Learning Assistant (LA) instead of Teaching Assistant (TA) in Korea?

Abstract

An introductory physics course is a basic course in many majors including physics. However, both faculty and students experience difficulties in this course because of large scale of many students as well as the wide learning gaps between the students who took physics in high school and those who did not. Therefore, it is necessary to find a way to fix the learning gap and resolve the difficulty in classroom management. To help the faculty in handling those students who have difficulties in large introductory physics classes, the learning assistant (LA) model can be introduced. In this model, the pre-service teachers or elder students in physics or physics education department who took this course can act as the learning assistants; therefore, they are given sufficient time to incorporate pedagogical knowledge, while the students’ difficulties are addressed. This study proposes three types of educational programs using the LA model by considering the context of Korean institutions, students, and faculty.