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Pedagogical Partners Program

The Poorvu Center’s Pedagogical Partners Program creates space for critical dialogue about teaching and learning through a semester-long partnership between an undergraduate student and an instructor in Yale College. 

Overview

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.

Student and faculty writing at a white board

Important Dates / Timeline

Program Components

The program consists of the following components:

  • An orientation meeting for partners. At the beginning of the semester, partners meet each other and learn about the course being taught and program logistics.
  • Weekly meetings for student partners. Student partners meet weekly with each other to discuss pedagogy and their experiences with their partners. 
  • Student observation of each class. Student partners observe each class session the instructor teaches.
  • Weekly meetings between faculty and student partners. Meetings provide time for partners to reflect on teaching and learning and share ideas with each other. During one of these meetings, Poorvu staff visit to gather feedback and ask what other ways they can provide support.
  • Periodic community sessions with Poorvu staff. Two meetings are typically devoted to sharing how partnerships are going and opening up space for feedback on how the program can further support partners.
  • End of Semester Luncheon. At the end of the semester, partners gather together to reflect on what they have accomplished in their partnerships that semester.
Ryan Pakebusch is a man with glasses wearing a long-sleeve, green shirt.

“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

Program Benefits

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.

Partner Experiences

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:

  • “It gives you new insights into your own teaching and what you value since you have to give voice to it.”
  • “… It will make your teaching better and will open a channel to your students to understand what they need, how they’re doing, what’s working and what’s not working is worthwhile.” 
  • “It shows the students that we really care about their feedback in how we are teaching.”
  • “My classes will always be more inclusive now, including at the graduate level, which are often very slim on pedagogy.”

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:

  • “It made me think critically about teaching and learning. I was able to see the classroom from the perspective of the professor. It was super interesting.”
  • “I appreciated having the insight of how professors think about their courses without the pressure of being a student in class–both the structure of learning and assessment. I enjoyed being put in the position of the professor. It was eye-opening.” 
  • “[Professors] want you to talk to them and to give them feedback. It’s something that I wish students would know and understand, especially students from minoritized communities. We don’t really know what it is to be in a space that’s very rigorous or what to do or say when we’re in trouble. A lot of my friends now want to apply.”
  • “This program really makes progress toward conceiving the power dynamics of classroom education differently–giving students a voice in learning.”

How to Get Involved

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. 

Current and Past Student Partners

Christian Baca ‘26, Lead Student Mentor
Eula Doele ‘26, Lead Student Mentor
Zara Escobar ‘26, Lead Student Mentor
Mandy Budejen ‘26
Isabella Caltitla ‘27
Bianca Lizette Flores ‘29
Yair Guijosa-Torres ‘27
Purav Kaneria ‘29
Araya Miller ‘26
Amanie Nasr ‘28
Javier Pardo ‘26
Chloe Ratner ‘27
Marah Rigaud ‘28

Christian Baca ‘27, Lead Student Mentor
Eula Doele ‘26, Lead Student Mentor
Zara Escobar ‘26, Lead Student Mentor
Topher Allen ‘27
Sarah Anane ‘28
Amanda Budejen ‘26
Yair Guijosa-Torres ‘27
Owen Haywood ‘26
Aastha Paudel ‘27
Krish Ramkumar ‘28
Rishi Shah ‘26
Laura Reyes Umaña ‘27
Andrea Loza Vargas ‘28

Ethan Estrada ‘25, Lead Student Mentor
Kavya Jain ‘25, Lead Student Mentor
Aly Moosa ‘25, Lead Student Mentor
Christian Baca ‘27
Eula Doele ‘26
Zara Escobar ‘26
Gloria Kim ‘26
Nora Laughter ‘26
Matthew Lee ‘25
Laura Maldonado-Rivera ‘27
Meera Mishra ‘26
Laura Reyes Umaña ‘27
Saron Tefera ‘26
Christian Thomas ‘26

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