To have students create course material is a pedagogical model that has gained popularity in higher education as a way to promote active learning and student engagement by encouraging students to become knowledge producers. Student-generated learning materials are created by students for use by their peers, often as part of a course activity. Creating learning resources for others fosters responsibility, content engagement, and peer learning but the approach also raises questions about trust, content quality, and pedagogical effectiveness. This study explores how students experience and perceive this learning model.

In a master's-level course in human-computer interaction, students created instructional videos for peer learning as part of a flipped classroom design. To examine their perceptions of this pedagogical approach, we conducted anonymous pre- and post-surveys that included both Likert-scale and open-ended questions. The surveys explored students’ attitudes toward creating and using peer-generated materials, including aspects such as comfort, trust, motivation, and perceived learning value. A total of 26 students completed the pre-survey and 25 completed the post-survey. In addition, five follow-up interviews were conducted with students after the course, each lasting 30–45 minutes.

At the beginning of the course, students indicated a sense of cautious optimism towards the student-generated content. While many expressed interest in creating course materials, some reported concerns about relying on peer-produced videos for their own learning. In particular, there was uncertainty about the quality and clarity of such materials. One student noted, “I feel that a material curated by a professor would be more intricate,” expressing doubts about the depth and quality of student-created resources. Another student expressed, “Well, one reason why we have teachers is that they’re trained in pedagogy… I probably would have preferred a more traditional setup, but we’ll see”, reflecting a hesitation toward the student-driven format.

Despite the initial reservations, students expressed more positive attitudes in the post-survey across all repeated items addressing their comfort with using peer-created materials, their trust in the quality of those materials, their motivation to contribute to others’ learning, and their perception of the value of this pedagogical model. In particular, students expressed a stronger appreciation for creating course materials and recognised its relevance to their own learning: “I've realised that you learn better when you're creating the material yourself." Another student expressed that: “I feel motivated to know that the material I create is going to be used for other students to learn from,” which highlights a sense of responsibility for providing peers with high-quality material. While some students initially questioned whether peer-created materials could match the standard of teacher-produced content, many described the experience as more worthwhile and relevant to their own learning than they had first expected.

The findings show that participating in the activity fostered a more positive view of the pedagogical model, and suggest that engaging students in creating course materials can strengthen their motivation and promote learning. This supports the potential of student-generated content as an engaging pedagogical model and emphasises the value of learning through making.

Keywords: Student-generated content, Peer-learning, Learning through making, Higher education.