Improving STEM Teaching, Learning and Sense of Belonging Utilizing Design Thinking and Students-As-Partners Models in Higher Education

This article describes the Learning Partners model at Clark University, a program that combines and enhances research-backed instructional models and pedagogical practices in STEM education. By integrating strategies across frameworks more holistically, the program has supported both students and faculty, leading to demonstrable gains in teaching, learning, and student sense of belonging—especially in STEM courses where students often face disproportionate challenges. This article will highlight the foundational models, explain how to integrate these strategies into an effective program, and to share lived experiences from three STEM disciplines: Calculus, Biology, and 3D Modeling. The integrated model presented here also offers a framework for improving faculty development through a push-in, just-in-time approach, where students have significant input into the problems faculty address.