SEED: Students Engaging in Educational Dialogue

What is SEED?

SEED (Students Engaging in Educational Dialogue) is a pedagogical partnership program hosted by the Center for Teaching & Learning. In this program, students are paired with faculty partners with the goal of engaging in shared reflection and dialogue, providing both partners with a unique perspective on the classroom experience.

What are “Pedagogical Partnership” programs?

A Pedagogical Partnership is an ongoing relationship where students and faculty share perspectives, reflect on teaching and learning, and exchange ideas to inform teaching practice. Part of a broader field of work known as “Student Voice Work”, these programs recognize, solicit, and act upon students’ perspectives and experiences in educational settings. The aim of a Pedagogical Partnership program is to shift students from passive recipients of instruction to active contributors whose insights help shape the academic environment (Cook-Sather et al., 2020).

Shared Power

SEED embeds student partners in ongoing, collaborative, reciprocal relationships with their faculty partner. Through equitable dialogue, partners collaborate on pedagogical reflection, decisions, and/or implementation. These programs move beyond traditional student-faculty roles by valuing both perspectives and creating space for equal participation.

The CTL SEED program dismantles the faculty/student power dynamic by intentionally pairing students with faculty partners who are not and have never been one of their instructors in an academic course.

Core Objectives

Through engagement in the SEED program, participants will:

Engage in constructive dialogue between instructor and student about teaching and learning.
Reflect upon teaching and learning experiences.
Elevate and recognize student voices as valuable and instrumental contributions to the learning environment.
Exchange perspectives respectfully to support shared understanding.
Affirm and analyze what works well in current teaching practices.

Threshold Concepts

Participants in the SEED program agree:

Expertise comes in many forms. Students bring unique insights into the classroom experience, while faculty bring expertise in the content area.
Both students and faculty contribute valuable perspectives on the structure and function of learning environments.
Partners contribute equally, but not in the same way. Partnerships are collaborative, not hierarchical, with power shared.
Partnership is not about “fixing” something. It creates opportunities for dialogue, understanding different perspectives, reinforcing strengths, building relationships, and exchanging ideas.

What do Partners do?

In the SEED Program, student partners visit their faculty partner's class, take notes based on shared goals, and bring their insights and wonderings to weekly debrief conversations. Together, partners create meaning and reflect on the student partner’s experience in relationship to the faculty partner’s experience and goals.

Student Partners bring:	Faculty Partners bring:
Expertise in their experience as a student Experience in student-student and student-faculty classroom dynamics	Expertise in their subject area and teaching experience Experience in designing and facilitating classrooms & faculty-student dynamics

Student Partners will:	Faculty Partners will:
Create shared partnership goals Visit class, noticing and noting what occurs Engage in reflection & meaning-making in dialogue with their partner	Create shared partnership goals Welcome partner’s comments and perspectives Engage in reflection & meaning-making in dialogue with their partner

SEED Program Development

The SEED program was developed during the spring 2026 by an Advisory Team consisting of SHU students, faculty, and staff. The Advisory Team engaged with the seminal book, Pedagogical Partnerships: A How-To Guide for Faculty, Students, and Academic Developers in Higher Education, and scholarly work in the student voice field to guide the development of this program. We are deeply grateful to the members of our SEED Program Advisory Team for their insights, ideas and perspectives.

Spring 2026 Advisory Team Members

Student Members

Nana Belmonte, Undergraduate Student
Michael Costigan, Graduate Student

Faculty Members

Christine Coletta, Undergraduate Nursing
Linda Farber, Chemistry
Kimberly Hellerich, Educational Leadership
Caitlin Ross, Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences
Claudio Schapsis, Marketing
Stefanie Seanor, Occupational Therapy
Michael Vale, Psychology

Staff Members

Irina Ellison, Health Sciences
Lisa Henderson, Center for Teaching & Learning

References

Cook-Sather, A., Bahti, M., Ntem, A. (2020). Pedagogical Partnerships: A How-To Guide for Faculty, Students, and Academic Developers in Higher Education. Center for Engaged Learning Open Access Book Series.