Creating Teaching and Learning Partnerships with Students: Helping Faculty Listen to Student Voices

Abstract

Teaching effectively involves developing a partnership with our students based on mutual respect and trust. The first part of this paper provides a way in which we can initiate or further develop this partnership by inviting our students to tell us about themselves. Readers are shown how to become more aware of the diverse ways in which students learn and, hence, how to expand both teaching methods and content. The second part of the paper presents suggestions for facilitating a faculty development workshop on this topic. It shows how—by engaging in discussion with other faculty about our students' concerns—we can learn from each other and improve our teaching in ways that are stimulating and empowering for all involved and that take into account the changing needs of students, teachers, and the larger society.