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Becoming a Student Assistant: Teaching and Mentoring

Learn how to be professionally involved in teaching, support and governing of higher education institutions.

22,302 enrolled on this course

A picture of student assistant Rowanne and student assistant Jon
  • Duration

    5 weeks
  • Weekly study

    4 hours

The University of Groningen currently employs over 700 student assistants and has opened up all of its governing bodies to student participation. For example, student assistants take up teaching duties and support role functions, mentor first year students and are involved in governing bodies.

But, how do you prepare for a job as a student assistant? How do you behave professionally in the organisation of a higher education institution? What are the basic design principles of good education? How do communicate professionally? These and other questions will be covered in this course.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 7 seconds My name is Jon Hummel. I’m a student in the master Technology and Operations Management at the University of Groningen. I became a student assistant because I was searching for more challenging aspects in my study. My name is Rowanne Degenhart. I am a research master student at the faculty of law. I got involved in the student council when I was helping students find accommodation. And then someone said, “Well, apparently you like to help other people and make their voice heard. So maybe you want to do that on the highest level within the university.” We get together every month, and we discuss the policies of the university and exchange ideas about them and put that forward to the board.

Skip to 0 minutes and 48 seconds My tasks as a student assistant contains, for instance, teaching lessons, being invigilator at an exam, but also mentoring students to help students in their first steps at our university. I want to be a lawyer, and the skills that I learn this year are very useful because I have to debate with a lot of people and make a lot of good connections that maybe could help you do an awesome job afterwards. Well, the benefits of being a student assistant for my own study programme is that I have to teach courses that I have followed before. So it forces me to delve more information and knowledge out of that course.

Skip to 1 minute and 23 seconds What I like it is we can actually change a lot of things. Even though they don’t happen overnight, you can still see things happening because you put an effort in. How do you prepare for a student assistantship? How do you show professional behaviour in a higher education environment? How do you teach fellow students?

Skip to 1 minute and 51 seconds What challenges do you face when participating as a student in the governing bodies of the institution?

What topics will you cover?

  • The benefits of involving students in the organization
  • Professional behaviour in higher education
  • Basic design principles of higher education
  • Class preparation
  • Teaching a class
  • Assessment
  • Mentoring and feedback
  • Student representation
  • Case studies in higher education

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Contribute professionally in a higher education working environment
  • Develop a well-founded opinion of what is a good university teacher and mentor
  • Identify the basic principles for designing a course
  • Explore the aspects of how to teach a small group session in an interactive way while paying attention to classroom management and atmosphere
  • Interpret the difference between directive and facilitative formative feedback
  • Reflect on challenges students participating in governing bodies face

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone with a passion for higher education. The course is specifically tailored to the needs of students and employees, who are involved in teaching, support and participation in governing bodies of higher education institutions. We created distinct learning paths for teaching assistants, support operators, board members, and policy makers or administrators.

What do people say about this course?

"Really, it has been a very educative online course. I appreciate the coverage and I will advise others to join this course, it is useful for beginners such as tutorial assistants/ trainers. I believe now I can use the techniques to work as a part time trainer/ instructor or student assistant with improved vision related to teaching and learning activities. Also, I have been impressed by the final conclusion on the governing the University. Thank you all and the University of Groningen, I am looking forward to joining another online course."

"This is one of the most interesting online course I have ever attended. I take interest in especially on how to give feedback to students, setting rules for classroom management, managing a disruptive student, etc. I also learn from the comments made by the participants. Thank you to the course designers and the University of Groningen."

Who will you learn with?

Lead educator of the course "Students Taking Charge of Higher Education" and
educational advisor and teacher trainer at the University of Groningen
https://twitter.com/IneNoben

My name is Klaas van Veen and I work as professor in educational studies and as director of the Teacher Education institute of the University of Groningen.

Hello, my name is Robbert van Veen. As educator of the course "Students Taking Charge of Higher Education", I helped design content about professional behaviour, mentoring and governing.

We are the student assistants of the course "Students taking charge of higher education". Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studentsincharge/

Who developed the course?

University of Groningen

The University of Groningen is a research university with a global outlook, deeply rooted in Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands.

Learning on FutureLearn

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  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
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  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
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Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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