ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the student experience of other students (SEOS) and contrast it with the predominantly alienating experiences that, unfortunately, are common in higher education, particularly for students of color and nontraditional students. It discusses research regarding facilitation for student interaction. The chapter discusses results from Brian Sohn’s dissertation study on the SEOS of students in the case study course. It shows that a phenomenological approach to teaching and learning can help students have similarly positive experiences of each other in other contexts and avoid having a classroom in which students “go in, take notes, and leave.” Student interaction in the world of higher education research often falls under the larger umbrella of learning environment studies or group work. In some circumstances, participants in studies of black, international, and underachieving students share positive experiences about their connections with other students.
