Open Badges to Encourage Class Representatives’ Reflection and Achievement-Sharing: A Case Study from Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA)

Abstract

This case study describes how Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) worked in partnership with the University of Edinburgh’s Information Services division to implement one of the first Open Badge schemes used in the UK higher education sector. Based on student feedback, EUSA developed an effective Open Badge model to recognise and reward students’ work as Class Representatives. The paper describes EUSA’s model of badges, badge criteria and implementation, before focusing on qualitative examples of the positive impact of this pilot project for both individual students and for the Students’ Association. It provides examples of how students reflected thoughtfully about the impact of their work as Class Representatives to develop skills in negotiation, problem solving, diplomacy, leadership, and change management. EUSA’s Open Badge scheme now rewards students for sharing their achievements. In turn, students’ Open Badge blog posts have helped EUSA to gain more meaningful insights into the broad work of Class Representatives and how students benefit when they engage fully with the role.