This winter, Stefania Maggi, an instructor in the Department of Psychology, joined forces with fourth-year student Jessica Gagliano through the Students as Partners Program (SaPP) with the goal of adapting a 12-week Childhood and Youth Studies course to fit the format of a six-week summer term. The following interview shares Jessica’s reflections on her experience in the program.
Why did you choose to participate in SaPP?
Upon reading about the Students as Partners Program, I ultimately decided to participate because it offered an opportunity to build a professional relationship with a faculty member who stands for and upholds the same values and goals as I do— namely enhancing a connection with nature and partaking in environmentalism. Furthermore, I realized that this program would also help me to expand on my organizational and collaborative skills as I move into my next professional and academic roles.
How was your experience working with a faculty partner?
My experience working with a faculty partner could not have been more pleasant. In each of our weekly virtual meetings, my faculty partner ensured I was well-equipped to reach the project goals we had set for the week. They genuinely considered any and all suggestions or concerns that I had about the project and I always felt safe to voice my ideas and opinions because of the feedback and encouragement that I consistently received from them.
Overall, due to the faculty-student dynamic in this partnership program, I felt that we both learned a lot about delivering an education that is meaningful to students’ unique academic and professional journeys. To this end, it was valuable to consider both perspectives of educator and student in re-creating course content and assessments that would boast transferable skills for various real-world roles.
What was the goal of this project? What, if any, changes were implemented as a result of this project?
The goal of this project was to redesign a 12-week course so that its content may be adapted for a 6-week summer term format without omitting valuable course lessons. Furthermore, my faculty partner expressed that my insights (as a previous student in the course we would be redesigning) would be valuable in enhancing the course’s ability to deliver meaningful and clear lessons to future students.
Hence, I met with my faculty partner weekly to analyze the course outline, module content and assessment instructions, and we would then brainstorm ways that these documents could be written and structured in a way that would best suit a six-week course in a blended format.
Changes that were implemented in this project include the incorporation of an updated course schedule in the course outline, edits to assessment instructions so they appear more clear to readers, redesigning experiential assignments to best suit a six week term, including a bi-weekly online discussion component that would replace previous discussion board posts which were found to be less engaging, and designing an entirely new final assignment that would require students to reflect on the transferable skills they have acquired from the course.
What do you feel you have gained from the experience of participating in SaPP which you might not have gained otherwise?
Ultimately, I feel I have gained a better understanding of the intricate details that go into designing a third-year university-level course and how much time an educator should be ready to dedicate to such a task if they genuinely wish to see their students succeed. Had I not participated in this program, I might still believe that many professors follow ‘cookie cutter’ templates for designing their courses with little to no personalization or attention to highlighting the transferable skills a course should offer.
By participating in this project, I realized that professors at Carleton (like my faculty partner) truly take the time to ensure their lessons produce meaningful reflection in their students and encourage them to apply what they have learned to their individual goals and circumstances in a way that will instil more progressive and mindful perspectives. Moreover, I feel this program has allowed me to expand on my collaborative skills. I am typically quite hesitant to confront faculty members about their course delivery or teaching styles, but working with my faculty partner has caused me to feel more confident in voicing my suggestions and ideas in future.
What would you tell people considering participating in this opportunity?
To anyone considering the Students as Partners Program:
I highly recommend that you take this incredible opportunity to develop a professional relationship with a faculty member—this is something that can be difficult to accomplish if you find yourself in various large and demanding classes with little time to attend office hours or meet your professor outside of school hours. Furthermore, not only will you sharpen your organizational, interpersonal and pedagogical skills, but you will also leave the program feeling like your ideas as a student were valuable in making future students’ academic experiences better.
Finally, being paid for your work is just one of many ways that you will finish your project feeling like you have helped produce something valuable. Ultimately, your voice as a student matters and I encourage you to use this program as a means to amplify it.
The Students as Partners Program (SaPP) offers faculty, instructors, contract instructors and learning support staff the opportunity to provide a paid work experience to undergraduate students interested in teaching innovation and curriculum design. Find out more about the program and apply here.