students as partners

When students are brought into the conversation about teaching, and partner with faculty in co-designing teaching and learning, beautiful things can happen. Faculty can find courage, new perspectives into student learning, and greater satisfaction in teaching. Students discover a deeper understanding of learning and teaching, greater empathy for faculty, along with confidence and leadership skills. Institutions with pedagogical partnership programs find that as a result, faculty partners, student partners, and students enrolled in the partners’ classes are more engaged, connected, and reflective. 

Joining us is Dr. Sarah Bunnell, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and an Associate Professor of Psychology at Elon University, North Carolina. Dr. Bunnell is an expert in building student partnership programs and will share her wisdom, and lessons learned as we explore how such partnerships might benefit UMaine.

Partnering with Students to (Re)claim the Joy of Teaching and Facilitate Culture Change in Higher Education

Wednesday, March 12th @5:30pm | Lynch Room, Fogler Library

A graphic of a couch and floor lamp with the text: The Salon

Joining Dr. Bunnell will be Dr. Sheila Jaswal (Dept of Chemistry and Programs in Biochemistry and Biophysics, Amherst College), Zachary Watson (Amherst College class of 2024) and Hope Carroll (UMaine class of 2024) to share their experiences with pedagogical partnerships.

Facilitators:  Dr. Liliana Herakova, Associate Professor and Director of Communication Education, Department of Communication and Journalism

Dr. Karen Pelletreau, Director of Faculty Educational Development, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning

Learn more about the Fogler Library Salon Series here.

past Events:

  • Wednesday, March 12th @ 10:00am | “Merging teaching and research through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning” | Fernald Hall, Room 102 (Zoom available upon request)
  • Join an informal discussion for anyone interested in learning more about the role of SoTL in teaching and learning. New faculty might be interested in learning more about how to develop as SoTL practitioners. Registration is required, space is limited.
  • Wednesday, March 12th @ 12:00pm | “Let’s talk about teaching” | Coe Room, Memorial Union
  • Undergraduate students are invited to an informal discussion with their peers and Dr. Bunnell about what is working well, and less well to support their learning, and where they might want to see change.  By invitation only. To inquire, email: citlworkshop@maine.edu
  • Thursday, March 13th @ 9:00am | “Leveraging SoTL and pedagogical partners towards more inclusive teaching practices.” | Fernald Hall, Room 102 (Zoom available upon request)
  • Faculty interested in learning more about how these tools can generate more inclusive and supportive teaching are invited to join in this discussion. Registration is required, space is limited.
Guest Speaker, Dr. Sarah Bunnell

Meet Our Guest

Dr. Sarah L. Bunnell is the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and an Associate Professor of Psychology. She is past-president of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, an ISSOTL Distinguished Service Award winner, and was recently selected as a Gardner Institute Russell Edgerton Innovation Fellow, which “recognizes distinctively innovative contributions to improving postsecondary education and student success.” A co-author of Being Human in STEM (2023, Routledge), Sarah is passionate about building student-faculty-staff partnerships to enhance teaching, learning, and thriving across educational spaces. Her research merges her disciplinary training in developmental and cognitive psychology with her 20 years of work in faculty development and SoTL. 

thanks for joining us!