Overview
The Student Partners Program (SPP) provides any undergraduate and graduate students with paid opportunities to participate as partners with faculty, instructors and staff on projects that contribute to the enhancement of teaching and learning at McMaster. The SPP runs two project cycles a year (fall/winter and summer). Projects supported by the SPP provide opportunities to contribute to activities such as: design and development of new courses, creation of resources for faculty and students, and collaboration with staff and faculty partners on research projects related to teaching and learning.
Funding
The Student Partner’s Program operates on an award-based model. Funds awarded and distributed up to a maximum of $2000 per project (to fund Student Partner hours). Project funds are transferred to the project lead and are held in departmental accounts and are to be used solely for student partner pay.
Hiring
Student hiring is completed by the faculty/staff partner’s department. Student Partners are hired two times a year—typically in May and September.
Call for submissions
The Call for Student Partners for the Winter 2025 term is now open and will close on October 25th at 11:59PM (EDT).
Students interested in applying to the Call, will need to complete the student application available online here. Students can read more about the projects here.
Students who want to learn more about the projects are encouraged to reach out to the hiring contacts listed on each project description.
Staff key dates Winter 2025 |
Student key dates Winter 2025 |
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Testimonials about the Student Partners Program
The opportunity to work with a student partner and develop work together was wonderful in terms of expanding my own perspective and better understanding how students learn.
“I have gained so much from being involved in this project. The opportunity to work with a student partner and develop work together was wonderful in terms of expanding my own perspective and better understanding how students learn. I valued the chance to be involved in an important project while also giving the student the opportunity to steer the project, make recommendations, and work together to figure out how to best implement suggestions and ideas.”
Staff
This project was truly a partnership between faculty, students, and an alumnus. As such, it allowed rich and insightful contributions from members at different levels of the McMaster community!
“This project was truly a partnership between faculty, students, and an alumnus. As such, it allowed rich and insightful contributions from members at different levels of the McMaster community! Each team member learned something valuable from the other, and it made for a stronger project collaboration.”
Staff
Through my involvement in this partnership, I gained valuable project management and professional experience, which I know will serve me well as I enter the professional workforce.
“Through my involvement in this partnership, I gained valuable project management and professional experience, which I know will serve me well as I enter the professional workforce. What I valued the most was the opportunity to engage with the local high school community in a meaningful way, fostering connections and making a tangible impact on students.”
Student Partner
This experience greatly enhanced my communication and interpersonal skills, preparing me for leadership roles in other student-led initiatives and in professional settings.
“As a student partner, I gained valuable experience in recruiting, collaborating with, and leading a diverse team through organizing the event committee. This committee included older adults as well as graduate and post-graduate students, which allowed me to develop skills in facilitating dialogue that was accessible to both demographics, bridging communication gaps and fostering inclusivity. This experience greatly enhanced my communication and interpersonal skills, preparing me for leadership roles in other student-led initiatives and in professional settings.”
Student Partner
As the student partner, I was able to gain excellent experience in education research
“As the student partner, I was able to gain excellent experience in education research. Prior to beginning this project, I had never developed a longitudinal survey or met with focus groups. These are experiences I would not have had in my academic research career.”
Student Partner
Student Partners Program Guiding Values
How Does the SPP Define Partnership?
Partnerships for us involves the formation of reciprocal relationships between students and academic staff. Everyone involved in the project are engaged in the process of working and learning together and stand to gain from it. We view partnership as a process or a way of doing things rather than the output of some product or artifact. Partnership is, in the end, a more abstract word. How your partnership operates or looks will always come down to preference. Partnership does not take a singular form, however, at its core, all partnerships are built on reciprocity, respect, and transparency between members.
Building Blocks of Partnership
Student partnerships are similar in nature to interpersonal partnerships that you have in life. There are some standards of interactions and behaviour that lead to lasting meaningful partnerships and have lasting impact on students and staff well past end dates.
What are the preferred ways to communicate and work. Be mindful that partnership requires collaboration and not just assigning tasks. The traditional staff/student dynamic should not be expected. Create an environment where students lead and take initiative, express concerns, and let it be known that expectations are not being met.
Discuss how and if the project’s findings will be disseminated. Whose name will go first on articles and other publications. Discuss how and where documents and other information will be saved and stored. What can be included on each team member’s CV and what can be done to bolster each other.
Discuss the short and long-term goals of the project as a group and personal objectives. What exactly do both sides want to get out of the partnership. Create a mutual and shared set of expectations, protect them, and revisit them if need be.
Why Try the Student Partner Model?
Traditionally, educators position faculty as experts who impart knowledge to students. The student partner approach, however, promotes a collaborative relationship where faculty and students work together. This method challenges the traditional hierarchy, sharing decision-making responsibilities in pedagogy. It encourages students to take an active role, fostering greater engagement, responsibility, and ownership of their learning.
The advantages of partnerships in higher education have been extensively documented (Barnes, Goldring, Bestwick, & Wood, 2010; Healey, Flint & Harrington, 2014; Jarvis, Dickerson & Stockwell, 2013). For instance, collaborations in teaching and learning can build research capacity through joint inquiry, enhance engagement with teaching and learning, and develop the knowledge and skills of both students and staff. Additionally, these partnerships foster a sense of personal and social responsibility, boost personal and professional confidence, and create a stronger sense of belonging and community within the university.
Working with students provides a more contextualized and precise understanding of student collected data, feedback and assessment and it thus far more likely to result in sustainable and mutually beneficial changes to teaching and learning practices.
Core Values of Partnership
Encouraging genuine collaboration, we foster a collective effort where students, faculty, and staff collaborate to co-create meaningful contributions to teaching and learning projects. Recognizing the importance of diverse perspectives, skills, and experiences, we firmly believe that collaboration enriches the quality of the work undertaken.
Our program is committed to cultivating an inclusive environment. Actively promoting participation from individuals of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and identities—including students, faculty, and staff—we emphasize the significance of equity and diversity in shaping educational practices.
Our objective is to empower all participants—students, faculty, and staff—to actively participate in the teaching and learning process. Through purposeful partnerships, we strive to give students the agency to contribute to the intellectual direction of projects, fostering a sense of ownership and empowerment.
We are dedicated to maintaining a commitment to excellence in teaching and learning. The program seeks projects that have the potential to make meaningful contributions to enhancing educational practices and knowledge. We prioritize rigorous scholarship, innovation, and an ongoing commitment to improvement.
Ensuring transparency in all processes and procedures, we prioritize clear communication. From the selection of projects to reporting outcomes, our focus is on making expectations, goals, and timelines easily understandable for all stakeholders, fostering trust and accountability.
Past and Present Projects
Expandable List
We would like to sincerely thank the following people for reviewing the Summer 2024 Student Partner Project Award Applications:
Anita Acai, Supriya Bains, Alexia Cipriani, Maxime Dagenais, Aamna Durrani, Katie Harding, Amy Keuhl, Nimesh Korawege, Jason Lamb, Bryan Lee, Susan McCracken, Rebecca Misiak, Amanda Montague, Luke Schuurman, Saranya Srikanthan, Benjamin Taylor, Elizabeth Winstanley and Melec Zeadin.
If you would like to serve as a reviewer for a future round of applications, please email mi_sap@mcmaster.ca.
Faculty, Staff, and Students Partners’ Names | Project Titles |
Susan Mccracken Nidia Cerna Ismat Jahan |
GR0’ing at DeGroote – The Imagination and Development of The GR0 Program
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Randy Kay Sashaina Singh Karen Balcom Rand Al-Wazzan |
Interactive Content to Support Community Engaged Learning |
Jennifer Clarke Dr. Beth Marquis Rebecca Bishop Shelley Anderson Eliza Ritchie |
Equity-Conscious Recruitment for the Arts & Science Program |
Anastasia Newman Dr. Brenda Vrkljan Dr. Anastasia Newman Dr. Sarah Whitwell Ms. Annamaria Skrtic Adriana Hutchins |
Co-designing new curriculum using a student-informed approach: A cross-faculty Rehabilitation & Humanities collaboration |
Deborah DiLiberto Dayna McNeil |
Expanding the Global Health Doctoral Skills and Competencies Resource Portal |
Deborah DiLiberto Adam Zvric Maria Andreea Predoiu Menna Komeiha Abby Tristani Menna Komeiha, Abby Tristani |
Microcredentials in Global Health Education: Exploring the Potential for Capturing Professional and Transferable Skills |
Alison Biggs Paloma van Vliet Emiliana Arrieche d’Empaire |
Evaluating Skills in Language Analysis |
Heather O’Reilly Chad Harvey Sarah Symons Greg Cousins Devon Jones Ben Mazin |
Taking a byte-sized approach to coding within the first year iSci curriculum |
Antonio Dos Santos Ian Steinberg Samarah Maqbool |
IJSaP Communication Officer |
Andrea Cole Christine Doolittle Jill Rogers |
Developing Curriculum for an Indigenous Graduate Student Transition and Mentorship Program at McMaster University |
Anita Acai Rida Qamar |
Burnout Among Undergraduate Medical Applicants |
Sam Stewart Sophia Lourenco Lisa Keenan Rachel MacMurchy Margaret Moscardini Abhay Chopra |
Career Planning and Successful Experiences – Course Development for Engineering Students |
Emily Hector Helen Kula Ayesha Siddiqui |
Reimagining Library Guides through a Student-Centered Lens |
Catherine Connelly Josh Zadik Buisness |
The problematic portrayal of Hitler in leadership textbooks |
Brenda Vrkjan Paula Gardner Kelsey Harvey Karina Tavernese |
iAM Human Conversation eXchange Community Curriculum |
Bryan Lee Stephen Kelly Brooke Granham |
Intersecting Art and Biomaterials |
Maxime Dagenais Brianna Griska-Macphee Ethan Stollar Fiza Ahmad |
The ARiEAL Research Magazine, Volume 2: An Experiential Learning Approach to Publishing an Interdisciplinary Edited Collection |
Stephen Kelly Ecem Heywood |
Enhancing Active Learning in Embedded Systems Design |
Sarah Wojkowski Linda Bondy Shirley Quach Jolie Luk |
PIPER’s Team Based Curriculum – A Partnered Approach to Evaluation and Resource Generation |
Philip Britz-McKibbin Lydia Chen Trisha Martin Patricia Pissolatti |
Olive oil authenticity analysis – a new laboratory development in CHEM 2A03 and CHEMBIO 2A03, Quantitative Chemical Analysis |
Kalaichelvi Saravanamuttu Maggie Cockburn Brooke Fearns Alisha Sharma |
Indigenous Priorities and Responding to the Truth & Reconciliation Commission in the Faculty of Science |
Joshua Nederveen Adrienne Tearle Isobel D’Iorio Alessandra Chiarot |
Reimagining the laboratory experience in Neuromuscular Exercise Physiology |
Anthony Chibba Ryan Wylie Maria Ruggero |
Development of an Chemical Biology Undergraduate Laboratory Activity Utilizing Ligand Surface Plasmon Resonance (L-SPR) |
Joshua Nederveen Todd Prior Sean Ng Mahek Minhas |
Exploring undergraduate interest in molecular techniques in modern exercise physiology |
Karen Mcgarry Julie Gouweloos Robert Mitchell |
Social Sciences Curriculum: Supporting Student Success and Retention in Level 1 |
Gregory Spadoni Jasdeep Dhir Emma Plater Sarah Wojkowski Lou-Anne Carsault Mikayla Derewianko Beulah Omo-Idowu |
SRS[PT] Video Project: Phase 3 |
Becca Collins-Nelsen Kimberly Dej Michael Egan Dave Heidebrecht Rebecca Misiak Arslan Tariq |
McMaster Certificate Programs: Current and Future Potential |
Chad Harvey Kothai Gunaratnam |
Communication, Pedagogy, and Conceptual Consistency in the High School to University Transition: A Biological Science Perspective |
Faculty, Staff, and Students Partners’ Names | Project Titles |
Erin Aspenlieder Ben Taylor Ian Steinberg Aamna Durrani |
Generative AI in Teaching and Learning
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Ruth Chen Laurie He Jessica Ostrega Sandra Monteiro |
Game Changers: Celebrating the Stories of Local Game Changers in Academia |
Abeer Siddiqui Stephanie Sanger Duygu Ertemin |
The Role of Narrative & Storytelling in Undergraduate STEM Education |
Sheena Jary Sheel Ayachi |
Supplementing Leadership Skills Development through Case-Based Learning in INSPIRE 3WW3 |
Ruth Chen Cindy Tran |
Faculty Development Module Quests- Program for Academic Clinical Teaching |
Senem Karaceper Christina Baade Sara Upshur Ruth Moon Lopez |
Paper or Podcast? Exploring Student Perspectives in Relation to Non-Traditional Academic Mediums |
Maxime Dagenais Fiza Ahmad |
ARiEAL Outreach Program for Underrepresented High School Students |
Marfy Abousifein | Demystifying Community-Engaging Research on Aging: Co-designing Opportunities That Bring Students, Researchers and Older Adults Together for Knowledge-Sharing Mobilization |
Brenda Vrkljan Adriana Hutchins |
Investigating Experiential Learning Opportunities for a New McMaster Undergraduate Curriculum: Bachelor of Health Sciences, Integrated Rehabilitation and Humanities program (IRH) |
Anita Acai Rida Qamar |
Burnout Among Undergraduate Medical School Applicants |
Rebecca Collins-Nelsen Sandeep Raha Kim Dej Rebecca Misiak Varsha Vaidyanathan |
Undergraduate Elective Selection |
Nidia Cerna Sue McCracken Aamir Amyn Ajani |
Experiential Learning in the Classroom |
Christine Yachouh Samarah Maqbool |
Engaging Student Voices in Teaching and Learning Priorities at McMaster |
Hannah Rose Alice O’Carroll Navya Vattikundala |
Develop a Peer Education Handbook for Student Staff |
Anthony Chibba Layan Al-Dabbagh Marly Mikhail |
Social Media Companion for Large Enrollment Chemistry Courses |
Kimberly Dej Ahmed Abdalla Zachary Gan |
The Education of Generative AI |
Shaiya Robinson Ahmed Abdalla Pierce Razzaque |
Is There Such Thing as Too Much? Investigating the Impact of Multiple Frequent-Low-Stake Evaluations (FLSes) on Time Management and Mental Health Among Undergraduate Students in the School of Interdisciplinary Science |
Nevart Terzian Alessia Greco Mark Lee Margaret Secord Michael Wong Celina Anthony |
Benchmarking – An Assessment Strategy for Acquisition of Foundational Knowledge in Child and Youth Health and Development |
Rodrigo Narro Pérez Kalaichelvi Saravanamuttu Tirzah Tishani Thiviyakumar |
Assessing the Impact of Anti-Racist and Inclusive Pedagogies in the First Course of the ARIE Project (Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in the Science Undergraduate Curriculum) |
Kerry O’Neill Maryam Sheikh |
A Student’s Guide to Specifications Grading: Navigating Specifications Grading in Philosophy Seminars |
Dr. Bryan Lee Nana Ofori-Opoku Daniela Caballero Basem Yassa |
Subtractive Grading Scheme, A Pilot Study |
Sara Bannerman Elizabeth Winstanley Mariam Saleem |
Student and Instructor Collaborative Learning as Activism – Theorizing Outside of the Classroom |
Miranda Schmidt Patrick Clancy Fiona McNeill Nicole Mulyk |
Development of a Longitudinal Study for McMaster’s Undergraduate Physics & Astronomy Programs |
Gemma Repiso-Puigdelliura Juliana Short-Jimenez Allyson Appleton |
Experiential Learning Through the Analysis of Children’s Speech |
Sean Park Teresa Chan Nicole Knibb Victoria Bui |
Strategic Foresight for Healthcare Leaders – A Primer |
Faculty, Staff, and Students Partners’ Names | Project Titles |
Caitlin Mullarkey, Michelle Ogrodnik, Celeste Suart, Felicia Vulcu & Haley Zubyk |
Exploring the Impact of a Senior Laboratory Thesis on Undergraduate Student Professional Socialization as Researchers |
Cristina Foley, Vanessa Hayward, Jackie Osterman, Sarah Whitwell, Brandon Wooldridge & Valeria Flores Zambrano |
Developing an Experiential Education Resource Hub for the Faculty of Humanities |
Allyson Appleton, Gemma Repiso Puigdelliura & Juliana Short-Jimenez |
Experiential learning through the analysis of children’s speech |
Andrea Vela Alarcon, Niloofar Hooman, Dilyana Mincheva, Selina Mudavanhu & Ligia Sales |
My first teaching job in Canada: Notes from international students who worked as teaching assistants on thriving in a new system – A pilot project |
Maham Afzaal, Amanda Kelly Ferguson & Rebecca Taylor |
Evaluation of Teaching: Instructor Experiences at McMaster University |
Monica De Paoli, Felicia Vulcu & Vivian Leong |
Making science more inclusive: assessing engagement, accessibility and the effectiveness of storytelling as a learning tool for science communication using open educational resources (OERs) |
Celina Antony, Alessia Greco, Mark Lee, Margaret Secord, Nevart Terzian & Michael Wong |
A peer-reviewed student-run undergraduate child health journal to facilitate learning about the peer-review process |
Amanda Benson, Jasdeep Dhir, Greg Spadoni, Jenna Smith-Turchyn & Sarah Wojkowski |
SPIREL – Renew and Revision – Updating the MSc(PT) Curriculum Framework Graphic |
Maxime Dagenais, Spencer Jarvis-Frain, Ivona Kucerova, Monika Krizic & Bre-Anna Owusu |
The ARiEAL Research Magazine: An Experiential Learning Approach to Publishing an Interdisciplinary Edited Collection |
Deborah DiLiberto, Maria Andreea Predoiu & Adam Zvric |
Microcredentials in Global Health Education: Exploring the Potential for Capturing Professional and Transferable Skills |
Jonathan Cannon & Andre Rivet |
Course creation: neuroscience perspectives on philosophical questions |
Scott Martin & Jacqueline Porter |
Indigenous Archaeological Collections Management: A Template for Repatriation/Rematriation for Sustainable Archaeology McMaster |
Rebecca Collins-Nelsen, Aaron Hubbell, Sandeep Raha, Nicole Rob & Emily Scherzinger |
First Year Experiential Learning |
Marfy Abousifein, Soo Chan Carusone, Alison Finney, Rebecca Ganann & Brenda Vrkljan |
Broadening our reach: Co-designing knowledge mobilization tools and strategies to build capacity in patient-oriented research with a focus on aging and health |
Jennifer Faubert, Devon Mordell & Evonne Syed |
Nothing About Us Without Us: A Teaching & Learning Network Designed by and for Disabled Graduate Students |
Cheryl Allaby, Diana Dolmans, Amy Keuhl, Athena Li & Matthew Sibbald |
Measuring group function in problem-based learning: development of a feedback tool |
Steven Bray, Sajeni Mahalingam & Sevda Montakhaby Nodeh |
Curating resources to help undergraduate students in their research journey |
Elisa Do, Kelsey Harvey & Celeste Stuart |
Interdisciplinary partnerships: Cross-faculty teaching and learning within the SPP |
Dave Heidebrecht, Randy Kay, Bohmee Kim & Rhea Saini |
CityLAB Semester in Residence: Alignment of Teaching and Learning Across Dialogue, Design, CityBuilding, and Project Experience |
Ana Tomljenovic-Berube, Emma Marques & Hania Nauman |
Program Planning Tools for the Life Sciences Program |
Shehla Choudhary, Maggie Cockburn, Rodrigo Narro Perez & Kalaichelvi Saravanamuttu |
Digitization of Graduate EDI Education Resources |
Laurie Baker, Samantha Clarke, Kim Dej, Will Teal & Christine Yachouh |
Engaging Student Voices in Teaching & Learning Priorities at McMaster |
Tara Zabella | Employer Outreach & Engagement to Inform Career Development |
Jacob Lund & Kylie Luska |
Development of a Guided Inquiry-Based Laboratory Exercise for Second-Year Organic Chemistry on the Recrystallization Technique |
Julie Fellmayer, Dawn Martin-Hill, Carrie McMullin & Tim Mzhaakwad Thompson |
Environmental scan of Indigenous content and teaching practice in undergraduate and graduate courses at McMaster University |
Martin Gibala, Krista Howarth, Fiona Powley, Gianni Parise & Greg Noseworthy |
Enhancing the undergraduate student laboratory experience in KINESIOL 2CC3 |
Bryan Lee & Nina Tran |
EDI Guides for Biomaterials Design Projects |
Bonnie Freeman, Irina Ghilic, Manya Malik, Gillian Mulvale, Sandra Moll, Amy Pachai, Michelle Phoenix & Carlie Soares |
Building knowledge and capacity for Equity-Based Co-Creation in healthcare settings |
Katherine Bujold, Kaitlin Davies & Carol Zheng |
Incorporation of Student Feedback in CHEMBIO 3OA3 Laboratories |
Danielle Amos & Nicholas Bock |
Teaching cross-cultural aspects of abnormal psychology |
Anumta Amir, Anthony Chibba, Sharonna Greenberg, Layla Vulhan & Shuoyang Wang |
Creating an open education textbook for first-year chemistry (Chem 1AA3) |
Saif Alam, Sarah Curtay, Kelsey Harvey, Lisa Mochrie & Justin Phung |
Community Engaged Interprofessional Education |
Matthew Jabora, Manprit Kaur, Brent McKnight, Margaret Leyland, Cynthia Lokker & Nicole Wagner |
Best Practices for Interdisciplinary Programs in Higher Education |
Janice Chaplin, Bonnie Freeman & Jennie Vengris |
Revising a Theory/Practice Integrated Social Work Seminar |
Ana Tomljenovic-Berube, Jasmin Dhanoa & Katie Moisse |
Equitable Access to Learning Opportunities in Large Enrolment Programs: A Deep Dive into the Life Sciences Program |
Shannon Buck, Lydia Chen, Trisha Martin & Xiao Zhou |
Inclusion of Indigenous Remedies in CHEMBIO 2L03, Pharmaceutical Chemistry Laboratory I: Biomolecular interactions |
Monika Azmanska, Jody Bruulsema, Qiang Chen, Patrick Clancy, Daniel Dobrowolski, Graeme Luke, Angelica Reid & Yijia Zi |
Making the Quantum Real: Developing New Classroom Demonstrations for Teaching Quantum Mechanics |
Emma Abreu, Anumta Amir, Sharonna Greenberg, Angela Liang, Ernest Prack, Layla Vulgan & Shuoyang Wang |
Lab development for Chem 2LB3 |
Lydia Chen, Trisha Martin, Yossef Nafea & Shuoyang Wang |
Enhancing Learning Needs and Lowering Potential Learning Barriers in CHEM 2A03 and CHEMBIO 2A03, Quantitative Chemical Analysis |
Negar Goodarzynejad & Bryan Lee |
Creation of Materials Science & Engineering Statistical Datasets |
Steven Bray, Zaineb Hamoodi & Sajeni Mahalingam |
Inspiring students to engage in research through fun hands-on workshops |
Amanda Kelly Ferguson & Manahil Iftikhar |
Evaluation of Post-Secondary Teaching Using Student Evaluations of Teaching (SET): Pilot Testing a New Approach |
Faculty, Staff, & Students
Partners’ Names |
Project Title |
Gemma Repiso-Puigdelliura, Jessica Latimer, & Varun Jonathan Kitson | Authentic Assessment in a Programming Class for Linguists: The Creation of a Coding Portfolio |
Ruth Chen, Teresa Chan, & Eshaan Maneyapanda | Spark Podcast: Digital Transformation of Faculty Development |
Aytak Akbari-Dibavar & Faezeh Daemi | Stories, bodies, archives: un/Learning in Movements |
Anthony Chibba, Linda Davis, Marly Mikhail, & Layan Al-Dabbagh | Social Media Digital Content Creation and Engagement for Introductory Chemistry (CHEM 1A03/1E03/1AA3) |
Anthony Chibba, Kylie Luska, Brendan Lee, & Wissam Qureshi | Social Media Digital Content Creation and Engagement for Large Enrollment Organic Chemistry Courses (CHEM 20A3/2E03/2OB3) |
Anita Acai, Dante Duarte, Alexander Dufort, Anthony Levinson, Karen Saperson, & Sawayra Owais | Designing and Evaluating an Educational Intervention in Geriatric Psychiatry |
Amanda Kelly Ferguson, Rebecca Taylor, & Maham Afzaal | Evaluation of Teaching: Instructor Experiences at McMaster University |
Amanda Kelly Ferguson & Manahil Iftikhar | Evaluation of Post-Secondary Teaching Using Student Evaluations of Teaching (SET): Pilot Testing a New Approach |
Sarah Wojkowski, Jasdeep Dhir, Leonardo Giron, Jenna Smith Turchyn, Patricia Miller, & Conner McQueen | Continuing towards inclusive education: mapping learning objectives that exist outside of academic courses in the MSc(PT) Program |
Samantha Clarke, Christine Yachouh, Kim Dej, & William Teal | Improving Teaching and Learning at McMaster through the Partnered in Teaching and Learning Implementation Grants |
Kristina Durham, Sarah Wojkowski, Krista Howarth, & Ebuka Osuji | AnatoME: Removing Barriers to Representation of Skin Tone Diversity in Anatomical Sciences Education |
Yufei Zheng & Ulas Tastekin | International Grad Navigator Program Evaluation |
Gregory Spadoni, Jasdeep Dhir, Emma Plater, Sarah Wojkowski, Zeina Abu-jurji, Nivethan Jeuaseelen, & Riley Pedulla | SRS[PT] Video Project Phase 2 |
Sonya de Laat, Sue Barclay, & Kelly-Anne Dela Cueva | Online Global Health Learning Symposium: Enhancing Student Engagement |
Ariel Research Centre & Gwenyth Lu | Science Communication Bootcamp |
Christy Gombay & Kelly-Anne Dela Cueva | Peer Mentoring for Academic and Inclusive Excellence in Global Health Graduate Education |
Shelir Ebrahimi, Bosco Yu, Liza-Anastasia DiCecco, Dakota Binkley, & Parizad Katila | The Impact of Experiential Learning Opportunities Within the Faculty of Engineering: The Effect of First Year Engineering |
Jennifer Zhu, Kelsey Harvey, Celeste Suart, & Martha Cassidy-Neumiller | Differentiating Students-as-Partners from Students-as-Employees |
Kim Jones, Shelir Ebrahimi, & Shayna Earle | Maximizing coding confidence in first year engineering students |
Alison Sills, James Wadsley, Paul Ayers, Ana Campos, Erin Clements, Rosa da Silva, Matheus Grasselli, Cécile Fradin, Fiona McNeill, Paul McNicholas, Bruce Newbold, Gianni Parise, Sarah Robinson, Mel Rutherford, & Farah Chin | Embedding Computational Skills in the Undergraduate Experience across the Faculty of Science |
Miranda Schmidt, Pat Clancy, &Ella Buchnea | Exploring student motivations and interest in Physics; A comparative study |
Catharine Munn, Lynn Armstrong, Allan Fein, Emma Bruce, Annie Xu, & Jayden Rivers | Professor Hippo-on-Campus: Student Mental Health Education Program for Educators and Navigators at McMaster |
Randy Kay, Dave Heidebrecht, & Darina Vasek | CityLAB Semester in Residence Course Redesign |
Jasmin Dhanoa, Alise de Bie, Katie Moisse, & Ana Tomljenovic-Berube | Equitable Access to Learning Opportunities in Large Enrollment Programs: A Deep Dive into the Life Sciences Program |
Ivona Kučerová & Nadia Lana | Expanding the reach: Developing an engaging and interactive resource hub for effective community outreach |
Kim Jones & Mohammad Riaz | Linking research and applications more closely in Bioreaction Engineering (CHEM ENG 3BK3) |
Tara Zabella, Bhagwati Gupta, Alice O’Carroll, & Alexandra Milmine | Embedding EDI in career education and professional development |
Tara Zabella, Bhagwati Gupta, Alice O’Carroll, & Alexandra Milmine | Developing a framework for EDI in Career Development |
Caroline Junkins, Sylvia Rudnicki, & Sajjha Nawab | Uncovering authentic connections between Calculus for the Life Sciences and other undergraduate courses |
Sean Beaudette, Katie Fitzgerald, & Nicole Robb | Assessment and Mapping of First-Year Curriculum Strategies Related to Inclusive Excellence |
Faculty, Staff, & Students
Partners’ Names |
Project Title |
Brenda Vrkljan | Co-designing a new curriculum using a student-informed approach: A cross-faculty Rehabilitation & Humanities collaboration |
Ruth Chen | Digital Transformation to Enhance the Learner Experience in the Health Professions |
Constance Imbault | Creating engaging science of learning content for educators and learners |
Chia-Yu Lin | Expanding the reach: Developing an engaging and interactive resource hub for effective community outreach |
Mariam Bekhet | Tik Tok Takeover – ARiEAL Research Explained |
Gregory Spadoni | SRS[PT] Video Project |
Scott Martin | Decolonising Ontario Archaeology: An Indigenous Voice for Indigenous Pasts |
Amanda Kelly Ferguson | Implementing program change: A participatory action research approach to developing inclusive assessment practices |
Brandon Wooldridge | Evaluation of Teaching Implementation Groups |
Amanda Kelly Ferguson | Evaluation of Teaching: Instructor Experiences at McMaster University |
Catherine Anderson | Knowledge in Action: Investigating the place of community-engaged learning in GSJ |
Samantha Clarke | Improving Teaching and Learning at McMaster through the Partnered in Teaching and Learning Implementation Grants |
Sonya De Laat | Where are they now?: Global Health MSc Program Alumni Survey |
Sonya De Laat | Evaluation and syllabus refinement for new course, ‘Circumpolar Health: A Global Health Perspective’ |
Krista Madsen Baker | Designing rubrics to improve feedback retention |
Hiu Ming Yu | Evaluating First Year Engineering Experience & Program Stream Selection for Marginalized Groups |
Deborah DiLiberto | Creating a Global Health Doctoral Skills and Competencies Resource Portal |
Alice O’Carroll | Creating Individual Development Plans for Science Graduate Students |
Kelsey Harvey | Students as Partners in McMaster’s SPP program |
Kelsey Harvey | Age, power, and partnership: Intergenerational relations in formal student, staff, and faculty partnerships |
Chad Harvey | Open Education Resource – Biology 2e:Canadian Edition – Diverse Canadian Research Case Studies |
Alexander Skipper | Students Supporting Students: An Exploration of Peer Mentorship to Enhance Learning and Foster Confidence in Accelerated Nursing Students. |
Sarah Wojkowski | An Interprofesssional Education LibGuide: Connecting Students and Faculty to Interprofessional Education (IPE) and Collaboration (IPC) Resources |
Robert Cockcroft | Increasing Diversity in Astronomical Knowledge through Community- and Curriculum-Building |
Devon Jones | Revitalizing the SCIENCE 1A03 course for return to in-person tutorials in Fall 2022 |
Zaineb Hamoodi | Assessing Student Perception of Online Assessments in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences |
Zaineb Hamoodi | Assessing the Online Learning Environment Through the Lens of Students with Disabilities |
Navya Sheth | Teaching for a Better Tomorrow: Developing an Effective Altruism Curriculum for McMaster University |
Ilana Bayer | Ed Tech QUESTS for Faculty Development |
Duncan O’dell | Designing a course on practical quantum computing |
Sharonna Greenberg | Examining the undergraduate laboratory experience |
Ana Tomljenovic-Berube | Curricular Review and Skills Mapping of the Life Sciences Program |
Sharonna Greenberg | Creating a high school outreach experiment in sustainability |
Lydia Chen | Enhancing Learning Needs and Lowering Potential Learning Barriers in CHEMBIO 2L03, Pharmaceutical Chemistry Laboratory I: Biomolecular Interactions |
Sarrah Lal | Leveling the Playing Field for Multi-Disciplinary Teams in Health Innovation |
Faculty, Staff, & Students
Partners’ Names |
Project Title |
Anita Acai & Sawayra Owais | Designing and Evaluating an Educational Intervention in Geriatric Psychiatry |
Robert Fleisig & Monica De Paoli |
Making Teaching Portfolio Conversations Easier |
Karen Mcgarry, Lyanna Ramos, & William Baird | The Role of Anthropology in High School Outreach |
Alise Das & Ami Patel | Peer Review Team for the Book, “Reflections on Teaching and Learning at McMaster: 50 Years of Stories” |
Maria Pratt & Habiba Helmy | Remote Teaching Resources for PBL – Awarded for the Spring/Summer Terms 2021 |
Colleen Cupido, Claire Tuckey, Giulia Coletta, & Michelle Ogrodnik |
Virtual offering and validation of the Senior Fit Test for community clients from McMaster’s Physical Activity Centre of Excellence (PACE) |
Chia-Yu Lin, Nadia Lana, & Siyuan Huang | Expanding the reach: Developing engaging and interactive virtual youth outreach modules |
Chia-Yu Lin & Nadia Lana | Oh the Places You’ll Go: Resources for graduate students to explore non-academic opportunities |
Michael Wong & Emma Marsden |
Comparing open-access programs to mitigate student stress |
Elizabeth Hassan, Ariana Mitchell, & Kate Jamieson |
Understanding factors contributing to student design decision quality |
Sean Park, Fatima Gafoor, & Eman Chowdhury |
Design for Behaviour Change: New tools for student time management |
Rebecca Taylor & Jesse Staats | Indigenous Education Primer |
Robert Cockcroft & Maggie Ward |
Furthering Indigenous Astronomical Knowledge and Dissemination |
Robert Cockcroft & Naman Jain | Developing a Two-Eyed Seeing and Astronomy Undergraduate Course |
Rebecca Taylor | Evaluation of Teaching Advisory Committee |
Jennie Vengris & Maddie Brockbank |
Investigating a Teaching Site Model for Helping Professionals in the Homelessness Sector in Hamilton |
Lynn Martin, Jessica Xiao, & Sarah Curtay |
Virtual Simulation Game Development in Nursing Education |
Michelle Ogrodnik, Dan Mulla, Jennifer Williams, & Steven Bray |
Department of Kinesiology: Data Collection for Curriculum Review |
Catherine Munn | Allying with teaching assistants to improve mental health on campus: Exploring key issues and evaluating a new case-based workshop |
Kelsey Harvey & Anthony McDermott |
Evaluation of an award-based and virtual models for Students as Partners Projects |
Chad Harvey | OER Biology Textbook: A diversified Canadian edition. |
Ana Tomljenovic-Berube & Jayco Cheng | Interactive E-Modules for Data Literacy Skill-Building in the Life Sciences |
Devon Jones & Ramitha Muralitharan |
Improving Level I Science Gateway Student Resource Navigation through SCIENCE 1A03 |
Miranda Schmidt & Nitara Fernando |
A comparative study of Introductory Physics streams: investigating student perceptions and motivations |
Alise Das, Betty Huang, Tiffany Chen, & Vikita Mehta | Developing an educational resource and mentorship network to support student awareness and involvement in provincial peer movements |
Zaineb Hamoodi & Manahil Iftikhar |
The Quality of Learning in an Online Environment Through the Lens of Students with Disabilities |
Faculty, Staff, & Students
Partners’ Names |
Project Title |
Dr. Nikolai Penner | Publishing course materials for German 1Z06 in textbook format |
Chia-Yu Lin & Paniz Tavakoli | Making science more accessible through collaborative peer review process |
Bosco Yu | Enhancing First-Year Engineering Learner Engagement and Experiential Learning Opportunities in Materials Science Education Through the Development of Virtual Learning Modules |
Bosco Yu | Enhancing engineering students’ learning experiences in the Pivot program through well-designed student surveys and focus groups |
Erin Allard | Supporting and Planning for McMaster’s Paid TA Training |
Steven Bray, Krista Madsen & Michelle Ogrodnik | Department of Kinesiology: Strategizing for Curriculum Review. |
Frances Tuer | How Students Define “Teaching” in Online Courses |
Sharonna Greenberg | Creating a formative assessment study tool |
Ruth Chen | “Program for Excellence in Clinical Instruction” |
Kelsey Harvey | Evaluation of an award-based and virtual models for Students as Partners Projects |
Kyle Ansilio | “Assessing outcomes of the MacChangers Program” |
Amanda Kelly Ferguson | Clarifying evaluative expectations through rubric development |
Rebecca Taylor | “Indigenization of teaching and learning practices” |
Kelsey Harvey | Environmental Scan of Teaching & Learning Scholarship at McMaster University |
Lori Goff | Advancing changes to the end-of-term course evaluations |
Dani Pryke; Kate Brown; Anne Pottier; Alise de Bie; Emunah Woolf | “MI’s 50th anniversary anthology” |
Rachel Guitman | Developing Connections at The International Journal for Students as Partners |
Randy Kay | CityLAB Semester: Enhanced Opportunities for Engaged Learning |
Robert Fleisig | Making Teaching Portfolio Conversations Easier |
Maria Pratt | Remote Teaching and Learning Tools for PBL |
Alice O’Carroll | Preparing Science Graduate Students for Career Success |
Leahann Hendrickse | MCE Instructor Training Program: Navigating Mental Health and Wellness Resources for Adult Students |
Katie Harding & Abeer Siddiqui | Addressing the needs of independent research students in STEM |
Dr. Michelle MacDonald, Zaineb Hamoodi, Manahil Iftikhar, & Keshikaa Suthaaharan | The Feasibility of Implementing Aspects of Online Learning to In-Person Learning Based on the Perception of Students with Disabilities. |
Dr. Michelle MacDonald, Zaineb Hamoodi, Manahil Iftikhar, & Keshikaa Suthaaharan | Assessing the Implementation of Online assessments to In-Person Learning Based on the Perception of Students in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University |
Colleen Cupido | Virtual offering and validation of the Senior Fit Test for community clients from McMaster’s Physical Activity Centre of Excellence (PACE) |
Sarah McMath | MCE Mentorship Program for Newcomer Online Learners |
Anthony Chibba | “Bringing chemistry into secondary classrooms” |
Janet Pritchard | “Numeracy skills in educational co-ops” |
Colleen Cupido | Creation of Virtual Interactive Human Performance Lab experiences for community secondary school students and sports teams |
Miranda Schmidt & Pat Clancy | Improving the first year Physics experience: A comparative study of Introductory Physics courses for students in Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Engineering |
Alise de Bie | “arts-based approaches to educationl development: the impact of “zines” |
Sharonna Greenberg | Understanding the student experience in upper-year laboratories |
Alise de Bie (on behalf of project team) |
“Anthology of community-engaged learning at McMaster” |
Shelir Ebrahimi | Improving the Capstone Course Experience for Graduating Students of Chemical Engineering Department |
Sandhya Narikuzhy and Jeremy Sewnauth | Learning without Borders: An introduction to Experiential Learning |
Christopher Anand | “teamwork in the compuer science classroom” |
Dr. Stacey Ritz; Jennifer Williams | “Co-developing a sex and gender in health certificate program and network” |
Sarrah Lal | Virtual PBL for Health Innovation Education |
Melinda Gough | Bridging the (Close Reading) Gap: A Resource to Inspire and Embolden Students’ Creative and Critical Engagement with Shakespeare and/as Adaptation |
Sarrah Lal | “The innovator games” |
Alise de Bie | “Anthology of social movements and studnent activism at McMaster” |
Lori Goff; Alise de Bie | “Reflections on Teaching & Learning at McMaster” |
Sheila Sammon | History of Community Engaged Education at McMaster. |
Faculty, Staff, & Students
Partners’ Names |
Project Title |
Lori Goff | Triangulating document analyses with perception data to better understand institutional teaching cultures |
Pat Clancy | Improving the first year Physics experience: A comparative study of Introductory Physics courses for students in Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Engineering |
Emunah Woolf | Politicizing Self-Advocacy to Address Disabled Students’ Experiences of Ableism |
Janice Chaplin | Creating a Social Work Practice Lab |
Allison Leanage | The Effectiveness of the Social Statistics Course in the Social Sciences |
Allison Leanage | Online Courses and Mental Health in Post-Secondary Education |
Alise de Bie | Service user approaches to educator development: Enhancing equity/accessibility through zine-based pedagogy |
Cheryl Fenn | Fundamentals of Math |
Cheryl Fenn | Social Inquiry |
Sarrah Lal | Innovation simulator: Enabling learners to engage with industry and health professionals to advance innovative projects |
Fei Geng | Engineering labs reinvented through experiential learning: Enhancing student outcomes through the flipping of virtual laboratories |
Robert Fleisig | Making Teaching Portfolio Conversations Easier |
Behrouz Bakhtiari | Examination in the Age of Wearable Technologies |
Kyle Ansilio | MacChangers – Research Study |
Veronica Rodriguez Moncalvo | Online Delivery of the SIS Teaching Assistant Development Program |
Faculty, Staff, & Students
Partners’ Names |
Project Title |
Catherine Grise | Enhancing tutorial teaching and learning in English and Cultural Studies |
Jennie Vengris | Improving preparation for Social Work field education |
Kim Dej & Lori Goff | Advancing changes to student evaluations of teaching |
Kyle Ansilio | MacChangers: Program design |
Chia-Yu Lin, Kelly Nisbet & Chelsea Whitwell | Your abstract has been accepted – now what? Creating an educational repertoire of contemporary and practical resource on presentation skill development |
Stephen Mattucci | Integrating reflection into 1st year Engineering |
Rebecca Taylor & Stephanie Verkoeyen | Indigenous education guide for McMaster educators |
Stephen Mattucci | A module approach to high-demand curriculum in Engineering |
Andrea Cole | Graduate student supervision at McMaster University: Survey analysis and knowledge mobilization |
Allison Van | Masters in public policy seminar development |
Alise de Bie | Mad student peer support and community organizing on campus: Documenting the work of the Hamilton mad students’ collective from 2012-2016 |
Lisa Dyce | Changing conceptions of quality in Ontario Universities |
Sarrah Lal | Innovation simulator: Enabling learners to engage with industry and health professionals to advance innovative projects |
Olga Perkovic | Extending the OER by discipline guide for McMaster |
Mark Busser | Developing open resources on time management and stress management skills |
George Dragomir & Sarah Symons | Pedagogical interventions and evaluation: Perspectives on communication with students |
Lori Goff | Analyzing strategic documents to better understand institutional cultures |
Behrouz Bakhtiari | Examination in the age of wearable technologies |
Jennifer Williams & Dr. Krista Howarth | Investigating the perceptions of medical school students and faculty on development and implementation of a physical activity curriculum at McMaster University’s medical school |
Catharine Munn | Professor Hippo-on-Campus: Student mental health education program for educators and navigators |
Sarah Symons | Assisting Level I science students in determining honours program preferences |
Mary Vaccaro | Advancing the study of social policy in social work education |
Sean Park | Advancing designerly ways of knowing: Building campus wide capacity for design thinking *this project is being funded through the LTL program |
SPP: Frequently Asked Questions
The Student Partner Program (SPP) was first created in 2013-2014 as a way to provide opportunities for students interested in pedagogical research and innovation to collaborate with staff and faculty working on teaching and learning projects at McMaster. Since its inception, hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students have participated in the SPP, and Student Partners have participated in projects ranging from creating resources for staff/faculty to designing and developing new curricula.
Student Roles
Students can participate in the SPP in two ways: they can propose a project or they can be hired to a faculty/staff-proposed project. Projects run in either the Fall/Winter term (September-April) or the Spring/Summer term (May-August). The hours that students will be expected to contribute vary from project to project, but will generally fall between 5-10 hours a week. Students are paid for their work throughout the duration of their project (see Admin and Compensation section for details regarding pay).
Any McMaster student is eligible to submit their own teaching and learning project for inclusion in the Student Partner Program. Please note that while students are able and encouraged to take the lead on projects they submit, for administrative reasons students submitting projects for consideration must do so in collaboration with a faculty or staff member. If you need assistance identifying a faculty or staff partners, MacPherson Institute staff may be able to help (see the Admin and Compensation section for details).
Any McMaster student is eligible to be a Student Partner. Undergraduate students who graduate in April are eligible to work on projects funded in the Spring-Summer terms (May-August). Students who worked on a project previous can extend their contract on the same project even if they graduated. If you are interested in applying as a Student Partner, ensure to read project descriptions carefully as some projects indicate preferences for students with specific backgrounds, skills, and/or education levels. For more detailed information, see FAQ: Student Partner applications.
Students may also submit projects in collaboration with a faculty/staff member at McMaster University. The SPP cannot advertise student-proposed projects to potential faculty partners. Instead, interested students might consider approaching a faculty/staff member and seeing if that they member would be interested in working with them on the project should it be accepted for the SPP. If you are a student with a project idea and are unsure to whom you should reach out, please connect with SPP staff (mi_sap@mcmaster.ca) who may be able to suggest faculty and staff who would be a good fit for your project idea.
Frequently Asked Questions
Any McMaster student, faculty, or staff member can apply for an SPP grant. Please note that student project leads will require funds to be transferred through their faculty or staff partner’s departmental account.
Once projects have been reviewed and successful applicants have been notified, applications for Student Partners will open on the MacPherson website (in March for the Summer term and July for the fall/winter term). A brief description of each project will be listed, and students will be able to apply for up to three projects using a form linked on the Student Partner Program website.
Student Partner applications will be sent to the corresponding project teams, and they will arrange interviews or further meetings as they see fit. Project teams will hire student partners directly. Successful Student Partner applicants will be notified by the end of April (for the summer term) and the end of August (for the fall/winter term).
Once students are selected through the program, it is the responsibility of the faculty or staff partner’s department to issue offer letters and register payroll through MOSAIC, as well as to conduct other relevant administrative duties.
Current rates of compensation for student partners are as follows:
- Undergraduate student partners: $17/hour ($19.50 when fringe benefits added)
- Graduate student partners: $21/hour ($23 when fringe benefits added)
Student partners should be expected to be paid on a biweekly basis (once every two weeks).
For students interested in applying for an SPP grant with their own project, please be advised that due to administrative reasons, grant money may only be transferred to a faculty or staff member. For this reason, students are required to apply with a faculty or staff partner to assist in manage finances.
If students have trouble finding a faculty or staff lead, the MacPherson Institute may be able to assist. Please contact us via email at mi_sap@mcmaster.ca if you require assistance with finding a faculty/staff partner.
Student partnerships in education are broad, but here are some selected project types. For guidance or questions, reach out to our team at mi_sap@mcmaster.ca
- Collaborative Resource Development: Engage students in creating and refining teaching materials.
- Collaborative Reading List Development: Partner with students to select relevant course literature.
- Student-Led Teaching Evaluation: Incorporate student feedback in assessing instructional methods.
- Co-designed Assessment Criteria: Develop grading standards in collaboration with students.
- Educational Research Partnerships: Involve students in studies on learning and teaching practices.
- Discipline-Specific Research Collaboration: Engage students in field-related research projects.
- Curriculum Development Consultation: Seek student input on course content and structure.
- Peer-Assisted Learning Programs: Implement student-led academic support initiatives.
- Student Experience Enhancement: Collaborate with students to improve overall educational quality.
Student Partners Program Network Events
The SPP continues to offer specific support for funded projects, such as program information sessions, cohort orientation sessions, mind-way project check-ins, SPP Symposium, the Innovations in Education Conference, and the Students as Partners Community Forum.
Student Partners Program Resources
Student Partners Resources
Explore these valuable resources to kickstart your Student Partner Project. These materials are designed to guide you through every step, providing essential tips, tools, and insights to ensure your project’s success.
This document is intended as a guide to follow during the first meeting of your partnership. The points listed are not exhaustive but are intended to get you started.
Dr. Antonio Dos Santos of the MacPherson Institute has conversations with student, staff, and faculty guests about the “Students as Partners” model for pedagogical research. Each episode features a special guest interview accompanied by a SaP project profile.
Conference funding is available to McMaster students who are currently in a Student Partners project. Additionally, applicants must be partners with a McMaster faculty or staff partner who supports the application request for funding (this will normally be the project lead). Students must complete the Professional Development application form to qualify for funding.
Application Criteria:
- Applicants must be current McMaster students who have taken part in the Student Partner Program and must demonstrate how the conference will advance or support their Student Partners project.
- Applications from undergraduate student partners will be prioritized.
- Applicants cannot hold more than one professional development award per fiscal year (May 1 – April 30).
- Application for funding must not exceed $500 (except under exceptional circumstances which should be clearly articulated in the application)
- Applications to attend local or national conferences are preferred
- Note: The pool of available funding is limited, and MacPherson Institute would like to maximize the number of professional development opportunities it can provide to Student Partners each fiscal year.
- Applicants must be partnered with a McMaster faculty or staff partner who supports the application/request for funding. McMaster faculty or staff partner will need to sign off on the application for funding.
- Applications to attend teaching and learning and/or educational-related conference are preferred, and accepted abstract should focus on enhancing the overall practice and/or understanding of teaching and learning within the McMaster context.
- Applicants should demonstrate that they have tried to secure funding in other ways.
Applications should be emailed to mi_sap@mcmaster.ca. Applications should normally be submitted at least FOUR weeks prior to the conference. Applicants can expect a TWO-week response time.
Navigating power dynamics in a student partnership represents a real challenge. While efforts are made to prevent staff and faculty from dominating partnerships, it’s crucial to balance guidance with giving students the autonomy to direct their efforts. Establishing effective, collaborative relationships with well-defined roles and responsibilities is essential, enabling members to seek guidance comfortably when needed.
There is no one way to prevent issues from arising, there are steps teams can take and resources available to help mitigate power imbalance. The following is a short list you can run through as a team during those first few meetings. As conflicts or disagreements arise, refer to this list. If you seeking to make your partnership and work more equitable, please visit the McMaster Equity and Inclusion Office for more information.
- During your first meeting it is a good idea to set expectations as a team.
- What does a successful partnership look like for each member
- Set team ground rules, policies and ensure that everyone is working with the same core values
- Set and define roles through conversation
- How will project decisions be made
- How will personal and professional goals be reached, and which should be included
- Embrace multiple mindsets or perspectives. Disagreements and differences will happen and can lead to great outcomes.
Interested in learning more about partnership? Feel free to explore these curated resources.
Cook-Sather, A., Bahti, M., & Ntem, A. (2019). Pedagogical partnerships: A how-to guide for faculty, students and academic developers in higher education.
Diallo, Carol L. “How Participating in Pedagogical Partnership Helped Me Grow as a Person and as a Student,” Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education: Iss. 26 (2019), https://repository.brynmawr.edu/tlthe/vol1/iss26/7
Elon University Center for Engaged Learning. (2013). Best Practices for Integrating Student Voices in SoTL. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11OuxzmTGso
Gourlay, G., & Korpan, C. (2018). Genuine students as partners: How a Teaching Assistant Consultant program put students as partners into practice. International Journal for Students As Partners, 2(2), 106-114. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i2.3567
MacPherson Institute. (2017) Perceptions of Student Partnerships – Experiences [web video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aC3yv6RFOM
Mejia, Yeidaly “Carrying Partnership Skills Beyond Formal Partnerships: When Conflicts Grow into Connections,” Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education: Iss. 26 (2019), https://repository.brynmawr.edu/tlthe/vol1/iss26/6
Mercer-Mapstone, L. & Abbot, S. (2020). The Power of partnership: Students, staff and faculty revolutionizing higher education.