About Co-creative Learning

Co-creative learning means learning that is created with input and participation from both students and teachers. Traditional approaches to university education required students to be only passive recipients of knowledge. When students are engaged and share responsibility for their learning, they build key competencies such as analytical, collaborative, and reflective skills (Matthews, 2016). 

Learning that is co-creative and student-centered requires innovative classroom approaches. This toolkit describes seven specific course-level techniques that support active, engaged learning. Certainly these are not the only co-creative approaches to teaching and learning, and we realize that many teachers are already employing these techniques or some form of them. Thus the toolkit focuses on showing examples and identifying useful principles for facilitating the most engaging, responsive learning experiences and environments. This toolkit was developed by university teachers hoping to inform and inspire other teachers across Europe. 

For each of the seven techniques, the toolkit answers the questions of “What?” “Why?” and “How?”:  

The “What?” subsection gives a brief definition of and introduction to the technique. 

The following “Why?” subsection mainly focuses on learning objectives and experiences, while sometimes also touching on the types of courses, disciplines or fields for which this technique is appropriate. 

Finally, a “How?” subsection aims to be the most practical, outlining the resources required for the technique and offering ‘principles’ to help guide implementation. This subsection often contains sample materials, further reading, or suggested next steps to inspire co-creative learning in your classroom. 

We invite you to explore the techniques in any order and hope that you find the ideas and examples useful and motivating.

References

Matthews, K. (2016). Students as partners as the future of student engagement. Student Engagement in Higher Education Journal, 1(1). https://sehej.raise-network.com/raise/article/view/380