Abstract:

Introduction:
In undergraduate education, co-creation learning between students and teachers have become increasingly popular. It is known that co-creation learning enhances students' proactivity, communication skills, leadership skills etc. However, studies focusing on the applications of co-creation in service-learning are limited. Meanwhile, a co-creation service-learning project targeting Hong Kong elders was carried out in September 2020. Using the above project as a case study, the following reflection aims to discuss the pros and cons of co-creation service-learning from the perspectives of students and teachers.

Details of co-creation service learning project:
Students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) initiated a telephone-based educational program to improve elders’ health literacy under the supervision of two teachers. Later, other student volunteers were recruited from the Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Science at CUHK. Each volunteer was paired up with an elderly subject recruited from a local Elderly Community Center. The five-week service-learning program consisted of five phone call sessions. In each session, knowledge surveys designed by volunteers covering three COVID-19 related health topics including Medication Safety, Healthcare Voucher and COVID-19 Prevention were conducted. When elderly participants answered incorrectly, student volunteers would educate them and correct their mistakes. Both students and teachers were involved in designing the flow and objectives of the project. After, the four core initiators and two teachers completed a survey related to their perceptions of co-creation service learning where their opinions were then analyzed.

Pros and Cons of co-creation service learning from students' perspective:
Student initiators believed that co-creation service learning benefited them by enhancing their communication, problem-solving, organizational and leadership skills. Apart from soft skills, they developed deeper understandings of the Hong Kong geriatric population because they were primarily responsible for preparatory work. Moreover, co-creation improved the project design via integration of diverse and innovative opinions from different volunteers.
For disadvantages, students found co-creation projects time-consuming because much preparatory work were needed and they did not have much prior experiences.

Pros and cons of co-creation service learning from teachers' perspective:
Overall, teachers shared similar opinions with students. Both teachers believed that co-creation projects were more learning-enhancing, stimulating and sustainable due to students' ownership. Further, they believed that co-creation allowed students to become more independent and capable of handling details of future service projects. Yet, teachers agreed that co-creation was time-consuming for both parties. They were concerned about insufficient funding for future projects and the discrepancies between students' interests and the curriculum.

Implications to future curriculum design:
It was proposed that learning enhancement should be maximized while workload should be reduced. For instance, students from different disciplines should be recruited and granted of greater freedom, which allows better division of labor. In conclusion, co-creation service-learning was highly feasible and offered students a great learning opportunity.

Keywords:

Co-creation, Service learning, Undergraduate education.