Student Partners Program
We are pleased to announce that the Call for Students is now open for Summer 2021.
Applicants should be prepared to review a list of accepted projects to identify 3 they would be interested in participating in and to provide a statement of interest and resume when they apply.
Application Deadline: March 26th @11:59pm
Apply here: SPP Student Call – Summer 2021
Key Dates for Summer 2021 Call
- Call for Projects: January 11th – February 7th
- Review of Projects: February 9 – February 26
- Notified if Project is Successful: March 9
- Call for Students: March 9th – March 26th
- Students Noticed by: April 23
- Summer 2021 Projects Begin: May 10
Overview
The Student Partners Program (SPP) provides undergraduate and graduate students with opportunities to participate as partners with faculty, instructors and staff on projects that contribute to the enhancement of teaching and learning at McMaster.
The SSP was developed in 2013 in collaboration with the Arts & Science program. Since then the MacPherson Institute has engaged with students who are interested in pedagogical research and innovation by providing 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.
Several students have also co-authored research articles and conference presentations related to their work, co-facilitated at our International Institute on Students as Partners, or served as reviewers or co-editors for the International Journal for Students as Partners, which is housed at McMaster.
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.
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 MacPherson Institute continues to issue Calls for Projects, review submissions against SPP criteria and advertise projects to students.
Learn more: Student Partners Program Grant Terms – Summer 2021.
Information Box Group

Interested in Getting Involved?
For more information about becoming involved, please see the Student Partners Program Guidebook.

Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching
Peter Felten discusses the importance of student engagement in learning.

"Students as Partners"
A video featuring Mick Healey, The Humboldt Distinguished Scholar in Research Based Learning.
Student Partners Program Network Events
The MacPherson institute has expanded its program of events to support students and faculty who are engaged in partnership work across campus. The program continues to offer specific support to projects funded through the Student Partners Program, such as research skills, project meetings, and an annual symposium. Through the expanded program, MacPherson will be offering events to the wider McMaster community who have an interest in the research and practice of partnerships in teaching and learning. New events will include journal groups to discuss the scholarship of partnership, project development workshops, an expert speaker series, and support for publishing work in this area.
Student Partner Project Awards
Expandable List
We would like to sincerely thank the following people for reviewing the Summer 2021 Student Partner Project Award Applications:
Erin Allard; Samantha Clarke; Irina Ghilic; Sharonna Greenberg; Paul Harrison; Chad Harvey; Kris Knorr; Lynn Martin; Vanessa Morris; Michelle Ogrodnik; Amy Pachai; Veronica Rodriguez Moncalvo; Abeer Siddiqui; Megan Suttie; Greg Van Gastel; Jennifer Williams; Kaitlin Wynia Baluk; Melec Zeadin.
If you would like to serve as a reviewer for a future round of applications, please email mi_sap@mcmaster.ca
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 |
Zaineb Hamoodi | The Feasibility of Implementing Aspects of Online Learning to In-Person Learning Based on the Perception of Students with Disabilities. |
Zaineb Hamoodi | 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. |
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 |
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 |