Who's in Charge Here Anyway? Student Management Teams as an Empowerment Tool

Abstract

This article identifies Student Management Teams (SMT) as an effective tool to increase student responsibility for classroom learning and to provide instructors with ongoing feedback about the quality and effectiveness of instruction. The SMT is a group of two to six students from one course who have volunteered to work with the instructor for the improvement of the course through the semester by observing and evaluating the pedagogical methods, by receiving and processing observations and recommendations from the class at large, and by meeting with the instructor on a regular basis throughout the semester. Results from 202 students in five social work classes indicate that SMTs are perceived as having positive effects on students' educational experiences. This article describes the rationale for the implementation of Student Management Teams, discusses the results of a study which examined perceptions of SMTs, and describes how to implement a Student Management Team.