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Students Assessing Teaching and Learning (SATAL)

What is SATAL?

The Students Assessing Teaching and Learning (SATAL) program is a resource available to support academic programs and/or course level assessment for instructors, chairs, and deans. The SATAL program, sponsored by the Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning at UC Merced, offers trained undergraduates to gather information about the student learning experience on behalf of individual instructors or academic programs. For example, in support of program assessment, SATAL students can conduct exit interviews with graduating seniors or focus group interviews with students at key transition points in a curriculum. Results are then summarized in a professional report.
 
Students working for SATAL receive ongoing professional development on how to gather, analyze, and report findings related to classroom instructional data (e.g., use of instructional time, student engagement, learning activities, and providing confidential feedback). Interns utilize various instruments and protocols such as Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID), Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS), focus groups, interviews, and surveys to provide instructors with accurate and actionable feedback.

Students Assessing Teaching and Learning

About SATAL

Discover how the SATAL program could help maximize engagement in your classroom, learn how it works, and how you can benefit from it!

Grant Support and Education Research

Assessment Resources 

Review strategies, templates, and resources for assessing your class. 

Students Assessing Teaching and Learning

SATAL Research

Explore findings from SATAL and UC Merced researchers. Join collaborative efforts to support teaching and learning

Educational Research

SATAL Partners 

Meet the students who make SATAL happen! Learn about their motivation for learning about classroom assessment.

Submit a SATAL Request Form to Get Started!

Students Assessing Teaching and Learning (SATAL) is designed to provide students’ feedback to faculty, TAs, or academic programs interested in gaining a better sense of the learning experience in their classes.

SATAL Request Form

SATAL Testimonials

From Faculty Partners

"The results from this assessment are always useful and eye-opening. SATAL is a tool for developing a democratic classroom environment, where students take responsibility over their own learning in conversation with one another and me. In the process, I've learned to see myself as a facilitator and listener to my students, more cognizant of their particular struggles and their strengths. The end result is that my students develop metacognition about why and how the course is run, and this helps form tight community of learners and good rapport among them.  I always make course adjustments as a result of the SATAL survey."

From Student Partners

"As a student partner in SATAL, I found a unique platform to merge my academic background with my passion for making a difference. Collaborating with faculty and staff, I had the opportunity to utilize my analytical skills to assess teaching and learning experiences, contributing to the improvement of pedagogical practices. Engaging in focus groups, conducting classroom observations, and collecting mid/end-course feedback allowed me to gather comprehensive insights into the student experience and provide valuable input for enhancing the learning environment. These activities not only strengthened my ability to critically evaluate educational methods but also empowered me to actively participate in shaping the educational landscape for myself and my peers."

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