The Power of Listening

Exploring Listening Rooms Methodology in Education Research

Authors
This innovative project has ten team members, and uses a co-researchers model with four students as researchers.

The team is composed of:
Anna Judd-Yelland (PI)
Dr Paula Addison-Pettit
Mel Green
Dr Carlos Montoro 
Catherine Carden
Dr Poppy Gibson
Eunice Acheampomaa (student co-researcher)
Joanne Sandhu (student co-researcher)
Ricky O’Connor (student co-researcher)
Catherine Newport (student co-researcher)

Introduction
Have you heard of ‘Listening Rooms’?
The Listening Rooms methodology (Parkin and Heron, 2022) is a qualitative research approach, especially in higher education, where friends have recorded conversations about their lived experiences using researcher-designed prompts, capturing authentic, peer-to-peer insights on themes like belonging or success. These conversations are recorded and transcribed by the researchers, using thematic analysis to draw out themes. One strength of this method is that we can see how Listening Rooms offer the opportunity to reveal true participant voices outside power dynamics such as in a 1:1 interview between researcher and participant. Listening Rooms focus on generating rich data by creating a safe, private space for deep, personal sharing, often revealing nuanced perspectives on challenges like student support or diversity.

The Hidden Curriculum
Why is capturing these conversations important? The hidden curriculum of assessment and uneven levels of assessment preparation and support has been found to most impact racially minoritised students. Nguyen, Rienties and Richardson (2019) analysed the learning analytics of students based on their digital traces in naturalistic distance learning settings, they found that Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students were 19-79% less likely to complete, pass or gain an excellent grade in comparison to white students despite spending 4-12% more time studying. Uneven levels of or a total lack of assessment support and preparation, when accompanied by different modes of assessment, often left racially marginalised students unprepared.

Exploring students’ experiences of racially inclusive assessment practices in online distance learning.
This project, funded by The Open University Praxis Scholarship Centre, explores how elements of Campbell, Hawkins and Osman’s (2021) racially inclusive assessment framework (RIPIAG) can be adapted for an online distance learning context. The framework has been designed to address the hidden curriculum of assessment and uneven levels of assessment preparation and support that was found to most impact racially minoritised students.

A team of ten researchers at the Open University are currently using the Listening Rooms methodology for their project exploring students’ experiences of racially inclusive assessment practices in online distance learning. The team have invited students to take part in Listening Rooms, speaking to prompts on the topics of ‘success’, ‘belonging’, ‘journey’ and ‘confidence’.

Listening Rooms originated at Sheffield Hallam as a face-to-face method, but successfully shifted to an online format always capturing conversations between peers with established relationships (Parkin and Heron, 2022). In this OU study, the distance learning participants are first introduced to each in the online Listening Room.

Alongside the Listening Rooms, student surveys and assessment support tutorials are taking place, as well as quantitative data collection from the student data dashboard. Data collection and analysis is still ongoing, but the findings from this study will offer valuable insight into ways educators can better provide education that is racially inclusive.

So, what is the takeaway?
We all know that listening to students’ voices is key. The Listening Rooms methodology is one way we can aim to capture the most authentic voices when conducting research in education. If you are planning a research project, why not consider if this could be a suitable method for you?

References

Campbell, P. I., Hawkins, C. & Osman, S. (2021) Tackling Racial Inequalities in Assessment in Higher Education: A Multi-Disciplinary Case Study. Available at:https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/files/80673353/Tackling_Racial_Inequalities_in_Assessment_in_HE_May_21.pdf (Accessed: 21 January 2026).

Nguyen, Q., Rienties, B. & Richardson, J.T. (2020) Learning analytics to uncover inequality in behavioural engagement and academic attainment in a distance learning setting. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 45(4), pp. 594-606.

Parkin, H. and Heron, E. (2022) Innovative methods for positive institutional change: The Listening Rooms Project and student and staff ‘voice’. Educational Developments, 23 (3), 13-17.

The author

Poppy Gibson

Poppy currently leads the innovate Blended Accelerated BA Hons in Primary Education Studies at ARU (Anglia Ruskin University), Essex. Poppy is a senior lecturer in education, and recently graduated with merit on the Masters in Mental Health Science (MSc). Poppy is also a qualified Inside-Out Prison Educator. Poppy previously worked for 4 years as a Senior Lecturer in Primary Education, and Course Lead of the 2-year accelerated Primary Education degree, at the University of Greenwich, moving into Higher Education after over a decade working in London primary schools. Poppy’s primary research interests revolve around mental health and wellbeing, but Poppy also has a passion for edtech in helping students achieve.