Behind the scenes of partnership between lecturer and student: a reflective account

By Huynh Trang Tuan Tuong, UG student and Mary Moschou, staff, University of the West of England (UWE Bristol)

After attending the RAISE 2025 conference, I felt empowered to try some of the ideas I had encountered there, particularly challenging the traditional student–lecturer power dynamic through a simple co-partnership with a student: writing a blog post together.

Simple?

Not even close.

From the start, my mind was in “supervisory mode” rather than “collaborator mode”. Tuong, bringing his own educational experiences into the room, found it difficult to step outside the familiar lecturer–student hierarchy. The hierarchy was there; I could see it and feel it.

There was also another uncomfortable truth. How could I trust that the quality would be good enough? I assumed, and I am not proud to admit it, that student meant less experience and lower quality. I was wrong. He is an English Literature student after all, while I am a humble mathematician.

As Bovill notes, “Students [...] need time to develop the language and the confidence to express pedagogical ideas clearly.” I add that they also need time to adjust to a more democratic approach, where they have shared responsibility. Looking back, I would communicate the idea of co-creation more clearly and allow more time for trust to develop.

Shaking the status quo proved much harder than I expected.

Here is what Tuong has to say about it:

Let me start with a confession:

I used to believe that the ideal student–lecturer relationship should feel a bit like the meeting between a king and a peasant! When speaking to a king, you must show respect and absolutely do not interrupt.

Then I met Mary and she made my belief collapse within approximately 15 minutes.

The internal chaos at the first meeting:

At the first meeting, Mary greeted: “Hello! Just call me Mary.”

I froze!

Call you… Mary? Just that? No “Dr.”? No “Professor”?

Meanwhile, my brain was running: “Is this a test? Will she get angry if I say ‘Mary’ too casually?” But Mary continued. Smiling, open, and very… human. She asked for my opinions. My ideas. My feedback. At one point, she even said:

“I might be wrong… what do you think?”

I am screaming silently!

When I started to work with Mary, it was just like there were two versions of me:

·      My Asian version:“Be humble. Be quiet.”

·      My Western version:“Speak up. Raising the voice is important.”

I had that feeling because the educational philosophy in my country originated from Confucianism. To be more specific, because of this ideology, the teacher’s hierarchy will be higher than the students’, meaning that the student must show the respect and be careful in the conversation with teachers (Hayhoe, 2008).

That’s why, in meetings, I was always repeating questions in my head:

·      “Should I say something?”

·      “What if I sound stupid?”

·      “What if… she actually wants me to say something?”

But the plot twist was that she did want me to say my own opinions. The wall was gradually broken:

Gradually, I stopped seeing Mary as “the lecturer I must impress” and started seeing her as “a partner I can learn something with”. And more surprisingly… She was learning from me too. Working with Mary didn’t just improve my academic skills, it helped me to see how to work with people who grow up within Western culture and society.

Figure 1. Mary and Tuong having finished writing their blog post (image ChatGPT generated)

Here’s what I’ve realised:

• Respect doesn’t always mean silence.Sometimes, it means talking directly and honestly.

• And lecturers are not super entities with scary power. They can also be your helpful allies on the journey of your undergraduate education.

If you ever find yourself working with a lecturer like Mary, here are a few useful tips from me:

1. It’s okay to feel uncomfortable at first:You’re not “bad at communication”. You just need the time to adapt to it.

2. Speak, even if your voice shakes:Your ideas don’t need to be perfect. They just need to exist.

3. Ask questions:In many Western contexts, curiosity is a strength, not a weakness.

4. Let yourself grow into the partnershipYou don’t have to transform overnight. Growth here is gradual. That’s normal.

Take home message:

Working with Mary taught me that partnership between a lecturer and a student isn’t about removing respect, it’s about redefining it.

Also, I now say “Mary” without having a mini heart attack.

Authors

Huynh Trang Tuan Tuong is a 3rd year UG student of the BA (Hons) in English Literature at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol).

Dr. Mary Moschou is a Lecturer in Applied Mathematics at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol).