Date Approved

2026

Degree Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department or School

Special Education and Communication Sciences and Disorders

Committee Member

Sarah Ginsberg, Ed.D., CCC-SLP

Committee Member

Leslie Blome, Ed.D., CCC-SLP

Committee Member

Jerry Hoepner, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Abstract

Student-faculty partnerships, such as instructional partnerships, have been shown to benefit both students and faculty members who engage in them. This form of collaboration does not commonly occur at public, comprehensive universities, especially in the field of communication sciences and disorders (CSD). The purpose of this study was to understand the perspectives of CSD faculty on collaborating with students as instructional partners (IP), as there is limited research on it. IPs are students who have successfully taken a class in the recent past, attend the course in a subsequent semester, and meet after each class with the professor to discuss what went well and what improvements to make for the future. Since IPs work alongside the professor, they allow the professor the opportunity to provide genuine, honest feedback. The researcher conducted one-on-one qualitative interviews with five CSD faculty at universities in the Midwest to collect data on their perspectives on IPs. This thesis paper is composed of three distinct articles that are all linked through common themes of teaching and learning, student-faculty partnerships, and student-centered education. Results showed that most CSD faculty see many benefits of having an IP for themselves and for the student. However, many concluded that incorporating IPs into their university would be logistically difficult if they were to attempt something such as IPs. The findings of this research may encourage other CSD faculty members to collaborate with students in partnership to create a more effective teaching and learning environment for themselves and for their students.

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