A partnership between an undergraduate student and a university faculty member
Experiences and takeaways of a student course coordinator
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v9i1.5730Keywords:
SoTL, Scholarship of Teaching & Learning, Virtual Education, Global Education, Virtual ExchangeAbstract
In this reflective essay, we discuss a partnership between a 4th-year undergraduate student and a faculty member in developing and teaching a 3rd-year inquiry-based learning (IBL) course. This partnership, characterized by shared decision-making, introduced a newly defined role: the student course coordinator (SCC). Through this collaboration, a student’s voice was integrated into every stage of the process, from course development and delivery to end-of-course reflection and evaluation.. In many ways, this partnership was akin to an education practicum in which a student gains valuable experience in coordinating and co-teaching a course while developing skills essential for an effective mentor and educator. In this essay, we highlight the context, practicalities, benefits, and challenges of such a partnership and provide our reflections on the experience. We hope the reflections and experiences shared here will provide an account of the value of student voices and partnership in education.
Downloads
References
Cavanagh, A. J., Chen, X., Bathgate, M., Frederick, J., Hanauer, D. I., & Graham, M. J. (2018). Trust, growth mindset, and student commitment to active learning in a college science course. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 17(1), ar10. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.17-06-0107
Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(23), 8410–8415. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111
McKinnell, J., McLellan, A., Nastos, S., Nifakis, D., Park, S., Ritz, S., Secord, M., Szechtman, H., Trim, K., Barrett, S., Butler, J., Cates, E., deLottinville, C., Harnish, D., Jordana, M., Kustra, Y., Landicho, J., & Lee, A. (2005). Skill development with students and explicit integration across four years of the curriculum [Alan Blizzard Award nomination]. https://www.stlhe.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/2005-Blizzard-McMaster.pdf
Pedaste, M., Mäeots, M., Siiman, L. A., de Jong, T., van Riesen, S. A. N., Kamp, E. T., Manoli, C. C., Zacharia, Z. C., & Tsourlidaki, E. (2015). Phases of inquiry-based learning: Definitions and the inquiry cycle. Educational Research Review, 14, 47–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.02.003
Rubin, J. (2017). Embedding collaborative online international learning (COIL) at higher education institutions. Internationalisation of Higher Education, 2, 27–44. https://www.handbook-internationalisation.com/de/handbuch/gliederung/?articleID=1192 - /Beitragsdetailansicht/175/1192/Embedding-Collaborative-Online-International-Learning-(COIL)-at-Higher-Education-Institutions
Seidel, S. B., & Tanner, K. D. (2013). “What if students revolt?”— Considering student resistance: Origins, options, and opportunities for investigation. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 12(4), 586–595. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe-13-09-0190
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Rose Yakubov, Michael Wong

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process - this applies to the submitted, accepted, and published versions of the manuscript. This can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access).