Pedagogical Partnership Program (PPP)
Purpose of the Programme
The Pedagogical Partnership Programme (PPP) is a signature programme
of the LLI that promotes students’ valuable expertise as learners and involves them directly in improving their educational experiences. Students partner with faculty or staff members for an entire semester on projects to create more impactful, relevant, and inclusive learning and teaching opportunities at LUMS. Students are paid a monthly stiped, or in some cases get course credit through the Syed Ahsan Ali and Syed Maratib Ali School of Education (SOE) for their partnership work.
Impact
Since 2020, 160 faculty and students have proposed and carried out 65+ different partnership projects sponsored by LLI. In Fall 2021, a new undergraduate course was piloted at SOE which involved 18 additional partnerships focused on undergraduate students observing teaching and giving feedback to faculty partners who came from all 5 schools.
Over the past year, these partnerships have led to several important developments:
- Improved courses at all 5 schools that are more focused on high quality learning
- Improved teaching methods of LUMS instructors of all ranks making teaching more engaging for learners
- Co-designed research projects that focus on various educational innovations and issues
- Co-development of specific educational resources at both the course and subject levels
- Co-published scholarly articles related to teaching and learning
The main impact of the Pedagogical Partnership Programme is evident in higher quality course content and delivery and better educational outcomes. The programme also increased students’ sense of ownership in their own education and allowed the faculty to gain insights into their teaching practices from the perspective of their students. The transformative experiences of students and faculty and the enhanced quality of teaching and learning have been documented at the end of the partnership reports submitted by student/faculty partners, presentation of their work at LUMS and also higher course evaluations reported by the faculty.
Student partners have reported that they have developed key skills including written and verbal communication; productive conflict resolution; time management; abilities to give critical and affirmative feedback to superiors and an overall confidence in their abilities to work as a team with faculty/superiors and their classmates. Many student partners claim that these valuable skills will transfer into their work experiences after graduation.
Another impact of the programme has been on the mindsets of the participating faculty and students, who felt that the partnership programme disrupted the existing power dynamics which dismissed the value of students’ knowledge. This led the faculty to respect student voice and keep a close ear to the ground as they designed and delivered their courses. The students reported higher self-esteem and confidence as a result. In addition, they also explained how the experience of working with faculty allowed them to approach the course design from the perspective of teaching faculty and realise the thought and effort behind it. The partnering students and faculty also reported an increase in trust between them. The faculty shared having more trust in the potential of the students, while student partners felt they trusted themselves more and felt responsible, leading and ‘managing it like a boss,’ as one student put it. During the whole process, faculty’s appreciation and encouragement seemed to have acted as a catalyst in improving the performance and progress of the students.
Future Developments
Many student partners have claimed that the opportunity to be a partner is one of the best experiences they have had as students at LUMS. Thus, we want to offer this opportunity to many more students. In the coming year, LUMS will expand student involvement as partners in more educational activities as we broaden the umbrella of “partnership” to also include student internships with other units, offices, and organisations within LUMS. LLI will play a role in supporting these new forms of partnerships through capacity building initiatives that help students and faculty/staff to learn about how to work “in partnership” and move beyond the top-down interactions that typically define these relationships.
The pedagogical Partnership Program (PPP) spearheaded by the LUMS Learning Institute is a transformative initiative designed to foster collaborative learning and teaching experiences at LUMS. By bridging the gap between students and faculty through meaningful partnerships, the PPP aims to enhance the educational landscape with innovative approaches for three major categories:
- Course Design: student and faculty partner collaborate on designing new course content based on the latest research or industry need.
- Course Delivery: students and faculty partners collaborate to enhance the ongoing course in terms of its learning objectives, content, and delivery.
- Other Research: Research endeavors with faculty to work on pedagogical research projects.
Core Values of a Partnership
- رائے: This implies the value placed on individual perspectives within the program. Recognizing and considering each participant's opinions is crucial for a collaborative and inclusive educational environment.
- نقطة نظر: this stresses the importance of acknowledging different viewpoints. In a pedagogical context, this would mean valuing the different perspectives that both students and faculty bring to the learning experience.
- اعتماد: Trust is foundational in any partnership, ensuring that all parties feel confident in their collaboration, believe in each other's commitment, and rely on each other's contributions.
- باہمی مشاورت: This highlights the program’s commitment to collaborative decision-making processes, wherein students and faculty/staff share the authority and responsibility for decisions related to the pedagogical ventures.
Every year LLI holds a partnership showcase which offers an opportunity to LUMS as well as outside LUMS audience to meet and network with the faculty and student partners who present their collaborative projects on various teaching and learning-related topics. Projects are showcased either through presentation and gallery walk from the Pedagogical Partnership Program and Students as Co-Researchers Program.
