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As part of the COMBINE program, several courses have piloted how co-creation can enrich teaching and learning. Instead of students only using textbooks and exercises, they can actively contribute to improving them and enhance their own learning experience.

One of the first pilots of the program was a Bachelor introductory programming course, in which students who already had programming experience collaborated with the teacher to improve the course reader. Here, the students started from two existing sections of the reader, and were encouraged to change or expand that content in a way that would help one of their peers understand the concepts better. Hence, they added explanations, new exercises and some more useful knowledge. Then they reviewed each other’s work, improving the wording and suggesting additions, like:

“I have noticed that many students struggle to understand arguments within functions. It makes sense to provide this as an example here. Hopefully, this will encourage them to think more from the principle side of programming.”

For the teacher, the process brought valuable insights. Students offered ideas about how material could be clearer and more accessible, and several of their contributions are now being incorporated into the reader for future cohorts.

“Getting the level of an introductory Python reader right is genuinely difficult. Having students co-write the material really helps keep that level in check. They had strong ideas about the content and structure, and some of their suggestions significantly improved the course.” – Freek Broeren

Click here to read the full interview!

By joining a the COMBINE program and piloting co-creation methods in their course, teachers can experiment with new teaching approaches, work more closely with students, and contribute to a growing collection of open educational materials.

Are you interested in redesigning your course for co-creation? Or have other questions about the program? Please contact us.