Resource:How to design and teach a student-led course on campus

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Students usually navigate the higher education system as passive viewers, believing it to be a rigid system of defined rules and structure that is not responsive to the forces of their inputs and desires. The truth is quite the opposite, each higher education institution is malleable under the force of its students’ ideas and inclinations. This idea of educational programs that can be transformed by the students themselves is progressively gaining traction as institutions try to innovate and reimagine a more democratized education relevant to the 21st century.

One of the best and most direct ways for students to influence their own education is by having them design and lead their own class. In this guide we provide an outline of a plan to create a student-led class on your own campus as well as some tips and tricks from individuals with past relevant experience.


Gaining support and finding the right team

Reaching out to faculty at your institution who are interested in your success and the success of the course are great sources of support. Student support is also a big part of it since they are the ones who will be taking the course. Learning should be democratized so gaining feedback as to what students want to learn on your campus is the first step. Ways to find support from your peers can include using Google polls and forums to get a sense of what kind of courses they would want and the possible times that would work best for the most amount of students.

Your team should consist of the faculty of your choosing and other students who share your common end goal. When choosing faculty members to help make your course a reality, making sure they are willing to provide advice while not trying to change the core concept of your course is key. Do not be afraid to set boundaries so that you do not go off course on your original goal. Everyone on your team should understand and believe in the goal of the course and be willing to put in the work to make it a reality.

Raising awareness about the course

It is important that people are aware and interested in enrolling in the course. Some of the best methods of spreading awareness are digital – use social media and other online resources to expose students to the class. Think about where it is that most students would take the time to read about something happening on their campus, Facebook groups endorsed by your university are a natural choice for putting a message out that is seen by many students and showing legitimacy. Make sure to reduce the core message about the course to its smallest size and think about the most eye catching way to present it (in a video, a picture with a caption, etc) so that students are sure to notice it and process the message before losing interest.

New innovative education style

Innovative ideas to shape the higher education system are being formed worldwide. This is due to an increase in class sizes leading to a decrease in learning capacity among students. A new form of education that various universities are experimenting with is a program that flows with what the students want. There is also an issue with the assessment aspect of current programs, relying on the flawed test based system, that does not entice students to join the course, but instead turns students away. New programs concentrate more on feedback based alternatives. Many innovative ideas can be developed in order to overcome the hard task of providing individual feedback within a large group of students. Sean has introduced ideas such as simply attendance “check” questions and reviewing group class presentations. He also mentioned a more time constraining concept of individual check-in meeting between students and support staff. Finally, there was a possible concept of students blogging throughout the duration of the course on subjects covered by the course. This provides a proof of attendance and understanding, as well as acting as a form of advertisement or outreach to promote the course.

Sustainability

To make a lasting impact on your campus, the course also has to be sustainably offered to the students, and improve with the feedback of students and faculty. Since your leadership circle will leave the campus at a certain point, after success of the course the first or second term it was offered, it is time to pass the baton to the next leadership circle. Students should always take an active role in inviting speakers, designing curriculum, and organizing the course. In a similar format as the pilot course, students will cooperate with faculties when designing the course, but the opportunity of creativity should be reserved for the students. It is important to strike a balance between the inputs from the faculties and from the students, so that the course can be sustainably offered in subsequent semesters.