Student Leadership: Leveraging the Power of Student Voice

A Course from the SABES Program Support OnDemand Library.

Welcome to SABES OnDemand!

Welcome to the SABES OnDemand professional development series, designed to provide flexible, high-quality learning that fits your unique schedule. Our on-demand courses are fully self-paced, asynchronous offerings that allow you to engage with professional development content whenever and wherever it is most convenient for you. To participate in a course, simply self-enroll, work through the materials at your own speed, and pass a brief knowledge check to automatically generate your certificate of completion.

Student Leadership: Leveraging the Power of Student Voice

Research shows that centering student voice in the life of a program increases student persistence by fostering student engagement, cultivating a sense of community, and building student ownership of their own learning. Student leadership also has the potential to strengthen program culture and enhance programs’ capacity to provide programming and opportunities that are highly relevant and responsive to students’ goals, interests, and experiences. Across the Public Adult Education System of Massachusetts, student leadership has become a catalyst for new initiatives and policy changes that enhance access to adult education for everyone.

This SABES OnDemand course is designed to help you explore how engaging students as active partners in program design and implementation can strengthen your program (IPQ 9), further equitable access (IPQ 2), and help you meet enrollment targets by increasing student persistence. It includes three modules:

In Module 1, “Student Perspectives,” you will hear directly from student leaders about their experiences. You will explore the potential impact of student leadership for students and programs alike, as well as practical strategies to make student leadership more visible in your classroom or program.
In Module 2, “Program Perspectives,” you will hear from staff and students representing three Massachusetts adult education programs that have recently implemented student leadership initiatives. You will explore three different approaches to student leadership, consider what might work for your program, and review available resources from SABES.
In Module 3, “Moving to Action,” you will develop your own approach to student leadership. You will draft and submit a goal and action plan using a provided template, and have the opportunity to receive feedback from a coach.

Completing the Course

This course is designed to be flexible and adaptable to your specific needs and interests. To complete the course, you must:

Complete the pre-course questionnaire (You must complete this questionnaire in order to access the course content).
Complete Module 1 and/or Module 2, plus a reflection (You can complete the reflection based on Module 1, Module 2, or both, depending on which you choose to complete).
- Module 1: Watch the video (approximately 1 hour and 17 minutes) and complete a knowledge check.
- Module 2: Watch the video (approximately 1 hour and 13 minutes) and complete a knowledge check.
- Reflection: Share what you have learned and how you might apply it.
Optional: Complete Module 3 by reviewing the resources and submitting your goal and action plan as an assignment.
Complete the course evaluation.

Each module is designed to be completed in approximately two hours. The total estimated time to complete all three parts is six hours.

Note: Coaching is available during or after completing the course. You can meet with a coach to receive input or feedback on your plan or get support with implementation challenges. Coaching meetings are typically one hour, scheduled within your availability.

You must complete the pre-course questionnaire in order to access the course content. You can begin that step by selecting "Start Here" below.

Start Here

Public Adult Education of MA - "Live to Learn" SABES