UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Students who are interested in teaching a course at Penn State — possibly of their own design — are encouraged to apply now to Students Teaching Students (STS).
STS is a registered student organization that allows undergraduate students to teach an official one- to three-credit course under the supervision of a faculty member. Those interested in teaching or developing a course can find more information by visiting stspsu.org/apply and submitting a course idea proposal form.
Spring 2026 was the second semester Grayson Lauer has taught HORT 297-002: The Orchid on Your Desk: A Deep Dive Into Indoor Plants. Elsa Sánchez, professor of horticultural systems management and Plant Sciences Department chair, served as Lauer’s faculty adviser. As a plant science major, Lauer was interested in how to get people to care about plant conservation, which is connected to his honors thesis through the Schreyer Honors College.
“So, my idea was, if you get people to care about plants that they can connect with, they might start connecting with more plants, all of plant kind, more broadly,” Lauer said.
The course covered the different types of houseplants, how to incorporate them into a living space, modern issues, current research and more. Students in the course had the chance to choose from six different plants and grow them using table space in the headhouses along Curtin Road. Lauer said when some students started their growing project in week four, many were nervous about killing their plants, but he said that was an important lesson in itself: not every plant is a good fit for someone.
Lauer said he has long considered pursuing teaching as a career, and this was the next step. He had been a teaching assistant three times before joining STS.
“I found this incredibly valuable,” he said. “Now I got to design a syllabus, lead the lesson, and design the assignments.”
Lauer, who graduated after the spring semester, will continue on at Penn State to pursue a master’s degree in counseling, with the hopes of going into teaching and research.
How to get involved in STS
STS is currently recruiting instructors for upcoming academic semesters and members for its executive board. Those interested in applying for either position should visit stspsu.org.
Instructors can apply with a syllabus proposal by submitting an official application at the beginning of each semester to teach the following semester. Then, instructors will continue to work alongside STS, a faculty champion and an academic department to develop the idea and implement the course.
The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence also is available to support STS instructors. All STS courses must comply with the same standards as all other Penn State courses and go through academic departmental approval to ensure that they are digestible for students and satisfy academic policies.