Co-design with students is coveted – but may wither and die when staff start studentsplaining.
UQ academic innovator Kelly Matthews and Monash colleague Tim Fawns recently reflected on the issues that arose in a recent co-design process exploring AI for learning with students.
“We noticed a familiar urge: the tendency for teaching staff (ourselves included) to explain students’ experiences to them, Professor Matthews noted.
“Often well-intentioned, this move can unintentionally flatten or misrepresent. We called it studentsplaining—a gentle provocation to remind ourselves to pause, listen, and create more space for students to speak for themselves.”
The pair noted that when staff and students checked their organisational identity at the door, the co-design process could enter into a new, more open view of partnership – but also that over-reach extended both ways and that students also needed to seek to understand and respect the role and perspectives of staff.
“When we really pause and listen, we realise that our similarities are often more profound than our differences when it comes to AI,” Professor Matthews said.