By: Liv Overbee and Trinity Perkins

In higher education institutions, we understand the importance of creating positive educational experiences, and adjusting our practices based upon the experiences of our students. However, although we understand the importance of doing so, do we really understand the true needs of students? An article by Hu et al., published in 2022, two years after the initial impact of covid, explained that college students, following the pandemic, “showed increased fear, stress, and decreased happiness, and these were associated with their learning quality change.” Students who struggle in this way are students who will not learn effectively.

We have started seeing numerous different methods of teaching such as hybrid, or asynchronous/synchronous classes, as well as changes with in-person classes. These changes notably affected the way that students learn, and we want to understand how students feel about what can be done in teaching and learning to help them. On top of this, external factors affect students daily, such as jobs, families, relationships, and the other daily tasks and stressors of life. All of these things can be seen through our personal experiences as students at Eastern Michigan University.

[TRINITY]: I am a sophomore here at Eastern studying criminology and criminal justice. While I have not taken many of my major classes, I have noticed a change in my learning approach in my general education versus my major classes. When I started college I thought I knew how to study, but it is a completely different rodeo than I expected. I found that I had to find a new routine for learning. Throughout my time here, I have found it hard to connect with some of my professors. I sometimes have trouble conveying how I learn best because of this. I’ve found many students who share this desire to speak to their professor about their learning difficulties in the classroom, but don’t know how to do so.

[LIV]: I’m a senior student here at Eastern, majoring in neuroscience. I had the opportunity to begin college during the pandemic, meaning this was the first glimpse into what college would be for me. Never seeing professors in person. Never seeing my classmates in person. Online tests, assignments, and meetings. The absence of human interaction hit strongly. Through these experiences, I realized how important making connections with my faculty is. I needed to advocate for myself, learn how I learn, and take initiative and pride in my education. I have been lucky enough to be met by faculty who are open-minded when it comes to my education, but I realize this is not a universal experience for many college students. I have seen many students give up because they are lacking one important thing: the feeling they are cared about, and that they matter.

We respect our professors as content experts. You get the opportunity to teach us new things everyday, and we are eager to learn from your years of training and knowledge. However, as students, we would like to be part of the conversation. We have experiences as learners that we would, individually and collectively, like to share with you. With our and many other students' experiences in mind, the Faculty Development Center, where we are both student employees, is excited to spread the word about “Flipping the Script: Teaching and Learning Together,” a student-led teaching conference coming up on December 1.

For many students, we have lacked the opportunity to share our knowledge of our own learning experiences. Because of our work at the FDC, we, as students, have been given a new perspective into your world as faculty. We have seen the effort and dedication you give to your teaching, and are passionate about helping you help us. This conference offers us all the opportunity to do something we do best: learn. Learn from each other. Learn from experience. Learn from research. Learn new perspectives and new ways of thinking.

Here at the FDC, we are devoted to expanding partnerships between students and faculty, and are passionate about offering the opportunities needed to create meaningful learning experiences. This conference offers exactly that. As students, this is our plea to our teachers: Encourage your students to participate in this opportunity. Encourage them to use their voice and work towards a greater learning experience.

Please also consider attending this conference yourself. This one day could make a world of difference in your future years of teaching, your next semester, or even your next class. This conference is student-led, but also student-backed with all the work we are doing at the FDC as students to make it great. This conference is an extension of our pre-existing Teaching and Learning Together (TaLT) initiative, and just another step we are taking to establish meaningful student-faculty partner-ships here on our campus. Please help us to do so.

To learn more about this conference and our passion behind it, click here. This link will also take you to our Call for Proposals, our Registration Form, and the Proposal Application Form for any interested students. If you or any interested students have questions, contact us at faculty_development@emich.edu.