From practice to insight: Evaluating impacts of student-led fit activities without the red tape

Most entomology students eventually pursue a permanent position that has a formal or informal teaching (FIT) component or appointment, like training, teaching, outreach, or extension. Students frequently participate in FIT-related opportunities at their institutions and student or professional organizations to gain experience, however, the ways in which a student may evaluate the impacts and success of their FIT-related activities can be difficult and potentially underestimated. For example, teaching assistants are not always able to receive student evaluations for their performance while assisting with the course. Students are also unable to submit a student-organized activity for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval without a staff member to serve as the principal investigator, which can be particularly limiting for individuals or student organizations attempting to measure their impacts. Some institutions do offer certificates for teaching or outreach once a student fulfills criteria such as working for a given number of hours or watching a webinar series, but even these do not highlight the impact of most student FIT-related activities. We therefore propose an informal approach for students to ethically gather meaningful insights about their FIT-related activities for job applications and develop valuable skills in critical thinking, evaluation design, and impact analysis. Encouraging these practices will not only aid entomology students and organizations who wish to highlight their student-led teaching, extension, or outreach activities with a results-demonstrable approach, but also support a culture of reflective practice and continuous improvement for these students while remaining compliant with institutional research policies.