A phenomenographic study of research informed teaching through the eyes of Masters’ students

There has been a revival of interest in the relationship between research and teaching and its impact on student learning. Most studies have focused on the experience of research informed teaching (RIT) for undergraduate students, usually from teachers’ perspective. Here we explored the experience of 25 Masters’ students on a Management degree in a business school using phenomenography. We identified five different conceptions of RIT: the transmitter focuses on RIT as spreading research signals to students; the detective foregrounds methods of inquiry; the catalyst emphasises teaching impacts; the agent focuses on students taking ownership for self-directed learning; and the wayfarer engages students in a lifelong journey which shifts students’ ways of thinking about knowledge. Our findings challenge academics to go beyond limited functional conceptions of RIT so that confidence to embrace the idea that knowledge is provisional, and commitment to lifelong exploration and impactful learning are developed in students.