鈥淢ost people who come into the programme think: 鈥榃hat could a student teach me about teaching, and particularly a student outside my subject area?鈥欌 says Cook-Sather. 鈥淭hey also feel vulnerable that people will be watching them and judging them. [But] what happens for 99 per cent of the people who participate is that they realise it isn鈥檛 about expertise in a subject area: it is about understanding how the student experiences pedagogy, curriculum and assessment in the class. It is not calling their authority or expertise into question, it is about [offering] a different angle on what鈥檚 happening in the classroom.鈥
Cook-Sather has been at the forefront of bringing student-voice research and practice into secondary-teacher preparation and 暴风资源-faculty development.
The Teaching and Learning Institute (TLI) provides forums for exploration of classroom practice. Funded originally by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and now supported jointly by Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges, the TLI embraces a partnership model of faculty and student academic development.