Important Dates / Timeline
- Application Opens: TBD
- Open House: TBD
- Applications Close: TBD
Over the course of the semester, student partners act as pedagogical consultants in a course that their faculty partner is teaching.
Each semester, the Teaching Development and Initiatives team at the Poorvu Center facilitates 8-10 partnerships from various academic disciplines and fields across the university. Please reach out to faculty.teaching@yale.edu if you have questions and/or are interested in being a student or faculty partner.
The program consists of the following components:
“Having a Pedagogical Partner from the Poorvu Center gave me the confidence to take risks by including atypical activities to engage students in critical thinking beyond the typical seminar discussion. Students not only increasingly approached the material from a multitude of lenses, but they also experienced the act of co-creating knowledge that allowed me to learn with them.”
Ryan Pakebusch, Associate Director of OIA & Lecturer in Education Studies
Modeled after precedents at other institutions and inspired by the work of Alison Cook Sather at Bryn Mawr, the Pedagogical Partner program is designed to benefit both instructors and students. Through a combination of classroom observation and student-instructor discussion, partnerships offer the instructor a more holistic perspective on their teaching. Meanwhile, students gain a deeper understanding of pedagogical approaches for a given course that they might not have taken otherwise.
Instructors gain crucial insight into student learning with weekly feedback from student partners based on their classroom observations. These observations benefit from supportive, non-evaluative reflection possible because the student is not enrolled in the class. Instructors have shared that this dynamic is freeing and leads to insightful conversations about their planning, instruction, and assessment. Ultimately, the partnership provides a consistent pathway throughout the semester for reflective conversation about the teaching and learning experience. At the program’s conclusion, instructors are provided with a $200 supplement to purchase books and other materials for their own research and professional development.
Instructors have shared the following feedback about their experience:
The program empowers students to think more deeply about pedagogy and develop habits of reflection. Students have the opportunity to impact the teaching of their peers and themselves during, and beyond, their time at Yale. Because sharing classroom observations with an instructor can be a new experience for many student partners, Poorvu fosters a structured and positive experience for students by assigning them a lead student mentor who has already been a partner in a previous semester. Students are in weekly contact with their mentor in addition to participating in weekly student partner meetings. This dual check-in model ensures individual and collective student concerns are addressed appropriately through active discussion.
Students have shared the following feedback about their experience:
Each semester, the Teaching Development and Initiatives team at the Poorvu Center facilitates 8-10 partnerships from various academic disciplines and fields across the university. Please reach out to faculty.teaching@yale.edu if you have questions and/or are interested in being a student or faculty partner.
Want to learn more before contacting us? Check out our Pedagogical Partner Handbook
Yale College students are an integral part of the Pedagogical Partner Program’s success. After a competitive application process, students are selected from varied disciplines and majors to partner with faculty members for the semester.
Kavya Jain ‘25, Lead Student Mentor
Tadea Martin-Gonzalez ‘24.5, Lead Student Mentor
Aly Moosa ‘25, Lead Student Mentor
Nikhe Braimah ‘25
Amanda Budejen ‘26
Eula Doele ‘26
Zara Escobar ‘26
Ethan Estrada ‘25
Nora Laughter ‘26
Matthew Lee ‘25
Laura Reyes Umaña ‘27
Christian Thomas ‘26
Mariana Peña ‘24, Lead Student Mentor
Matthew Shu ‘25, Lead Student Mentor
Christian Baca ‘26
Eula Doele ‘26
Zara Escobar ‘26
Ethan Estrada ‘25
Kavya Jain ‘25
Jasmine Jones ‘26
Zawadi Kigamwa ‘25
Matthew Lee ‘25
Tadea Martin-Gonzalez ‘25
Aly Moosa ‘25
Mariana Peña ‘24, Lead Student Mentor
Matthew Shu ‘25, Lead Student Mentor
Christian Baca ‘26
Ethan Estrada ‘25
Daniel Inojosa ‘24
Kavya Jain ‘25
Tadea Martin-Gonzalez ‘25
Aly Moosa ‘25
Mariah Najera ‘25
Mikiala Ng ‘24
Samantha Suazo ‘26
Julia Wang ‘24
Sonnet Carter ‘23.5, Lead Student Mentor
Daniel Inojosa ‘24, Faculty & Student Liaison
Helen Tamrat ‘23 Lead Student Mentor
Christian Baca ‘26
Ethan Estrada ‘25
Emilia Fernández ‘23
Charnice Hoegnifioh ‘24
Nida Khan ‘25
Demi Lee ‘24
Tadea Martin-Gonzalez ‘25
Mariah Najera ‘25
Mariana Peña ‘24
Matthew Shu ‘25
Elyse Thomas ‘25
Sonnet Carter ‘23.5, Lead Student Mentor
Daniel Inojosa ‘24, Faculty & Student Liaison
Helen Tamrat ‘23 Lead Student Mentor
AC Christakis ‘23.5
Renee Deminne ‘24
Emilia Fernández ‘23
Dora Guo ‘23
Michelle Marti ‘23
Mariana Peña ‘24
Matthew Shu ‘25
Priya Vasu ‘23
Josie Steuer Ingall ‘24, Lead Student Mentor
Mariluz Tejeda Leon ‘23, Lead Student Mentor
Sonnet Carter ‘23
AC Christakis ‘23.5
Renee Deminne ‘24
Gabriella Fernando ‘23
Daniel Inojosa ‘24
Neal Sarin ‘23
Helen Tamrat ‘23
Priya Vasu ‘23
Michelle Osagie ‘22
Josie Steuer Ingall ‘24, Lead Student Mentor
Mariluz Tejeda Leon ‘23, Lead Student Mentor
Rose Bae ‘23
Sonnet Carter ‘23
McKinsey Crozier ‘22
Kayley Estoesta ‘21.5
Emilia Fernández ‘23
Hana Galijasevic ‘22
Daniel Inojosa ‘24
Helen Tamrat ‘23
Michelle Osagie ‘22
Caro Vera ‘22
Josh Diaz ‘21, Lead Student Mentor
Meghanlata Gupta ‘21, Lead Student Mentor
Luta Fast Dog ‘21.5
Emilia Fernández ‘23
Hana Galijasevic ‘22
Kenia Hale ‘ 21
Allie Schneider ‘21
Josie Steuer Ingall ‘24
Mariluz Tejeda Leon ‘23
Josh Diaz ‘21, Lead Student Mentor
Meghanlata Gupta ‘21, Lead Student Mentor
Sandra Amezcua Rocha ‘23
Luta Fast Dog ‘21.5
Emilia Fernández ‘23
Hana Galijasevic ‘22
Julia Gourary ‘21
Kenia Hale ‘ 21
Z Montas ‘21
Allie Schneider ‘21
Josie Steuer Ingall ‘24
Mariluz Tejeda Leon ‘23
Josh Diaz ‘21
Meghanlata Gupta ‘21