Student Voice
A great untapped resource hides in plain sight on all college campuses—the students’ own voices. Student Voice is not mere anecdote; in every student’s lived experience are embedded trends and lessons about student learning. Thus, uncovering and evaluating Student Voices—and Making Visible this abundant data— plays a central role in increasing student success.
Excerpted from a Literature Review of Student Voice that SIC coordinator Sean McFarland researched during his sabbatical.
The Student Voice Advocacy Project (S-VAP) was an initiative housed at Chabot College, spearheaded by Chabot students, and supported by Chabot faculty. S-VAP offered a comprehensive response to the tendency of institutions to not take into full account the perspectives students have about their education.
Practical advice and support for how to create student Inquiry teams
The key to effectively leveraging Student Voice is for teachers to trust that students have the ability—the capacity—to do far more than what is usually asked of them in college settings.
The most powerful thing a college can do to uncover and leverage Student Voice is to train and support students to act as co-equals in investigating issues that matter to them and the wider community.
Practical advice and support for how to use video to “make visible” the concerns, strengths, and stories, of our students.
Chabot students spearheaded this ambitious effort to provide a platform for clubs, organizations, and groups to share their missions, launch new initiatives, engage Chabot’s student body and promote student group sustainability.
Tuning the Voice | In the Fall semester of 2011, 8 brand new incoming freshman students at Chabot College were randomly selected to be followed, observed, and interviewed over the course of the semester. The goal was to uncover the hurdles students face and the strategies they adopt for success. The 8 were also given Flip-style cameras so that they could also film their personal lives.
