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Student Partners Program

Student Partners Program

We are pleased to announce that the Summer 2023 call for Student Partner projects is now open!

  • Projects must be submitted to the SPP Project Call – Summer 2023 to be considered for inclusion in the Student Partners Program (SPP) in Summer 2023 (May 1 – August 31)
  • The program review committee will vet these proposals, and projects appropriate to the program will be advertised to students in an open call.
  • Faculty, staff and students (at all levels, undergraduate and graduate) are eligible to submit a teaching and learning project proposal
  • We will be hosting a university-wide open forum to talk about the Student Partners Program, go over the application process, explain how project applications are reviewed/assessed, and answer any questions potential applicants might have. This meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 30th from 12:00-1:00PM
  • Learn more about participating in the program, what kinds of projects are appropriate and what is expected of participants in the Student Partners Program Guidebook

Project Submissions are due February 3rd by 11:59PM

Please also see SPP Call for Projects (staff and faculty), SPP Call for Projects (students) and SPP FAQ for more info

Key Dates for Summer 2023

  • Call for projects: Jan. 11 – Feb. 3 
  • Review of projects: Feb. 6-28
  • Notified if project is successful: Feb. 28
  • Call for students: Mar. 1
  • Students notified by: April 21
  • Summer 2023 Projects begin: May 1

 

Overview

The Student Partners Program (SPP) provides undergraduate and graduate students with opportunities to participate as partners with faculty, instructors and staff on projects that contribute to the enhancement of teaching and learning at McMaster.

The SSP was developed in 2013 in collaboration with the Arts & Science program. Since then the MacPherson Institute has engaged with students who are interested in pedagogical research and innovation by providing opportunities to contribute to activities such as: design and development of new courses, creation of resources for faculty and students, and collaboration with staff and faculty partners on research projects related to teaching and learning.

Several students have also co-authored research articles and conference presentations related to their work, co-facilitated at our International Institute on Students as Partners, or served as reviewers or co-editors for the International Journal for Students as Partners, which is housed at McMaster.

Funding


The Student Partner’s Program operates on an award-based model. Funds awarded and distributed up to a maximum of $2000 per project (to fund Student Partner hours). Project funds are transferred to the project lead and are held in departmental accounts.

Hiring

Student hiring is completed by the faculty/staff partner’s department. Student Partners are hired two times a year—typically in May and September. 

Call for submissions

The MacPherson Institute continues to issue Calls for Projects, review submissions against SPP criteria and advertise projects to students.

 

Information Box Group

Students sitting on campus

Interested in Getting Involved? Learn More

For more information about becoming involved, please see the Student Partners Program Guidebook.

Still from YouTube video

Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching Watch Video

Peter Felten discusses the importance of student engagement in learning.

Still frame from a Youtube video

"Students as Partners" Watch Video

A video featuring Mick Healey, The Humboldt Distinguished Scholar in Research Based Learning.

Student Partners Program Network Events

The MacPherson institute has expanded its program of events to support students and faculty who are engaged in partnership work across campus. The program continues to offer specific support to projects funded through the Student Partners Program, such as research skills, project meetings, and an annual symposium. Through the expanded program, MacPherson will be offering events to the wider McMaster community who have an interest in the research and practice of partnerships in teaching and learning. New events will include journal groups to discuss the scholarship of partnership, project development workshops, an expert speaker series, and support for publishing work in this area.

Student Partner Project Awards

Expandable List

We would like to sincerely thank the following people for reviewing the Fall/Winter 2022-23 Student Partner Project Award Applications: Anita Acai; Elisa Do; Irina Ghilic; Sharonna Greenberg; Chad Harvey; Kelsey Harvey; Manahil Iftikhar; Kris Knorr; Chia-Yu Lin; Celeste Suart; Greg Van Gastel; Brandon Wooldridge; and Jennifer Zhu.

If you would like to serve as a reviewer for a future round of applications, please email mi_sap@mcmaster.ca

Faculty, Staff, & Students

Partners’ Names

 Project Title
Gemma Repiso-Puigdelliura, Jessica Latimer, & Varun Jonathan Kitson  Authentic Assessment in a Programming Class for Linguists: The Creation of a Coding Portfolio 
Ruth Chen, Teresa Chan, & Eshaan Maneyapanda  Spark Podcast: Digital Transformation of Faculty Development 
Aytak Akbari-Dibavar & Faezeh Daemi  Stories, bodies, archives: un/Learning in Movements    
Anthony Chibba, Linda Davis, Marly Mikhail, & Layan Al-Dabbagh  Social Media Digital Content Creation and Engagement for Introductory Chemistry (CHEM 1A03/1E03/1AA3) 
Anthony Chibba, Kylie Luska, Brendan Lee, & Wissam Qureshi  Social Media Digital Content Creation and Engagement for Large Enrollment Organic Chemistry Courses (CHEM 20A3/2E03/2OB3) 
Anita Acai, Dante Duarte, Alexander Dufort, Anthony Levinson, Karen Saperson, & Sawayra Owais  Designing and Evaluating an Educational Intervention in Geriatric Psychiatry 
Amanda Kelly Ferguson, Rebecca Taylor, & Maham Afzaal  Evaluation of Teaching: Instructor Experiences at McMaster University  
Amanda Kelly Ferguson & Manahil Iftikhar  Evaluation of Post-Secondary Teaching Using Student Evaluations of Teaching (SET): Pilot Testing a New Approach 
Sarah Wojkowski, Jasdeep Dhir, Leonardo Giron, Jenna Smith Turchyn, Patricia Miller, & Conner McQueen  Continuing towards inclusive education: mapping learning objectives that exist outside of academic courses in the MSc(PT) Program 
Samantha Clarke, Christine Yachouh, Kim Dej, & William Teal  Improving Teaching and Learning at McMaster through the Partnered in Teaching and Learning Implementation Grants 
Kristina Durham, Sarah Wojkowski, Krista Howarth, & Ebuka Osuji  AnatoME: Removing Barriers to Representation of Skin Tone Diversity in Anatomical Sciences Education  
Yufei Zheng & Ulas Tastekin  International Grad Navigator Program Evaluation 
Gregory Spadoni, Jasdeep Dhir, Emma Plater, Sarah Wojkowski, Zeina Abu-jurji, Nivethan Jeuaseelen, & Riley Pedulla  SRS[PT] Video Project Phase 2 
Sonya de Laat, Sue Barclay, & Kelly-Anne Dela Cueva  Online Global Health Learning Symposium: Enhancing Student Engagement 
Ariel Research Centre & Gwenyth Lu  Science Communication Bootcamp 
Christy Gombay & Kelly-Anne Dela Cueva  Peer Mentoring for Academic and Inclusive Excellence in Global Health Graduate Education 
Shelir Ebrahimi, Bosco Yu, Liza-Anastasia DiCecco, Dakota Binkley, & Parizad Katila  The Impact of Experiential Learning Opportunities Within the Faculty of Engineering: The Effect of First Year Engineering  
Jennifer Zhu, Kelsey Harvey, Celeste Suart, & Martha Cassidy-Neumiller  Differentiating Students-as-Partners from Students-as-Employees  
Kim Jones, Shelir Ebrahimi, & Shayna Earle  Maximizing coding confidence in first year engineering students 
Alison Sills, James Wadsley, Paul Ayers, Ana Campos, Erin Clements, Rosa da Silva, Matheus Grasselli, Cécile Fradin, Fiona McNeill, Paul McNicholas, Bruce Newbold, Gianni Parise, Sarah Robinson, Mel Rutherford, & Farah Chin  Embedding Computational Skills in the Undergraduate Experience across the Faculty of Science 
Miranda Schmidt, Pat Clancy, &Ella Buchnea  Exploring student motivations and interest in Physics; A comparative study 
Catharine Munn, Lynn Armstrong, Allan Fein, Emma Bruce, Annie Xu, & Jayden Rivers  Professor Hippo-on-Campus: Student Mental Health Education Program for Educators and Navigators at McMaster 
Randy Kay, Dave Heidebrecht, & Darina Vasek  CityLAB Semester in Residence Course Redesign 
Jasmin Dhanoa, Alise de Bie, Katie Moisse, & Ana Tomljenovic-Berube   Equitable Access to Learning Opportunities in Large Enrollment Programs: A Deep Dive into the Life Sciences Program 
Ivona Kučerová & Nadia Lana  Expanding the reach: Developing an engaging and interactive resource hub for effective community outreach  
Kim Jones & Mohammad Riaz  Linking research and applications more closely in Bioreaction Engineering (CHEM ENG 3BK3) 
Tara Zabella, Bhagwati Gupta, Alice O’Carroll, & Alexandra Milmine  Embedding EDI in career education and professional development 
Tara Zabella, Bhagwati Gupta, Alice O’Carroll, & Alexandra Milmine  Developing a framework for EDI in Career Development 
Caroline Junkins, Sylvia Rudnicki, & Sajjha Nawab  Uncovering authentic connections between Calculus for the Life Sciences and other undergraduate courses 
Sean Beaudette, Katie Fitzgerald, & Nicole Robb  Assessment and Mapping of First-Year Curriculum Strategies Related to Inclusive Excellence 
Faculty, Staff, & Students

Partners’ Names

  

Project Title
Brenda Vrkljan Co-designing a new curriculum using a student-informed approach: A cross-faculty Rehabilitation & Humanities collaboration
Ruth Chen Digital Transformation to Enhance the Learner Experience in the Health Professions
Constance Imbault Creating engaging science of learning content for educators and learners
Chia-Yu Lin Expanding the reach: Developing an engaging and interactive resource hub for effective community outreach
Mariam Bekhet Tik Tok Takeover – ARiEAL Research Explained
Gregory Spadoni SRS[PT] Video Project
Scott Martin Decolonising Ontario Archaeology: An Indigenous Voice for Indigenous Pasts
Amanda Kelly Ferguson Implementing program change: A participatory action research approach to developing inclusive assessment practices
Brandon Wooldridge Evaluation of Teaching Implementation Groups
Amanda Kelly Ferguson Evaluation of Teaching: Instructor Experiences at McMaster University
Catherine Anderson Knowledge in Action: Investigating the place of community-engaged learning in GSJ
Samantha Clarke Improving Teaching and Learning at McMaster through the Partnered in Teaching and Learning Implementation Grants
Sonya De Laat Where are they now?: Global Health MSc Program Alumni Survey
Sonya De Laat Evaluation and syllabus refinement for new course, ‘Circumpolar Health: A Global Health Perspective’
Krista Madsen Baker Designing rubrics to improve feedback retention
Hiu Ming Yu Evaluating First Year Engineering Experience & Program Stream Selection for Marginalized Groups
Deborah DiLiberto Creating a Global Health Doctoral Skills and Competencies Resource Portal
Alice O’Carroll Creating Individual Development Plans for Science Graduate Students
Kelsey Harvey Students as Partners in McMaster’s SPP program
Kelsey Harvey Age, power, and partnership: Intergenerational relations in formal student, staff, and faculty partnerships
Chad Harvey Open Education Resource – Biology 2e:Canadian Edition – Diverse Canadian Research Case Studies
Alexander Skipper Students Supporting Students: An Exploration of Peer Mentorship to Enhance Learning and Foster Confidence in Accelerated Nursing Students.
Sarah Wojkowski An Interprofesssional Education LibGuide: Connecting Students and Faculty to Interprofessional Education (IPE) and Collaboration (IPC) Resources
Robert Cockcroft Increasing Diversity in Astronomical Knowledge through Community- and Curriculum-Building
Devon Jones Revitalizing the SCIENCE 1A03 course for return to in-person tutorials in Fall 2022
Zaineb Hamoodi Assessing Student Perception of Online Assessments in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences
Zaineb Hamoodi Assessing the Online Learning Environment Through the Lens of Students with Disabilities
Navya Sheth Teaching for a Better Tomorrow: Developing an Effective Altruism Curriculum for McMaster University
Ilana Bayer Ed Tech QUESTS for Faculty Development
Duncan O’dell Designing a course on practical quantum computing
Sharonna Greenberg Examining the undergraduate laboratory experience
Ana Tomljenovic-Berube Curricular Review and Skills Mapping of the Life Sciences Program
Sharonna Greenberg Creating a high school outreach experiment in sustainability
Lydia Chen Enhancing Learning Needs and Lowering Potential Learning Barriers in CHEMBIO 2L03, Pharmaceutical Chemistry Laboratory I: Biomolecular Interactions
Sarrah Lal Leveling the Playing Field for Multi-Disciplinary Teams in Health Innovation

 

Faculty, Staff, & Students

Partners’ Names

  

Project Title
Anita Acai & Sawayra Owais Designing and Evaluating an Educational Intervention in Geriatric Psychiatry
Robert Fleisig &
Monica De Paoli		 Making Teaching Portfolio Conversations Easier
Karen Mcgarry, Lyanna Ramos, & William Baird The Role of Anthropology in High School Outreach
Alise Das & Ami Patel Peer Review Team for the Book, “Reflections on Teaching and Learning at McMaster: 50 Years of Stories”
Maria Pratt & Habiba Helmy Remote Teaching Resources for PBL – Awarded for the Spring/Summer Terms 2021
Colleen Cupido, Claire Tuckey, Giulia Coletta, &
Michelle Ogrodnik		 Virtual offering and validation of the Senior Fit Test for community clients from McMaster’s Physical Activity Centre of Excellence (PACE)
Chia-Yu Lin, Nadia Lana, & Siyuan Huang Expanding the reach: Developing engaging and interactive virtual youth outreach modules
Chia-Yu Lin & Nadia Lana Oh the Places You’ll Go: Resources for graduate students to explore non-academic opportunities
Michael Wong
& Emma Marsden		 Comparing open-access programs to mitigate student stress
Elizabeth Hassan, Ariana
Mitchell, & Kate Jamieson		 Understanding factors contributing to student design decision quality
Sean Park, Fatima Gafoor, &
Eman Chowdhury		 Design for Behaviour Change: New tools for student time management
Rebecca Taylor & Jesse Staats Indigenous Education Primer
Robert Cockcroft &
Maggie Ward		 Furthering Indigenous Astronomical Knowledge and Dissemination
Robert Cockcroft & Naman Jain Developing a Two-Eyed Seeing and Astronomy Undergraduate Course
Rebecca Taylor Evaluation of Teaching Advisory Committee
Jennie Vengris &
Maddie Brockbank		 Investigating a Teaching Site Model for Helping Professionals in the Homelessness Sector in Hamilton
Lynn Martin, Jessica Xiao, &
Sarah Curtay		 Virtual Simulation Game Development in Nursing Education
Michelle Ogrodnik, Dan Mulla,
Jennifer Williams, & Steven Bray		 Department of Kinesiology: Data Collection for Curriculum Review
Catherine Munn Allying with teaching assistants to improve mental health on campus: Exploring key issues and evaluating a new case-based workshop
Kelsey Harvey &
Anthony McDermott		 Evaluation of an award-based and virtual models for Students as Partners Projects
Chad Harvey OER Biology Textbook: A diversified Canadian edition.
Ana Tomljenovic-Berube & Jayco Cheng Interactive E-Modules for Data Literacy Skill-Building in the Life Sciences
Devon Jones
& Ramitha Muralitharan		 Improving Level I Science Gateway Student Resource Navigation through SCIENCE 1A03
Miranda Schmidt
& Nitara Fernando		 A comparative study of Introductory Physics streams: investigating student perceptions and motivations
Alise Das, Betty Huang, Tiffany Chen, & Vikita Mehta Developing an educational resource and mentorship network to support student awareness and involvement in provincial peer movements
Zaineb Hamoodi
& Manahil Iftikhar		 The Quality of Learning in an Online Environment Through the Lens of Students with Disabilities

 

Faculty, Staff, & Students

Partners’ Names

  

Project Title
Dr. Nikolai Penner Publishing course materials for German 1Z06 in textbook format
Chia-Yu Lin & Paniz Tavakoli  Making science more accessible through collaborative peer review process 
Bosco Yu  Enhancing First-Year Engineering Learner Engagement and Experiential Learning Opportunities in Materials Science Education Through the Development of Virtual Learning Modules 
Bosco Yu  Enhancing engineering students’ learning experiences in the Pivot program through well-designed student surveys and focus groups 
Erin Allard  Supporting and Planning for McMaster’s Paid TA Training 
Steven Bray, Krista Madsen & Michelle Ogrodnik  Department of Kinesiology: Strategizing for Curriculum Review. 
Frances Tuer  How Students Define “Teaching” in Online Courses 
Sharonna Greenberg  Creating a formative assessment study tool 
Ruth Chen  “Program for Excellence in Clinical Instruction” 
Kelsey Harvey  Evaluation of an award-based and virtual models for Students as Partners Projects 
Kyle Ansilio  “Assessing outcomes of the MacChangers Program” 
Amanda Kelly Ferguson  Clarifying evaluative expectations through rubric development 
Rebecca Taylor  “Indigenization of teaching and learning practices” 
Kelsey Harvey  Environmental Scan of Teaching & Learning Scholarship at McMaster University 
Lori Goff  Advancing changes to the end-of-term course evaluations 
Dani Pryke; Kate Brown; Anne Pottier; Alise de Bie; Emunah Woolf   “MI’s 50th anniversary anthology” 
Rachel Guitman  Developing Connections at The International Journal for Students as Partners 
Randy Kay  CityLAB Semester: Enhanced Opportunities for Engaged Learning 
Robert Fleisig  Making Teaching Portfolio Conversations Easier 
Maria Pratt  Remote Teaching and Learning Tools for PBL 
Alice O’Carroll  Preparing Science Graduate Students for Career Success 
Leahann Hendrickse  MCE Instructor Training Program: Navigating Mental Health and Wellness Resources for Adult Students 
Katie Harding & Abeer Siddiqui   Addressing the needs of independent research students in STEM 
Dr. Michelle MacDonald, Zaineb Hamoodi, Manahil Iftikhar, & Keshikaa Suthaaharan The Feasibility of Implementing Aspects of Online Learning to In-Person Learning Based on the Perception of Students with Disabilities. 
Dr. Michelle MacDonald, Zaineb Hamoodi, Manahil Iftikhar, & Keshikaa Suthaaharan Assessing the Implementation of Online assessments to In-Person Learning Based on the Perception of Students in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University 
Colleen Cupido  Virtual offering and validation of the Senior Fit Test for community clients from McMaster’s Physical Activity Centre of Excellence (PACE) 
Sarah McMath  MCE Mentorship Program for Newcomer Online Learners 
Anthony Chibba  “Bringing chemistry into secondary classrooms” 
Janet Pritchard  “Numeracy skills in educational co-ops” 
Colleen Cupido  Creation of Virtual Interactive Human Performance Lab experiences for community secondary school students and sports teams  
Miranda Schmidt & Pat Clancy  Improving the first year Physics experience: A comparative study of Introductory Physics courses for students in Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Engineering  
Alise de Bie  “arts-based approaches to educationl development: the impact of “zines” 
Sharonna Greenberg  Understanding the student experience in upper-year laboratories 
Alise de Bie
(on behalf of project team) 		 “Anthology of community-engaged learning at McMaster” 
Shelir Ebrahimi  Improving the Capstone Course Experience for Graduating Students of Chemical Engineering Department 
Sandhya Narikuzhy and Jeremy Sewnauth  Learning without Borders: An introduction to Experiential Learning 
Christopher Anand  “teamwork in the compuer science classroom” 
Dr. Stacey Ritz; Jennifer Williams  “Co-developing a sex and gender in health certificate program and network” 
Sarrah Lal  Virtual PBL for Health Innovation Education 
Melinda Gough  Bridging the (Close Reading) Gap: A Resource to Inspire and Embolden Students’ Creative and Critical Engagement with Shakespeare and/as Adaptation 
Sarrah Lal  “The innovator games” 
Alise de Bie  “Anthology of social movements and studnent activism at McMaster” 
Lori Goff; Alise de Bie  “Reflections on Teaching & Learning at McMaster” 
Sheila Sammon  History of Community Engaged Education at McMaster.  

 

Faculty, Staff, & Students

Partners’ Names

  

Project Title
Lori Goff Triangulating document analyses with perception data to better understand institutional teaching cultures
Pat Clancy Improving the first year Physics experience: A comparative study of Introductory Physics courses for students in Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Engineering
Emunah Woolf Politicizing Self-Advocacy to Address Disabled Students’ Experiences of Ableism
Janice Chaplin Creating a Social Work Practice Lab
Allison Leanage The Effectiveness of the Social Statistics Course in the Social Sciences
Allison Leanage Online Courses and Mental Health in Post-Secondary Education
Alise de Bie Service user approaches to educator development: Enhancing equity/accessibility through zine-based pedagogy
Cheryl Fenn Fundamentals of Math
Cheryl Fenn Social Inquiry
Sarrah Lal Innovation simulator: Enabling learners to engage with industry and health professionals to advance innovative projects
Fei Geng Engineering labs reinvented through experiential learning: Enhancing student outcomes through the flipping of virtual laboratories
Robert Fleisig Making Teaching Portfolio Conversations Easier
Behrouz Bakhtiari Examination in the Age of Wearable Technologies
Kyle Ansilio MacChangers – Research Study
Veronica Rodriguez Moncalvo Online Delivery of the SIS Teaching Assistant Development Program
Faculty, Staff, & Students

Partners’ Names

  

Project Title
Catherine Grise Enhancing tutorial teaching and learning in English and Cultural Studies
Jennie Vengris Improving preparation for Social Work field education
Kim Dej & Lori Goff Advancing changes to student evaluations of teaching
Kyle Ansilio MacChangers: Program design
Chia-Yu Lin, Kelly Nisbet & Chelsea Whitwell Your abstract has been accepted – now what? Creating an educational repertoire of contemporary and practical resource on presentation skill development
Stephen Mattucci Integrating reflection into 1st year Engineering
Rebecca Taylor & Stephanie Verkoeyen Indigenous education guide for McMaster educators
Stephen Mattucci A module approach to high-demand curriculum in Engineering
Andrea Cole Graduate student supervision at McMaster University: Survey analysis and knowledge mobilization
Allison Van Masters in public policy seminar development
Alise de Bie Mad student peer support and community organizing on campus: Documenting the work of the Hamilton mad students’ collective from 2012-2016
Lisa Dyce Changing conceptions of quality in Ontario Universities
Sarrah Lal Innovation simulator: Enabling learners to engage with industry and health professionals to advance innovative projects
Olga Perkovic Extending the OER by discipline guide for McMaster
Mark Busser Developing open resources on time management and stress management skills
George Dragomir & Sarah Symons Pedagogical interventions and evaluation: Perspectives on communication with students
Lori Goff Analyzing strategic documents to better understand institutional cultures
Behrouz Bakhtiari Examination in the age of wearable technologies
Jennifer Williams & Dr. Krista Howarth Investigating the perceptions of medical school students and faculty on development and implementation of a physical activity curriculum at McMaster University’s medical school
Catharine Munn Professor Hippo-on-Campus: Student mental health education program for educators and navigators
Sarah Symons Assisting Level I science students in determining honours program preferences
Mary Vaccaro Advancing the study of social policy in social work education
Sean Park Advancing designerly ways of knowing: Building campus wide capacity for design thinking *this project is being funded through the LTL program

 

 

Student Partners Program Conference Funding:

Application Criteria:

  • Applicants must be current McMaster students (or within 8 months of graduating from their program) and must demonstrate how the conference will advance or support their Student Partners project. 
  • Applications from undergraduate student partners will be prioritized. 
  • Applicants cannot hold more than one professional development award per fiscal year (May 1 – April 30). 
  • Application for funding must not exceed $500 (except under exceptional circumstances which should be clearly articulated in the application)  
  • Applications to attend local or national conferences are preferred 
    • Note: The pool of available funding is limited, and MacPherson Institute would like to maximize the number of professional development opportunities it can provide to Student Partners each fiscal year. 
  • Applicants must be partnered with a McMaster faculty or staff partner who supports the application/request for funding. McMaster faculty or staff partner will need to sign off on the application for funding. 
  • Applications to attend teaching and learning and/or educational-related conference are preferred, and accepted abstract should focus on enhancing the overall practice and/or understanding of teaching and learning within the McMaster context. 
  • Applicants should demonstrate that they have tried to secure funding in other ways. 

Applications should be emailed to misap@mcmaster.ca. Applications should normally be submitted at least FOUR weeks prior to the conference. Applicants can expect a TWO-week response time.