Student-Faculty Teaching Collaborations

The Teaching and Learning Center, in partnership with the Faculty Fellow for Student Success and Retention, is inviting applications from faculty who are interested in participating in the Student-Faculty Teaching Collaboration Program for Spring 2025.

Program Overview 

The program pairs two students with a WCU faculty member for a semester-long collaboration. This is an opportunity for the students to help faculty and the institution better understand their experiences and leverage that insight to improve teaching practices. The program is designed to help faculty gain insight and perspective on teaching and learning from students' perspectives. 
 
Each week, the faculty member works with student collaborators to select an aspect of their teaching or course design for the two student collaborators to observe in their teaching and then provide feedback from their perspectives as students. Student collaborators observe courses that they are not enrolled in. Their role is to provide feedback on the teaching process and not on course content. After the weekly observation, the faculty member meets with the student pair for up to an hour to debrief their observations and identify the next aspect of the course for them to observe.  
 
The faculty members who participated in the pilot program appreciated that it allowed them to step out of their 'professor head' and experience being a student again. They received more frequent and varied feedback than they typically received from their own students, which helped them feel more in tune with the course throughout the semester. Additionally, they reported that it boosted their confidence and reignited their passion for teaching. Student participants indicated they learned a lot about the unknown side of what it is like to be a professor and appreciated seeing how their feedback translates into tangible improvements for their faculty's teaching.

Program Benefits

The program aims to promote student retention and success through effective teaching. Faculty members can potentially benefit from this program in the following ways: 

  1. Gain direct insight from students about their learning experiences and challenges. 
  2. Identify teaching methods that meet students' diverse learning needs and enhance their engagement. 
  3. Address equity issues to promote inclusion and a sense of belonging. 
  4. Improve course design to facilitate better student learning.

Please note that faculty do not receive monetary compensation for participating in this program.  The student collaborators are paid as student workers. 

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to all faculty members (including adjunct professors) at any stage of their careers who wish to enhance their teaching skills. Only courses that are not fully online, lab courses, practicum courses, collaboratively taught courses, or grad courses will be considered for the program. 

Expectations

During the semester, faculty teaching collaborators would commit to the following: 

  • Attend a 2-hour orientation at the beginning of the semester . 
  • Participate in a one-hour meeting each week with student teaching collaborators. 
  • Attend one hour-long mid-semester meeting.  
  • Attend a final celebration and evaluation meeting at the end of the semester. 

Registration Process 

Faculty members who wish to participate should complete the online registration form.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be reviewed based on the following criteria: 

  1. Clear goals for participation. 
  2. Willingness to engage in reflective practice and openness to feedback. 
  3. Willingness to share what they learn from the experience. 

Contact Information

For inquiries or additional details, please contact the Teaching and Learning Center at tlc@wcupa.edu.