Berea College

Piloted in spring 2017 and supported by a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation, Berea’s Student-Faculty Partnerships Program brings students and faculty together to explore teaching and learning in new ways.

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Based on the premises of respect, reciprocity, and shared responsibility and modeled after the successful program at Bryn Mawr developed by Dr. Alison Cook-Sather (Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., &amp; Felten, P., 2014), students are paired with faculty partners to engage in dialogue about the faculty members’ course-based goals. Each week, student partners use these goals as a lens for observing their faculty partner’s class meetings. Then, the pairs meet to discuss their roles and experiences as teachers and students, the observations, and students’ feedback. Student partners also participate in a quarter-credit, a semester-long course focused on deepening their understanding of pedagogy, communication, and partnership.

Early on, Center Director Dr. Leslie Ortquist-Ahrens collaborated with two Mellon-funded post-baccalaureate fellows, Mia Rybeck and Khadijah Seay, to create structures and resources for faculty and students to engage in this informed dialogue. Working closely with other stakeholders on campus, the program continues to study and share students’ perspectives on learning and model ways of partnering across common barriers. For more information, please contact <a href="mailto: ortquistahrensl@berea.edu">Dr. Leslie Ortquist-Ahrens</a>.

<a href="https://next.berea.edu/center-for-teaching-and-learning/faculty-development">Faculty Development</a> and Student-Faculty Partnerships are located on the main level of Hutchins Library near the circulation desk (Room 206).

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Advice from Student to Faculty:
<ul>
 	<li>Be patient with the students. Sometimes it can be difficult to navigate through the program. Be sure to hold the student accountable for the student meetings, observations, and feedback meetings.</li>
 	<li>Keep in mind the bidirectional nature of the program. Students should not be the only ones giving feedback. Faculty should be encouraged to give more feedback to the students as well.</li>
 	<li>Be specific about your goals. The student partner will probably be looking up to you as an authority, at least in the beginning. Continue to communicate openly with your student partner. This will help them feel more open with you in return.</li>
 	<li>Be open to changing how you teach, and approaching the program with an open mind and with a willingness to listen to the experience and observations of the student partner, so that you can together develop better ways to teach the class.</li>
 	<li>Be open to students’ opinions.</li>
 	<li>If you’re not sure what you’d like to work on, be open to going into the partnership just focusing on the observation because as it progresses, things will come up that you realize are good to focus on.</li>
 	<li>Be open and receptive. Do not feel as though your role is being hijacked, but see this program as an opportunity to learn and row. Education is a process not only for the students, but also for the professor. The partnership program is one of the avenues that includes the learning process so embrace it.</li>
 	<li>Enter this program with an open mind and willingness to learn. I think that realizing that the student partner is not there to try to criticize their every word or take over their class is important for them to understand.</li>
 	<li>Be willing to try new things and talk about things you may not have thought to talk about, such as why a professor does something in a particular way.</li>
 	<li>Be open and honest about the issues or problems that they see happening in their classes. You cannot troubleshoot an issue if you think there isn’t one.</li>
 	<li>Don’t just do the program to do it but really try to get something out of it.</li>
 	<li>Keep an open mind and really consider the student’s perspective. Assure the student that their observations and assessment matter a great deal.</li>
 	<li>Leave your ego at the door. Most of the issues I heard from other student partners all came because their professor wasn’t willing to listen to the student.</li>
 	<li>A faculty member should make an active effort to engage with their student partner and give something valuable in return, as the student really is doing a massive favor for the faculty partner. Viewing the student faculty partnership as half feedback, half mentorship could really work well.</li>
 	<li>Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. This experience is meant to help us grow and I thin k it could be easy to be discouraged if immediate results are not seen.</li>
 	<li>It takes patience and willingness to put yourself in new positions. Stay open-minded with this proves. You never know what ideas could work unless you try.</li>
 	<li>Get to know your student partner outside the realm of the program. Communication is one of the most important parts of this program and getting to know someone a little better on a human level makes that so much easier.</li>
</ul>
Advice from Faculty to Faculty:
<ul>
 	<li>At first, some feedback can feel untrue or unfair. It’s good to force yourself to pause and listen. You will learn things, and you’ll have a chance to speak to what your [student partner] is saying. Try not to be formulating a response in your mind. Just listen. Really listen.</li>
 	<li>I think it would have been helpful to understand that this was not something I was to control but rather receive. I started this role in this program thinking I had to achieve certain goals and accomplishments. If I had understood that earlier, I think I could have received even more “golden nuggets”.</li>
 	<li>Consultations work equally well for classes you’ve taught many, many times or for classes that are new preps.</li>
 	<li>Relax. Learn. Act.</li>
 	<li>Take the bond between the [student partner] and [faculty partner] seriously – nurture it so that you feel good about being open and being tough with one another</li>
 	<li>It is okay for the focus to be on helping the student clarify his or her career goals. In other words, faculty partners should talk to the student and learn about his or her goals which may be to assess a particular course.</li>
 	<li>Listen – sometimes what you hear might sound absurd, and maybe it even is… but more often than not there is a core of wisdom to start a thinking process in it and it would be sad to miss that! If you disagree with your student partner’s suggestions, be prepared to have a good reason for the disagreement – this was most valuable to me since it forced me to be ready to defend about any aspect of my teaching!</li>
 	<li>Have really clear goals set at the start for what you want to achieve and how you think your partner can help you – the more of a framework they have to work with the better feedback you’ll get.</li>
 	<li>Be receptive. Your student partner has important things to tell you. Just listen. Really listen. Try to suspend your disbelief and learn from them. If your first response is defensive, have a metacognitive moment and recognize that. Pledge to quiet that defensive voice and keep on listening.</li>
</ul>

Advice for Faculty Partners 

Advice from Faculty to Students:
<ul>
 	<li>Detailed notes are so helpful. So are thoughtful reflections. The more energy you put into carefully observing, and later contemplating, the more your [faculty partner] will get out of this program.</li>
 	<li>[Your] role in this process is to provide information/data.</li>
 	<li>Our feelings don’t get hurt easily – feel free to offer critiques and suggestions.</li>
 	<li>Find a way to make this project your own. Have something in mind that you want to have a result for at the end of the process. Make a list of goals. See if the goals are/are not met.</li>
 	<li>Take the development of the bond between the [student partner] and [faculty partner] seriously – nurture it so that you feel good about being open and being tough with one another.</li>
 	<li>Your ideas are valuable and your voice is important. In your unique role as a student [partner], you have the opportunity to shape the way a course progresses. Your faculty partner is interested in your ideas and opinions, and has as much to learn from you as you may have to learn from them.</li>
 	<li>Be clear about your goals and objectives before participating in the partnership.</li>
 	<li>Yes it is a partnership, but the faculty member is still the faculty member. Thus, do not be offended if the faculty member does not adopt all of his or her suggestions.</li>
 	<li>Don’t be afraid of your faculty partner. Faculty that participate are certainly most willing to listen to students… we self-selected ourselves into this program after all!</li>
 	<li>Don’t be afraid to give honest feedback! If the professor is open, they will take your feedback to heart and try to implement it. If they aren’t open, that’s on them (they’re in the program for a reason, they signed up for it).</li>
 	<li>Be bold. Don’t be afraid to say the hard things. Your faculty Partner will thank you for your bravery and honesty (and if they don’t, that’s on them, not you).</li>
 	<li>Trust your instincts! Lead with enthusiasm and goodwill. Stay organized throughout and try to think across many weeks of observation so that you can give comprehensive feedback.</li>
 	<li>It seemed as though a surprising amount of feedback from [my student partner] was quite positive. I would suggest that “constructive criticism” is just as welcome (and perhaps even more helpful).</li>
 	<li>Be honest with your faculty member. Everyone else around them is probably just telling them what they want to hear, but if they really want to improve as a teacher, they need someone to be honest with them. That someone can be you! You have unique and valuable insights to provide.</li>
 	<li>Keep using the “observation notes”. They were useful and effective.</li>
 	<li>Don’t hold back in being honest with feedback but also being kind.</li>
 	<li>By adopting a posture of inquiry, the potential for communicative conflict is lessened.</li>
</ul>
Advice from Students to Students:
<ul>
 	<li>Be patient with the program and the benefits are not always immediately apparent. It is important to keep in mind that progress in being made.</li>
 	<li>Reflect on the relationship with the professor at the beginning of the term compared to where they are in the program.</li>
 	<li>You get out what you put in. The program only works if the students take it seriously and do the work required. Taking the program seriously is what really provided the benefits.</li>
 	<li>Be very specific with your professors and your students, as well as with yourself and your own goals. This makes them much easier to take account of and achieve.</li>
 	<li>Take time to establish a relationship with your faculty partner. Having a good relationship between the two allows the observation feedback meetings to go smoother. If you do not feel comfortable telling a professor how they can improves, it may cause a person to not effectively give good feedback out of fear or any bias.</li>
 	<li>Sometime criticism can be intimidating to give to someone in a higher position than you are.</li>
 	<li>Build a good relationship with their faculty partner early on and stay on top of everything.</li>
 	<li>Always write your reflections the same day as you record your observations, it will save you a ton of time and will likely be more conclusive (where it needs to be).</li>
 	<li>Keep a binder to stay organized.</li>
 	<li>Don’t be afraid to take the lead in your meetings with your partner, figure out an organized, concise way to present your reflections without having to read thoroughly through them. Do this, have a relaxed discussion, and leave your written reflections with your partner for them to reflect on afterwards.</li>
 	<li>Be open with your professor about what their goals are, why they are doing this program, and what they want to get out of the student’s observations.</li>
 	<li>Set realistic goals, but don’t be afraid to go back and change your goals</li>
 	<li>Don’t just let the faculty set goals. You have to have your own too</li>
 	<li>When there comes a stumbling block in communication, dedicated yourself to figure out how to get around</li>
 	<li>Be open to your ideas not always getting implemented. Don’t take it personally.</li>
 	<li>Be okay with not having huge things you can change. Having small simple goals is okay.  I was going in expecting grandiose things.</li>
 	<li>Be prepare for faculty who don’t know what they want you to look for but still appreciate you being there.</li>
 	<li>Find a way to be personally invested in what the professor teaches. Ask questions about what you find interesting.  You have their attention for an hour.  You might just as well go in and mine their brain.</li>
 	<li>Easier to get involved in the class than sit in the back quietly.</li>
 	<li>Always sit in the back.</li>
 	<li>Switch up your positions. (depends on the room set up)</li>
 	<li>Tell your faculty partner when you learn something new form observing.</li>
 	<li>Experiment with when you write your observations. Some the moment after; some after a couple of days.</li>
 	<li>Ask you partner what she plans to teach the next week, and go and think ahead (maybe consider relevant activities).</li>
 	<li>If it’s a class that’s two hours a time, switch up the hours you decide to take your notes.</li>
 	<li>Write your most important response in the moment (so you don’t forget it)—in a different color.</li>
 	<li>When you meet with your partner, ask them how they feel about the class before sharing what you have to say. They can see the “mirroring” in your comments</li>
 	<li>Meetings go so much smoother when I let the faculty partner first say what they felt about the class. Then I highlight something.</li>
 	<li>One of fears of a faculty partner is losing power. When you listen, they see they still matter.</li>
 	<li>Get to know your partner outside of the classroom setting. Change up where you meet.  Not always in their office (their turf, territory).</li>
</ul>
Thoughts for Students who are both the TA and Student Partner:
<ul>
 	<li>Working for my boss has helped my relationship. She asks for help not only on classes I’m observing but also different ones.</li>
 	<li>Depends on who you are before you start the partnership. IF you have a good relationship and are good at your job . . .</li>
 	<li>Clear on the relationship dynamic</li>
 	<li>I could only see a conflict if someone is taking it personally</li>
 	<li>I’ve really enjoyed it being the same. I’ve learned so much about the discipline after graduation and fields that are tangentially related to mine.  I went into it in a way that I notice things that I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise.  On the other hand, the professor is moving on, so there was never the fear of a future relationship.  I had good relationship before, so it wasn’t an issue.  In my case, it worked really well.</li>
 	<li>I liked being the same. I paid much better attention because it’s in my field.  That’s made that part easier.</li>
 	<li>I love my subject so much, I think it would be interesting to see how I could help make it engaging for the other students.</li>
 	<li>If you are in the same discipline, or if you are a TA, there has to be a level of trust beforehand, and you have to know people.</li>
</ul>