Cultivating student agency and responsibility through peer-to-peer teaching

Authors

  • Angela D. Storey University of Louisville
  • Hannah Eckel-Sparrow University of Lousville
  • Henrietta K. Ransdell University of Louisville

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v5i1.4478

Keywords:

student agency, responsibility, peer education, anthropology

Abstract

This case study explores an eight-semester Peer Educator Program in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Louisville (Kentucky, USA) that trains undergraduates in teaching practices, crafts spaces of partnership, and expands learning within large general education courses. Peer educators self-select from any major and gain knowledge on lesson planning and facilitation, working in small groups to decide content, plan, and teach bonus sessions for introductory courses. We argue that peer-to-peer teaching reworks lines of responsibility within and around classrooms such that student agency is cultivated both for students engaged in partnership activities and those taught by student partners. Peer education thus becomes a hinge around which authority is shifted and the educational agency enacted in Students-as-Partners programs extended to wider student populations. The authors are two undergraduate peer educators and the faculty coordinator.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Angela D. Storey, University of Louisville

Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Louisville

Hannah Eckel-Sparrow, University of Lousville

Undergraduate student, Department of Anthropology

Henrietta K. Ransdell, University of Louisville

Undergraduate student, Department of Anthropology

References

Bovill, C. (2019). A co-creation of learning and teaching typology: What kind of co-creation are you planning or doing? International Journal for Students as Partners, 3(2), 91–98. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v3i2.3953

Bovill, C., & Woolmer, C. (2019). How conceptualisations of curriculum in higher education influence student-staff co-creation in and of the curriculum. Higher Education, 78, 407–422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0349-8

Cook-Sather, A. (2019). Wrestling with the languages and practices of pedagogical partnership. Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education, 27, 1–4. https://repository.brynmawr.edu/tlthe/vol1/iss27/1/

Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., & Felten, P. (2014). Engaging students as partners in learning and teaching: A guide for faculty. Josey-Bass.

Cook-Sather, A., & Luz, A. (2015). Greater engagement in and responsibility for learning: What happens when students cross the threshold of student-faculty partnerships. Higher Education Research & Development, 34(6), 1097–1109. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2014.911263

Coombe, L., Huang, J., Russell, S., Sheppard, K., & Khosravi, H. (2018) Students as partners in action: Evaluating a university-wide initiative. International Journal for Students as Partners, 2(2), 85–95. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i2.3576

Daniello, F., & Acquaviva, C. (2019). A faculty member learning with and from an undergraduate teaching assistant: Critical reflection in higher education. International Journal for Students as Partners 3(2): 109–117. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v3i2.3771

DeJaeghere, J. G., McCleary, K. S., & Josic, J. (2016). Conceptualizing youth agency. In J. G. DeJaeghere, J. Josic, & K. S. McCleary (Eds.), Education and youth agency: Qualitative case studies in global contexts (pp. 1–26). Springer International Publishing.

Dwyer, A. (2018). Toward the formation of genuine partnership spaces. International Journal for Students as Partners, 2(1), 11–15. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i1.3503

Dyson, M. (2007). My story in a profession of stories: Auto ethnography – an empowering methodology for educators. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 32(1), 36–48. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2007v32n1.3

Felton, P., Abbot, S., Kirkwood, J., Long, A., Lubicz-Nawrocka, T., Mercer-Mapstone, L., & Verwoord, R. (2019). Reimagining the place of students in academic development. International Journal for Academic Development, 24(2), 192–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2019.1594235

Goff, L., & Knorr, K. (2018). Three heads are better than one: Students, faculty, and educational developers as co-developers of science curriculum. International Journal for Students as Partners 2(1), 112–120. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i1.3333

Leder, S., Plotnik, M., & Venkateswaran, P. (1999). Changing concepts of activism in women’s studies: Women’s studies in a community college. Women’s Studies Quarterly, (3&4), 185–202.

Lubicz-Nawrocka, T. M. (2019). “More than just a student”: How curriculum co-creation fosters third spaces in ways of working, identity, and impact. International Journal for Students as Partners, 3(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v3i1.3727

Manor, C., Block-Schulman, S., Flannery, K., & Felten, P. (2010). Foundations of student-faculty partnerships in the scholarship of teaching and learning. In C. Werder & M. M. Otis (Eds.), Engaging students voices in the study of teaching and learning (pp. 3–15). Stylus.

Mercer-Mapstron, L, Dvorakavoa, S.L., Matthews, K.E., Abbot, S., Cheng, B., Felten, P., Knorr, K., Marquis, E., Shammas, R., & Swain, K. (2017). A systematic literature review of students as partners in higher education. International Journal for Students as Partners 1(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v1i1.3119

Ntem, A., & Cook-Sather, A. (2018). Resistance and resiliencies in pedagogical partnership: Student partners’ perspectives. International Journal for Students as Partners, 2(1), 82–96. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i1.3372

Starr, L. J. (2010). The use of auto-ethnography in educational research: Locating who we are in what we do. Canadian Journal for New Scholars in Education, 3(1), 1–9. https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cjnse/article/view/30477

Trahar, S. (2013). Autoethnographic journeys in learning and teaching in higher education. European Educational Research Journal, 12(3), 367–375. https://doi.org/10.2304%2Feerj.2013.12.3.367

Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice (2nd ed.). Josey-Bass.

Downloads

Published

2021-05-07

How to Cite

Storey, A. D., Eckel-Sparrow, H., & Ransdell, H. K. (2021). Cultivating student agency and responsibility through peer-to-peer teaching. International Journal for Students as Partners, 5(1), 97–106. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v5i1.4478

Issue

Section

Case Studies