Our History
UTRGV is one of the largest HSIs in the US and as such we are in an ideal position to serve as models for teaching strategies that center student voices and student success. When the opportunity was presented to apply for a UTRGV Transforming Our World Grant in Fall 2019, Alyssa Cavazos, Associate Professor of Writing and Language Studies and Director for the Center for Teaching Excellence, and Lesley Chapa, Biological Sciences major, Class of 2020 and School of Medicine Class of 2025, submitted a proposal to design, implement, and assess a pilot student pedagogical partners initiative.
The proposal was accepted in Spring 2020 and we designed, implemented, and assessed the pilot initiative from Spring 2020-Spring 2021. The pilot initiative focused on developing a framework for student and faculty partnerships, understand how students engage in the feedback process of teaching and learning partnership with faculty members, and inform frameworks for feedback practices on teaching and learning moments. Through this worked, we intend to grow the program in ways that foster to students’ sense of belonging, resilience, and educational growth and faculty development, reflection on teaching and learning, and openness to student feedback on teaching and learning experiences.
Our SaLT HSI initiative is one of the first at a Hispanic Serving Institution and has grown tremendously since the pilot study in Fall 2020. We developed a reciprocal and reflective framework for student-teacher partnerships, designed collaborative workshops for student partners where we explored best teaching and learning practices centered on student voices and success, implemented a feedback review template through a student-centered lens informed by findings from the pilot study, and presented our work at various state-level and national conferences and professional development workshops at the department, college, and University level.
We currently have a total of 20 student partners who are deeply committed to creating spaces of belonging at our institution through dialogue, reflection, and reciprocal learning with fellow students, faculty, and staff. We hope to continue growing the program in ways that will support student success and faculty development across disciplines, programs, departments, and schools at UTRGV and beyond.
Learn more about our SaLT HSI program from our Student Teaching Consultant Leader, Andrea Cruz.
I was friends with Lesley Chapa for about two years before she mentioned that she was working with Dra. Cavazos on what they called the “SaLT HSI initiative”. In Spring 2019, Lesley encouraged me to join a meeting to review the SaLT goals and how to join. I thought the idea of collaborating with a faculty member was fascinating; not only was I going to present my perspective, but I also felt that this line of communication between faculty and students could help to improve student’s overall success in academia. So, of course, I decided to attend that fateful meeting.
After that meeting, I knew that I had to be a part of this work; it was just too amazing of an opportunity to pass, and sure enough, by the Fall of 2020 I was a part of this initiative, partnered with my faculty member. My faculty partner and I worked together to solve problems, create new solutions, and overall designed a safe and effective learning environment for all the students taking that course. I loved the work that we did in the fall 2020 cohort; I had fantastic moments with my faculty partner, and I felt that by the end of our partnership, we could even call each other friends. Being able to understand faculty in this capacity has changed my perspective on what being a professor truly entails and honestly, makes me respect faculty members that much more. I cannot thank Lesley enough for giving me the chance to be a part of a program that I think will truly help the future of all students attending UTRGV.
I decided to continue working with SaLT well into the Summer of 2021, and I am now the lead student teaching consultant. In this role, I collaborate with Dra. Alyssa Cavazos in designing the program and building the framework that we use to organize the activities, resources and future meetings for the student partners. I also mentor the student partners by providing guidance when needed and offering my perspective from my experience as a student partner. Dr. Cavazos and I review student partners’ feedback on teaching documents, conduct research, and present on the impact of the program on student success and faculty development. I also collaborate with the CTE Program Coordinator, Adolfo Hernandez, in coordinating the program for the purposes of student partners' sign-up for CTE events and other logistical necessities.
Andrea Cruz, CTE Student Teaching Consultant Leader
Biological Sciences Major, Class of 2021