with the GTDs to compare experiences. We also interviewed 11 out of 13 line managers to understand their perceptions of the scheme. Unfortunately, we were unable to conduct focus groups with students supported by GTDs; however, we have been able to assess this indirectly through the accounts of both the GTDs and line managers.
Being initially unfamiliar with the role of a Graduate Teaching Demonstrator that I was about to explore proved to be an asset during my first interactions with GTDs as I approached the interviews without any preconceptions or bias about their role or status. My student status and coming across as a peer to the GTDs also created a non-intimidating environment for our participants to be more open and in turn offer meaningful accounts of their experiences. The first interview explored their motivations of becoming a Graduate Teaching Demonstrator and impressions of their onboarding process. This first set of interviews represented a pivotal moment for both the progress of the research and my own development as a researcher. Having the possibility to revisit my interview recordings allowed me to reflect, especially on my style of interviewing, as I was given a taste of what it would take to produce rich and meaningful data. It appeared as if I was creating a distance between myself and the participants when adopting a more formal interviewing style, which was in turn limiting intimate exchanges with some of the GTDs.
I came to the realisation that I should use my hybrid position as both student and staff to encourage the GTDs to actively engage in the interviews. I knew that being a student is the expertise I bring to the table for facilitating open and honest communication with the GTDs. Nevertheless, I was aware that I had to commit to my emerging researcher identity to validate my authority and steer the interview to maintain focus on the topic of interest.
This mindset shift would set the tone for the rest of my data collection. It soon became apparent that I was not the only one carrying a dual role. Conducting focus groups with the GTDs later in the term made me aware of their intermediary role within their departments. We framed the focus groups as a comparison of their different experiences across departments and faculties with an emphasis on their identity development. The invitation for the GTDs to reflect on their emerging professional identities was facilitated by an activity incorporated in our focus group that also encouraged them to consider their transition from being a student into graduate employment. What I found most intriguing at this stage of the project was the GTDs’ own awareness of the impact such a graduate opportunity had on their professional identity oscillating between professional services and academic staff (Winstone & Moore, 2017). This context allowed me to go beyond exploring the influence of their hybrid role on learning and teaching and focus on their identity journey. Our preliminary analysis revealed that the GTDs have been used in different roles and capacities across the departments which highlighted the hybrid nature of their role and identity mentioned earlier (Jazvac-Martek, 2009). They have naturally embraced the multiple aspects of their position and have occupied different roles within the department: being a personal tutor for undergraduates or acting as admin support for both students and academics.
The departments have relied considerably on this cohort of graduates that proved to be well-motivated, adaptable, and flexible as employees. This perspective was shared by the line-managers of the GTDs I interviewed, who provided me with their assessment of this initiative. Among the practical benefits of GTDs on teaching practices such as allowing lecturers to concentrate on the subject rather than the technology by having GTDs in online classes as ‘chat champions’, line-managers celebrated the different perspective offered by GTDs. In their view, the GTDs acted as a ‘sounding board’ and communication channel between the academics and students on the basis of their recent student experience. Their graduate status allowed them to be the “more knowledgeable peer” (Vygotsky, 1978) in this context which enabled them to create a closer connection to students. Despite not being able to capture students’ voices directly in relation to how their learning experience has been impacted by GTDs, we still managed to gather data on this through the GTDs’ own accounts. During our last interview, in which I invited the GTDs to reflect on their student interactions, I recognised the near-peer support afforded by the GTDs. What students seemed to appreciate the most about them was the approachability and their recent university experience that made them easier to identify with. I believe this is the main theme that speaks greatly of GTDs’ potential to respond to students’ needs especially in these unprecedented times. Being more in touch with students and their academic and personal challenges as recent graduates allowed the GTDs to create a sense of belonging for the students supported (Lizzio, 2006).
Similarly, I believe it was my student status that allowed me to become more comfortable with this research project and be able to build a trusting relationship with the GTDs that encouraged them to open up during our conversations. The purpose of detailing my journey as a transitioning researcher, while also covering the project that I had the opportunity to be part of, is to encourage our academic community to consider a similar, student-led approach for future research projects and the benefits of initiating student-staff partnerships. Just as GTDs had the opportunity to demonstrate their tremendous influence on students’ journeys purely by being offered a graduate role, I feel the position of a student researcher allowed me to contribute to the progress of this research by bringing in a different dimension – the student one. I would also like to take this opportunity to show my great appreciation towards my research team that carefully mentored me throughout this process and concluded this experience as a successful student-staff partnership.
Blog Author
Diana Petrescu
Student Researcher
MSc Student (Psychology)
University of Greenwich
L&T Project 2020/21 The Experience of the Graduate Teaching Demonstrators
Research Project Team
Tania Struetzel
Student Engagement Manager
University of Greenwich
Dr Riccardo De Vita
Associate Professor and Head of Department
Department of Human Resources and Organisational Behaviour
Greenwich Business School
Anna Demkowicz-Dobrzanska
Teaching Fellow
Department of Human Resources and Organisational Behaviour
Greenwich Business School
References
Jazvac-Martek, M. (2009) ‘Oscillating role identities: the academic experiences of education doctoral students’, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 45, pp. 253-264.
Lizzio, A. (2006). Designing an orientation and transition strategy for commencing students: A conceptual summary of research and practice (First year experience project). Queensland: Griffith University.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. In: Cole, M. V., Steiner, J., Scribner, S. and Souberman, E. eds. and trans. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Winstone, N. & Moore, D. (2017) ‘Sometimes fish, sometimes fowl? Liminality, identity work and identity malleability in graduate teaching assistants, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 54 (5), pp. 494-502.