The Developing Understanding and Engagement Together (DUET) Fellow Program is an exciting opportunity to bridge the gap between teaching and learning. OU students and faculty work together as pedagogical partners, where they share their different perspectives in order to explore, analyze, revise, affirm, or imagine ways of teaching and learning that will benefit the broader OU community and both partners.
Student Fellows benefit from developing relationships with Faculty Fellows, which improves their sense of belonging on campus and confidence interacting with faculty. Faculty Fellows benefit from a better understanding of student experiences and, for new faculty, greater confidence in their teaching (Cook-Sather, et al., 2019).
This program is inspired by the Students as Learners and Teachers (SaLT) Program at Bryn Mawr University. For more information, contact M. Geneva Murray at geneva.murray@ou.edu.
DUET Faculty Fellows will be paired with Student Fellows outside of their disciplinary areas. Each week, Student Fellows will attend a class offered by their Faculty Fellow partner and attend a one-hour weekly meeting with their Faculty Fellow, in addition to weekly one-hour meetings with other Student Fellows. In addition to the weekly meeting with their student partners, Faculty Fellows will attend biweekly small group meetings with other Faculty Fellows to discuss the changes they’d like to make to their teaching or courses and implementation strategies. These small group meetings may also be attended by Student Fellows upon request.
Fellows may discuss classroom observations, syllabi language, diversifying learning activities, clarity of assignment instructions, student and faculty experiences, and more.
Faculty are encouraged to apply to be a fellow in the program! Applications are announced in the Center for Faculty Excellence’s newsletter each semester.
We encourage you to apply with another faculty member within your program or department. We hope that having two faculty participants from the same area will provide participants with greater support as they consider their teaching practices within their specific discipline, while they also build connections across campus with other members of the cohort.
Beginning in Fall 2024, Faculty Fellows will be paid $500 in supplemental pay, not including fringe, for successful completion in this semester-long program.
Students are encouraged to apply to be a fellow in the program! We post openings for student fellows through the University of Oklahoma’s student job site. Currently, student fellows work between four and five hours per week and earn $12/hourly.
Abigail Lam (Class of 2024) is majoring in Biology with a minor in General Business on the Pre-Dental track. She enjoys spending time with friends and taking her dog on walks. Her favorite memory in college has been studying abroad in France and Italy. It was a transformative experience to be immersed in a new culture alongside her peers. On campus, she is involved with the President’s Community Scholars and Leadership Education And Development (LEAD) Team through the Office of Leadership and Volunteerism. In this capacity, she helps facilitate leadership engagement and participate in service-based opportunities. In addition, she is a member of the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences program called, Withrow Leadership Scholars. As a representative of her college, she gains insight into how she can enhance her leadership through academics. Lastly, she also serves as the 2023-2024 President of the Pre-Dental Club in which she organizes professional development through hosting guest speakers and hands-on activities.
She is excited to be involved in this pedagogical program because she believes in the importance of a positive academic environment for both students and faculty. Throughout her time at OU, she has learned how essential it is for students and faculty to be engaged with one another in a supportive manner. She thinks this program will enhance the educational and teaching experience for many years to come. She is excited to contribute towards this program’s mission by sharing her experience and engaging with others on their experiences in the classroom.
Anayat Yousuf, from the picturesque region of Kashmir in the Himalayas, is currently a student at the University of Oklahoma. He is a member of class of 2027 and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biology on a Pre-medicine track. Anayat is a Davis UWC Scholar and a proud alumnus of UWC Robert Bosch College Germany. Beyond his academic endeavors, he holds the position of President at M.Y. Educational Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Kashmir. This organization, inspired by his parents, aims to assist educationally disadvantaged students. In addition, Anayat serves as the General Secretary of “The United World” organization at OU, an initiative grounded in UWC values and mission. He is also an avid cricket player, a seasoned traveler having visited 11 different countries, and a lover of cooking, with a particular fondness for spicy recipes such as Biryani and kashmiri Wazwan.
As a Spring 2024 DUET Student Fellow, Anayat is excited about the opportunity to contribute to the educational community. He believes in the importance of building relationships between students and faculty. Anayat sees the DUET program as a platform to bring about change and innovation in education.
Arine Mkhitaryan is from Yerevan, Armenia. She is pursuing a bachelor's degree in journalism at the University of Oklahoma. She is one of the UWC Scholars, alumni of United World Colleges, who aspires to build a community of changemakers and peacebuilders. She loves traveling and making pottery in her free time. My biggest inspiration is my grandfather who used to be a stubborn journalist in Soviet Armenia. The rest of her family members have always been in teaching, including her parents who are professors in universities in Armenia. That is one of the reasons why education has always been vital in her life.
She is very honored to be a DUET Student Fellow, as this program gives her the opportunity to be a direct changemaker. Student Fellows symbolize the mutual understanding between the faculty and the students and the idea of working together towards the common goal. She is always very excited to learn more about her faculty fellows. She wants to explore, through her and her fellow's experiences, new strategies in education that will benefit current students and future generations. She believes that every perspective matters and by being a Student Fellow, she brings her perspective while also expanding her horizons by getting to know the perspective of the faculty and other students.
Cheyenne Lok Suet Yeng is an international student from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia double majoring in Ballet Performance and Biology on the Pre-Physical Therapy. She is currently the treasurer of OU Circle K International and enjoys volunteering with the club. In addition to that, she also loves reading suspense novels and listening to R&B. She also lived in Florida for three years at a ballet boarding school called the HARID Conservatory.
Cheyenne is very excited to join the DUET Student Fellowship Program. She loves to learn more about active learning in the classroom as well as teaching methods that could benefit all students. She is interested in understanding the learner and educator boundaries, and the benefits of blurring those boundaries to create an environment for students to learn from educators, and educators to learn from students. She aspires to help young dancers learn and enjoy dance and create a positive space for students to learn. As an international student, she is also interested in the different cultures in education in America. Cheyenne looks forward to sharing observations and providing constructive feedback with her peers and OU faculty fellows!
Hawaou is pursuing a double major in Energy Management and Management Information Systems, with a passion for the energy industry and a curiosity for innovation and technology. She is also a Davis UWC Scholar, a prestigious program that supports students from diverse backgrounds and cultures who have demonstrated leadership potential. Hawaou spends her free time master her creativity like self-breading style, cooking new dishes, making henna and beading.
Joining the Developing Understanding and Engagement Together (DUET) Fellow program is a meaningful way for Hawaou to give back to her OU community. Engaging with faculty members and fellow students through this program can indeed enhance her communication and problem-solving skills, while also providing valuable networking opportunities and knowledge.
Isabelle Childs is a Psychology major and History minor at the University of Oklahoma. She attended school on Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas for six years before moving to Altus, Oklahoma during high school. She belongs to the Class of 2024 and plans to attend law school after graduation to pursue a dual degree in law and public health (JD/MPH). She was a Summer 2023 cohort member of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Digital Legal Research Lab, which is an NSF-funded undergraduate research experience in the digital humanities. Some of her hobbies include reading and writing poetry, running, and listening to music.
Isabelle is excited to collaborate with students and faculty as a Spring 2024 DUET Student Fellow to observe a wide array of classroom experiences. She is particularly interested in learning about the unique ways students and faculty utilize their strengths to motivate and inspire one another to achieve academic goals. Furthermore, she aims to use the knowledge obtained through her observations to help facilitate teaching and learning across campus.
Katherine Burns is a sophomore from Dallas, Texas majoring in Math Education and Pre-Physical Therapy with a minor in Health and Exercise Science (expected graduation date May 2025). She is currently on the OU Elite Dance Team and enjoys spending time performing and volunteering with her team. She also enjoys reading and all things math!
She is very excited to be able to work with faculty. She looks forward to sharing student perspectives with her faculty partner as they explore how those perspectives can positively inform their teaching practices. As an education major, she is constantly learning different teaching practices that promote an effective learning experience. She feels that it is important to create a learning environment that fosters student engagement and motivation. She is excited to be able to collaborate with faculty to brainstorm and present unique practices for their classrooms.
"Inclusive teaching to me is a teaching approach that focuses on the needs and success of all students, regardless of differing backgrounds and abilities. When I've been in classrooms that encompass inclusive teaching, I felt as if instructors were dedicated to my success and aided to provide me with resources that may have been unavailable to me otherwise. I felt that I had equal opportunity to succeed among my peers, and that my peers were given the same supports as I was."
Makaria Hamilton is a graduate student studying clinical mental health counseling. Her undergraduate degree is in psychology with a minor in sociology. She received her degree from Philander Smith College in Little Rock, AR. She loves helping people reach their full potential. Her goal once she graduates is to become an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) where she will work with children. She would like to have her own practice where she will continue working with children.
Makaria is a part of the DUET Fellows Program because she wants to help faculty and students be the best they can be. As a graduate student, she feels that she can provide a unique perspective and achieve this goal.
Meshak Mbusa, a member of the Class of 2027, is currently dedicated to obtaining his bachelor's degree in Computer Science. Originally from The Democratic Republic of Congo, Meshak's journey led him from his homeland to Uganda, then on to Boston, Massachusetts, and finally settling in Houston, Texas. Beyond his academic pursuits, Meshak finds joy in cooking, savoring delicious meals, working out, cherishing moments with friends, and listening to music. His inspiration to go out and succeed stems from his loved ones who are his backbone.
Meshak took the initiative to join the DUET Fellow pedagogical program recognizing its invaluable role in honing his communication, leadership, and learning abilities. Engaging with faculty members and fellow students would offer Meshak the opportunity to observe how other brilliant minds on campus absorb, process, and articulate their ideas within a learning environment. Additionally, he eagerly anticipates developing invaluable networking skills through his participation in the DUET Fellow program.
Mounir Zahidi is an international student from Marrakech, Morocco. He belongs to the Class of 2025, majoring in Computer Science. He is a secretary in the Computer Science Student Board, a member of the OU Swim and Dive Club, and honored to be a DUET (Developing Understanding and Engagement Together) Student Fellow.
Mounir is deeply passionate about building effective relations between faculty and students in an educational setting, and he is super excited to work with faculty fellows in improving those relations in the class environment. As a student, Mounir believes there is a lot of potential cooperation that we should take advantage of to improve our education system. He is very honored to be able to contribute along with the other DUET Students Fellows to this exciting program and looking forward to being a direct changemaker in our community.
Nichole Marullo (she/her) is from Barnsdall, Oklahoma. She is a Junior majoring in Political Science and Sociology with a minor in Japanese, with plans to graduate in 2025. Nichole transferred to OU in her second year, after attending a women's college in Virginia called Hollins University. She enjoys music, binge-watching my favorite shows, and shopping with her friends. Nichole is a 3rd generation Italian Immigrant and LGBTQ+ community member. She loves being involved in diverse organizations on and off campus. At OU, she has been involved in the Transfer Leadership Program, OU Cousins, and is currently an LGBTQ+ Peer Mentor on campus.
Nichole is super excited to be part of the DUET Program as she plans to become a teacher after graduation. She hopes to gain a meaningful and fulfilling experience that helps her faculty partner and her create a more positive and exciting learning environment for students and professors!
Oumarou Gouba is from Burkina Faso, and has a unique educational journey. Having spent two transformative years at a boarding school in Burkina Faso for high school, Oumarou moved to Canada to attend the United World Colleges at Pearson College in Victoria, BC. There, he successfully graduated with a Bilingual International Baccalaureate Diploma. Continuing his pursuit of knowledge, Oumarou crossed borders again, this time to the United States, where he is currently a part of the University of Oklahoma's class of 2026 where he is majoring in Information Science and Technology. Oumarou likes to cook and has a passion for entrepreneurship.
Oumarou feels privileged to be part of the DUET Students fellowship. Through this opportunity, Oumarou is committed to helping his fellow professor create the safest possible learning environment for students while ensuring their academic success.
Sydney Sorensen is a Chemical Bioscience major at the University of Oklahoma. She is graduating in 2025 with the hopes of attending dental school after she graduates. She is an active member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority and the Pre-Dental Club on OU's campus. Sydney is from San Antonio, Texas and to find balance outside the books, she enjoys lifting weights at the gym, spending quality time with her friends, listening to music, or cooking. Among her creations, brown butter chocolate chip cookies hold a special place as her favorite.
Sydney is eager to contribute to the educational journey of her fellow peers while gaining valuable experience and insight from working with an experienced professor. Sydney hopes to bridge the gap between students and professors in the classroom by allowing her voice as a student to positively impact faculty on campus.
Wesley is a part of the class of 2025, pursuing a double major in social work and women’s & gender studies. Originally from McComb, Mississippi, Wesley comes from a family of nine. When Wesley is not in the classroom, he enjoys spending time with his orange tabby cat named Lewie, reading, painting, traveling, and trying new things.
Wesley is passionate about learning and inspiring self-motivation in others. Since many students experience burnout and a loss of interest or motivation upon reaching college, he believes it is vital for professors to be intentional with engagement and encouragement. Therefore, he hopes to work with faculty in order to develop techniques to create a more supportive learning environment for students. Additionally, he tries to implement the National Association of Social Workers’ code of ethics into everything he does, specifically the value of dignity and self-worth. This is why Wesley is especially excited to help foster trust and mutual respect for students and faculty in the classroom.
