Applications Are Open!
Overview
In this program, which runs during the Spring quarter, students and faculty members work together as partners in exploring how we can create more engaging, inclusive, learning-rich environments for every student. Students and faculty members are “paired up” for the quarter, and then, each week of the quarter, students visit and observe their faculty partner’s class and meet with their faculty partners to discuss their respective observations, insights, and wonderings. This program is premised on the idea that students and faculty members can learn much from each other regarding the experience of teaching and learning, and that it is through dialogue and sharing of different perspectives that this learning can occur.
We are seeking faculty participants who:
- Teach at least one undergraduate class that they’d be willing to use as a context for this partnership work
- Are excited about the goals of this program and willing to engage in a form of partnership in which they are acting as co-learners alongside the participating students
- Are committed to spending the time required to make this program a success
NOTE: Information on the rest of this page is faculty-focused; students interested in this program should go to the student information page to learn more.
Program Goals
This program is designed to:
Foster open and constructive student-faculty dialogue to promote understanding, empathy, and connection.
Engage students and faculty as co-inquirers who learn and work together to analyze and improve educational practice.
Involve students with diverse experiences, identities, and perspectives in creating an inclusive, engaging learning environment here at DU
Why Participate
FACULTY IMPACT
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Student Impact
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To connect with previous faculty partners in your department, contact Virginia Pitts.
Structure & Timeline
We are currently inviting faculty to apply for the Spring 2024 program, and are accepting applications through Sunday, February 25. We plan to select participants and determine student-faculty pairings by early March (after students know their class schedules for the Spring).
If you apply and are selected for the program, here is what you can expect:
- In early March, we will have an orientation for all faculty participants. Also in early March (before Spring break), you and your student partner will meet with each other to plan for your Spring 2024 partnership work. This will include identifying a focus question(s) for your work together.
- Each week of the Spring 2024 quarter (starting with week 1 and going through week 8) your student partner will visit your classroom and take detailed observation notes, focusing on the question(s) of interest you identified. In addition, the two of you will meet weekly to share/discuss each others’ perspectives, wonderings, and insights in regards to these observations and the focus questions(s). You will also spend some time on your own reflecting on what you’re learning from this experience.
- Twice during the Spring quarter, you’ll meet with the program facilitator and other faculty participants to reflect on how the process is going and what you’re learning. Note: The student participants will also be meeting with each other and the program facilitator once a week to reflect on what they are learning from this experience.
- Mid-Spring-quarter your student partner will conduct a feedback session/focus group with the students in your class, compile that feedback and share it with you.
- At the end of Spring quarter, you’ll participate in a final debrief/reflection/celebration with the other faculty participants, and will also have the opportunity to share your individual reflection on what the partnership experience was like, in writing or in person, with the program facilitator.
Faculty Time Commitment
3
Hours Initially
1.5 hours for orientation activities, plus 1.5 hours to plan for the partnership/meet with your student partner.
+1
Hour Per Week
During Week 1 through Week 8 of the Spring quarter for meeting with your student partner.
+2
Hours During Quarter
For two one-hour meetings with fellow faculty participants and the program facilitator.
+2
Hours at End
For final wrap up activities at end of Spring quarter.
Frequently Asked Questions
We may have more qualified applicants than there are available slots. Our final selection of faculty members will be determined in large part by the schedules of the student participants (we’ll need to ensure that students’ available times mesh with the class times of the participating faculty members).
All students who participate in this program will receive $19.50/hour for their time. We estimate that the time commitment will be as follows:
- 4 hours in early March for orientation activities and partnership planning
- 5 to 6 hours per week during the Spring quarter – on average – for observing your faculty partners class, writing up your notes/reflections, meeting with your faculty partner, and meeting with the other student participants (exact number of hours will depend primarily on how many hours/week you observe)
- 2 hours for end-of-quarter wrap up activities at the end of Spring quarter or beginning of summer
We will be inviting applications from undergraduate students who have been at DU for at least 2 quarters. We plan to recruit students who represent a diversity of social identities and perspectives, as our intent is to bring voices to the table that are currently underrepresented in shaping the learning environment in higher education.
In most cases, faculty members with be paired with a student partner who is outside of their discipline, the idea being that students bring an expertise in what it means to be a student, faculty members bring their expertise in the discipline, and it’s the combination of these two types of expertise (along with a mutual desire to learn and work together in creating an inclusive, engaging learning environment) that will lead to great things!
Apply & Learn More
If you are a faculty member who would like to participate in the Spring 2024 program, please fill out this application. The application deadline is February 25, 2024.
PLEASE NOTE: Filling out the application does not guarantee you as slot in the program, as we may have more faculty applicants than there are available slots. Our final selection of faculty participants will be determined in large part by the schedules of the student applicants and how well they sync up with the faculty applicants’ class times.
If you have a student you would like to recommend for the program, would simply like to learn more, or can’t participate in the Spring quarter but want to be on the mailing list for future quarters, please contact Virginia Pitts who is the facilitator of this program.
