Transforming the Doctoral Experience: Partnering with students for high-impact practice

This work examines how faculty-student partnerships in course development function as high-impact practices (HIPs) in doctoral education. Based on a co-constructed case study of three doctoral students who partnered with a professor on course development projects, our research demonstrates how these partnerships foster students' agency through intentionality, forethought, self-regulation, and self-efficacy, as framed by Bandura's social cognitive theory and Code's agency for learning framework.

Through co-constructed qualitative analysis of individual interviews and focus group data, we identified key benefits including professional growth, enhanced collaborative relationships, increased ownership in course development, and improved integration of theory and practice. Findings show that course development partnerships can provide doctoral students with meaningful mentorship and authentic learning experiences that can help prepare them for future faculty roles.

Pedagogical training is often minimal in STEM doctoral programs despite the expectation of teaching responsibilities. This approach offers significant potential in those contexts. STEM doctoral students partnering in course development would gain practical experience designing assessments, developing active learning activities, and creating disciplinary content that bridges theory and application—skills essential for effective STEM teaching. These partnerships are particularly valuable in helping STEM doctoral students translate complex technical concepts into accessible learning experiences while providing faculty with fresh disciplinary perspectives.

Our presentation will focus in on how the Students as Partners (SAP) approach aligns with established HIPs criteria. We will briefly share strategies for setting up this kind of partnership, including planning student involvement based on disciplinary expertise, empowering students as experts in their focal areas, and designing projects that complement dissertation research. Participants will leave with practical ideas for establishing faculty-student partnerships in course development, and an understanding of critical elements to affirm this as a high-impact practice.