Led by the Center for Teaching, University of Iowa faculty and students are participating in an evidence-based program that supports student and faculty success called Students as Partners. The program matches an instructor with 1 to 2 undergraduate students who provide meaningful feedback and ideas about student learning experiences. By bringing together instructors and students as collaborative partners, this program fosters more inclusive, engaging, and equitable learning environments.

These student-faculty partnerships are a “reciprocal process through which all participants have the opportunity to contribute equally, although not necessarily in the same ways, to curricular or pedagogical conceptualization, decision-making, implementation, investigation, or analysis” (Cook-Sather, et al., 2014, p. 6-7[i]).

Two of our undergraduate student partners, both First Gen Hawks, describe the experience in these partnerships as enhancing their growth and development as students.

“Serving as a pedagogical partner has allowed me to experience education from a unique perspective,” observes second-year biology student Jasmyn Hoeger.  

Student partners like Hoeger have the rare experience of collaborating with a faculty member and providing a student perspective without the pressure of performing in the course. The fact that students are not enrolled in the course allows them to focus on elements they might otherwise be unable to attend to or afraid to share. Hoeger has found that working as a student partner has given her a greater insight into course design. 

“[I have] an increased understanding of why and how professors structure and teach their courses the way they do," says Hoeger. "Understanding this fuller picture has resulted in me getting more involved in my classes – asking questions, attending office hours, creating study groups.”

“One of the most impactful parts of being a pedagogical partner has been the rewarding learning opportunities,” says Krushi Patel, a second-year student studying neuroscience. "This has significantly improved my personal growth and academic experience.”  

Patel says being a student partner has given her the opportunity to foster an inclusive and accessible learning environment. 

UI faculty have also found that partnering with undergraduate students provides unique perspectives on their courses.

"The student partners are very enthusiastic and creative," says Dr. Sergii Bezuglyi, an instructor in the Department of Mathematics. "Their ideas will contribute to better communication and understanding of the course material and help students succeed.” 

In addition to this work contributing to student success, Dr. Mona Maalouf, associate professor of instruction in the Department of Chemistry, notes that the partnerships allow for reflection on instructional practices.  

"Student partner feedback on observations was a helpful and important reminder of the assumptions I find myself making about students’ learning and how my instruction may be guided by such assumptions," says Maalouf.

For more information about student-faculty partnerships, visit the Center for Teaching's Students as Partners webpage. 

Thanks to generous funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Insitute, members of the UI community are invited to a virtual event about faculty-student pedagogical partnerships on Friday, April 12 led by Dr. Alison Cook Sather. 

The Center for Teaching established the Students as Partners (SaP) program in 2023. In 2023-24, an initial 4-course pilot was funded by the Excellence in Teaching and Learning P3 Project and implemented in collaboration with the Office of Teaching, Learning and Technology and Academic Support & Retention. For the upcoming academic year, funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inclusive Excellence 3 has made it possible for up to 5 faculty partners to join the Center for Teaching’s Students as Partners program.