Instructor-Student Pedagogy Partnership (ISPP) Program

The Center for Teaching and Learning is piloting a new Instructor Student Pedagogy Partnership (ISPP) program.

About Instructor Student Pedagogy

This program is modeled after the well-established Bryn Mawr Students as Learners and Teachers (SaLT) program led by Stanford alum, Alison Cook-Sather, which has become one of the longest-running educational partnership programs globally.

ISPP is intended to formalize the role of students in contributing their perspectives and experiences to the classroom experience. Cook-Sather, et, al. (2014) characterizes ISPP as “a collaborative, reciprocal process through which all participants have the opportunity to contribute equally, although not necessarily in the same ways, to curricular or pedagogical conceptualization, decision making, implementation, investigation, or analysis” (pp. 6-7). 

ISPP at CTL

At CTL we follow the SaLT model by partnering instructors with undergraduate students to gain feedback on the student experience in introductory undergraduate courses. Students develop skills in observation and feedback protocols and meet with the instructor after each observation to discuss potential methods to improve the student experience. Students also meet with CTL staff on a regular basis.

The pilot began in winter 2025 and will continue in the spring 2025 quarter. Instructors or students interested in participating in the 2025–26 academic year may email the director of the ISPP program, Cathy Gastelum, at cathyg@stanford.edu.

References

Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., & Felten, P. (2014). Engaging students as partners in learning and teaching: A guide for faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.