Student as producer: research-engaged teaching, an institutional strategy

Abstract

Student as Producer is a curriculum development project that has been ongoing at the University of Lincoln
\nsince 2007. The aim of the project has been to promote research-engaged teaching as the organising principle
\nfor teaching and learning across all subjects and all levels of taught provision at Lincoln. While there are many
\nexamples of research-engaged teaching in higher education what makes the curriculum distinctive at Lincoln is
\nthat research-engaged teaching is the default position for all teaching and learning at the University.
\nWhile Student as Producer has been under development at Lincoln since 2007 this report focuses on the
\nperiod 2010-2013, when the University of Lincoln received funding, £200,000, from the Higher Education
\nAcademy to develop the programme. The main focus of this report is the embedding and implementation of
\nStudent as Producer at Lincoln, but as Student as Producer extends beyond Lincoln to involve other higher
\neducation providers the report will also pay attention to the external national and international impact of
\nStudent as Producer across the higher education sector.
\nStudent as Producer was conceived during momentous times in the history of higher education in this
\ncountry, including a massive increase in student fees and the withdrawal of public funding for teaching the
\nArts, Humanities and Social Science. For a brief moment in time English students were at the forefront of
\nprotests across Europe against the financialisation of higher education and the politics of austerity (Bailey and
\nFreedman 2011). Throughout this period academics involved with Student as Producer have written
\npublications that have provided a consistent and clear position against the notion of student as consumer
\n(Boden and Epstein2006) and the pedagogy of debt (Williams 2006).