Learning Assistant Program Research Articles

Building pedagogical partnerships

Engaging students as pedagogical partners in teaching and learning in higher education is becoming increasingly prevalent. However, developing and sustaining such partnerships can be challenging. The present study highlights the potential of utilizing work-integrated learning (WIL) students as partners. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 university instructors to explore how access to an online learning assistant (OLA) program helped them navigate remote instruction challenges. The OLA program was a novel WIL initiative providing co-operative (co-op) education students with full-time, paid work to assist instructors transitioning to remote learning. Unexpectedly, our findings demonstrate that pedagogical partnerships emerged in the context of this WIL program, leading to teaching and learning benefits. Online learning assistants were able to assist instructors with many of the difficulties they faced, although some program challenges also emerged. Our findings suggest that full-time, paid co-op student positions offer a unique program structure that make them ideal for the development and ongoing success of pedagogical partnerships.

Building a Grassroots Learning Assistant Program

Building a Grassroots Learning Assistant Program

The Benefits of Participating in a Learning Assistant Program on the Metacognitive Awareness and Motivation of Learning Assistants.

Learning assistant (LA) programs train undergraduate students to foster peer discussion and facilitate active-learning activities in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classes. Students who take courses that are supported by LAs demonstrate better conceptual understanding, lower failure rates, and higher satisfaction with the course. There is less work, however, on the impact that participating in LA programs has on the LAs themselves. The current study implements a pretest-posttest design to assess changes in LAs' metacognition and motivation to succeed in STEM across their first and second quarters as an LA. Our findings suggest that participating in this program may help LAs become more reflective learners, as was demonstrated by an increase in their scores on the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) after the first quarter. LAs also showed increases on the Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Efficacy subscales of the Science Motivation Questionnaire. Students who participated in the program for an additional quarter continued to show increases in their MAI scores and maintained the gains that were observed in their motivation. Taken together, this work suggests that, in addition to benefiting the learner, LA programs may have positive impacts on the LAs themselves.

The Neuro-inspired LA: A Novel Neuroscience Approach to Implementing a Learning Assistant Program for Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Students

The Neuro-inspired LA: A Novel Neuroscience Approach to Implementing a Learning Assistant Program for Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Students

예비과학교사의 온라인 기반 실천적 교수역량의 향상을 위한 학습조력 프로그램의 개발과 적용

Objectives Learning Assistant (LA) program was developed for pre-service science teachers to improve their online-based practical teaching competency to conduct online science classes.
 Methods The online-based teaching competency is defined as instructional design, material development, instructional execution and instructional reflection competency, in order to improve it, LA training course consists of four stages: PCK, planning, practice, and reflection. LA supported course is a science liberal arts class in which learning assistants practice teaching, and consists of the stages of concept introduction, concept understanding, and concept development. The ‘practice’ stage of the LA training course and the ‘concept development’ stage of the LA supported course intersect. 13 students from 2nd-4th grades majoring in physics education and environment education participated as learning assistants, and 24 students from 1st-3rd graders from various majors participated as learners. LA conducted a modified RTOP test based on online. After that, the change in online- based practical teaching capabilities before and after application of the program was analyzed through the corresponding sample t-test.
 Results Since both courses were conducted online for one semester, learning assistants can increase the effectiveness of learning at online teaching context such as online experiment, online evaluation, and online discussion guidance, after learning about PCK and making plans to apply them, they actually helped with learning. As a result of evaluation of the learning assistant's performance using RTOP, it was confirmed that the online-based practical teaching competency improved as the learning assistance experience was accumulated.
 Conclusions This result is significant in that it suggests a new direction in the way of nurturing online teaching competency in the college curriculum for teacher training.

Perceived Barriers to Equitable Participation in the Learning Assistant Program.

To build a more diverse STEM workforce, institutions seek to increase the representation of diverse groups in faculty and mentoring positions. The Learning Assistant (LA) near-peer student support program has the potential to bring diverse students into highly visible and impactful mentoring roles early in their college careers, benefiting both LAs and students in LA-supported courses. However, the demographic characteristics of potential students interested in the LA Program and the subsequent barriers to entry have yet to be investigated. This short-term longitudinal case study revealed that even though students from historically underserved groups (HUGs) started the semester equally as likely as non-HUGs to see themselves as future chemistry LAs, an inequity developed later in the semester. Similar trends were not detected based on students' gender or age group (traditional/nontraditional). Qualitative data indicated that regardless of demographic group, the most prominent barriers to students seeing themselves as future LAs include a lack of time and self-efficacy in chemistry content knowledge/social skills. The trends observed at this diverse metropolitan research institution indicate that further research is needed to find and lower barriers for students to have the opportunity to become LAs, especially those from HUGs.

Improving models for student retention and graduation using Markov chains.

Graduation rates are a key measure of the long-term efficacy of academic interventions. However, challenges to using traditional estimates of graduation rates for underrepresented students include inherently small sample sizes and high data requirements. Here, we show that a Markov model increases confidence and reduces biases in estimated graduation rates for underrepresented minority and first-generation students. We use a Learning Assistant program to demonstrate the Markov model's strength for assessing program efficacy. We find that Learning Assistants in gateway science courses are associated with a 9% increase in the six-year graduation rate. These gains are larger for underrepresented minority (21%) and first-generation students (18%). Our results indicate that Learning Assistants can improve overall graduation rates and address inequalities in graduation rates for underrepresented students.

How the Online Learning Assistant Program Supported Course Instructor Wellbeing during a Transition to Remote Teaching

Abstract When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, many leisure studies course instructors were asked to transition from in-person to remote teaching. Such a transition affected course instructors’ wellbeing and, in turn, students’ learning experiences in negative ways. At the same time, many talented work-integrated learning students were without work because of challenges faced by organizations that would typically host students. In response to this situation, the University of Waterloo created the Online Learning Assistant (OLA) Program. The programme hired, trained and mobilized over 300 co-operative education students in support of course instructors’ remote teaching. This case describes the positive impact of the OLA Program on one leisure studies course instructor’s wellbeing during a transition to remote teaching. In partnership with the OLA, the instructor created a supportive remote-learning environment for students that resulted in a remote-teaching award. The case offers an example of an innovative work-integrated learning programme that supported teaching and learning in leisure-related education. Information © CAB International 2022

ON DEMAND: Graduate Assistants supporting active learning in graduate classrooms

Starting in Fall 2020, the Department of Mathematical Sciences initiated a program to expand and build on our Learning Assistant Program (previously only for undergraduate classes) to our core graduate classes as well. This new initiative titled Graduate Learning Assistants (GLAs) consists of a cohort of graduate students that have advanced to PhD candidacy working with graduate students who are taking core courses, to facilitate their learning individually or in small groups. By aiding in active learning within the course and running review sessions for the PhD preliminary exams (both done in a synchronous online format), GLAs promote student discourse and help students develop a deeper understanding of the foundational concepts and connections inherent in the course content they are learning. Since the material of graduate courses is at a very different level from the large undergraduate classes, the method of presentation and interaction is necessarily quite different. In this presentation, the GLAs will explain the pros and cons, what works and what does not, for peer mentoring of graduate students in taking graduate courses and preparing for their PhD prelims. Faculty organizers will also be involved to answer questions about how the program was established and implemented. We hope that this new GLA initiative can serve as a model to enhance and strengthen PhD programs in other disciplines.

Implementing QDAS Throughout an Evaluation Project Using the Five-Level QDA Method

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Five-Level Qualitative Data Analysis (5LQDA) method for ATLAS.ti as a way to intentionally design methodological approaches applicable to the field of evaluation. To demonstrate my analytical process using ATLAS.ti, I use examples from an existing evaluation of a STEM Peer Learning Assistant program. Aligned with the 5LQDA method for ATLAS.ti, I first contextualize the strategies used to develop the analytical framework (Levels 1 & 2) and then deconstruct the translation process (Level 3) of pairing conceptual strategies with software tools. I then demonstrate the potential of the software in terms of selected and constructed tools (Levels 4 & 5) and discuss the importance of choosing tools aligned with the project's conceptual strategies. This paper acts as a resource to convey the value of integrating 5LQDA for ATLAS.ti throughout qualitative evaluation by engaging in an iterative process that creates opportunity for engagement.

Measuring supports from learning assistants that promote engagement in active learning: evaluating a novel social support instrument

BackgroundActive learning supports student performance, but can be challenging to implement in large courses. The Learning Assistant (LA) Program is a growing intervention to support students in large active learning classrooms. This program places advanced undergraduates who have training in pedagogical methods in active learning classrooms to interact with and support students during in-class activities. LAs increase student performance, but the mechanism behind this is still unclear. Social support is a promising framework to help elucidate the types and extent of assistance LAs provide to students and begin exploring the “how” behind LAs effectiveness. The aim of this study was to develop an instrument measuring undergraduate students’ perceptions of the social supports for active learning available to them in the classroom. This instrument was based on both the broader social support literature and the literature on what factors encourage students to engage deeply in active learning. To provide initial evidence of validity, the instrument was completed in six sections of General Chemistry I at one R1 university. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied to determine the internal structure of the instrument. Then the instrument’s relationship to engagement in active learning was evaluated as another form of validity evidence.ResultsThese analyses best supported a three-factor instrument that included five items representing supportive feedback provided during active learning (appraisal support), eight items representing emotional support during active learning, and six items representing the communications of norms and values related to active learning (informational support). All three factors were individually correlated with three measures of engagement. In regression analyses with all three factors measured together, only informational support predicted changes in two of the three measures of engagement.ConclusionsThis study supports the use of the Perception of Social Supports for Active Learning (PSSALI) instrument to understand students’ perceptions of the supports they are receiving to engage in active learning in chemistry courses. One implication of this work is that in order to increase engagement, learning assistants should clearly communicate the value of active learning and the classroom norm of active participation.

Implementing an Undergraduate Learning Assistant Program Tailored for Remote Instruction.

The inclusion of undergraduate learning assistants (LAs) on the teaching team of a course is a high-impact practice that benefits the teaching team, students, and LAs themselves. LAs are undergraduate students who have taken the course previously and support student learning through facilitated discussion and problem-solving. Unfortunately, in the quick pivot to emergency remote instruction and lacking an online model for LA programs, some instructors temporarily discontinued or scaled down their LA programs. This report describes the recruitment, training, and roles of LAs who were engaged to support a high-enrollment, interactive lecture course delivered by emergency remote instruction. This case study can serve as a model to inform the implementation of a robust online LA program.

Learning-assistant-supported active-learning in a large classroom

We present results and lessons learned from a Learning Assistant (LA) program combined with flipped classroom delivery and team learning in our calculus-based, introductory physics (mechanics) courses at California State University, Sacramento. A primarily undergraduate institution, our university serves a largely underprivileged student population, with one half of students coming from low-income households and one third being first-generation college students. We describe our setup in detail and analyze data from 13 classes, four instructors, and 43 learning assistants. We find that (1) learning gains for LA supported classes are on average twice as large as our traditionally taught classes; (2) learning gains are dependent on pre-test scores; and (3) they are also dependent on participation rates. We also analyze student and LA responses to end of semester surveys. Two-thirds of the students self-report that their study skills have improved from taking the LA-supported class, and their comments on course structure are overall positive. Over 90% of the LAs have very positive views of the program, and it is especially rewarding to see that 73% of the LAs who had not previously considered teaching as a career became more interested after participating in the program.

Science identity and metacognitive development in undergraduate mentor-teachers

BackgroundA growing part of the efforts to promote student engagement and success in undergraduate STEM are the family of Student Support and Outreach Programs (SSOPs), which task undergraduate students with providing support and mentoring to their peers and near-peers. Research has shown that these programs can provide a variety of benefits for the programs’ recipients, including increased academic achievement, satisfaction, retention, and entry into STEM careers. This paper extends this line of inquiry to investigate how participation in these programs impacts the undergraduate STEM students that provide the mentoring (defined here as undergraduate mentor-teachers or UMTs). We use activity theory to explore the nature of metacognition and identity development in UMTs engaged in two programs at a public urban-serving university in the western USA: a STEM Learning Assistant program and a program to organize middle and high school STEM clubs. Constructs of metacognition and identity development are seen as critical outcomes of experiential STEM inreach and outreach programs.ResultsWritten reflections were collected throughout implementation of two experiential STEM inreach and outreach programs. A thematic analysis of the reflections revealed UMTs using metacognitive strategies including content reflection and reinforcement and goal setting for themselves and the students they were supporting. Participants also showed metacognitive awareness of the barriers and challenges related to their role in the program. In addition to these metacognitive processes, the UMTs developed their science identities by attaching different meanings to their role as a mentor in their respective programs and setting performance expectations for their roles. Performance expectations were contingent on pedagogical skills and the amount and type of content knowledge needed to effectively address student needs. The ability to meet students’ needs served to validate and verify UMTs’ role in the program, and ultimately their own science identities.ConclusionFindings from this study suggest that metacognitive and identity developments are outcomes shaped not only by undergraduate students’ experiences, but also by their perceptions of what it means to learn and teach STEM. Experiential STEM inreach and outreach programs with structured opportunities for guided and open reflections can contribute to building participants’ metacognition and enhancing their science identities.

Developing Teachers And Learners Through The Learning Assistant Program

Location: Dewberry Hall Getting evidence-based pedagogy in the classroom, particularly for large lecture classes, can be a challenge. The learning assistant project provides a method for getting those techniques into the classroom. The overall learning assistant experience provides students with a chance to develop themselves as learners while helping other students in the classroom.

Research and Teaching: Growing a Learning Assistant Program: Using Perceptions to Inform Improvement

Research and Teaching: Growing a Learning Assistant Program: Using Perceptions to Inform Improvement

Implementation of a Learning Assistant Program Improves Student Performance on Higher-Order Assessments.

Learning assistant (LA) programs have been implemented at a range of institutions, usually as part of a comprehensive curricular transformation accompanied by a pedagogical switch to active learning. While this shift in pedagogy has led to increased student learning gains, the positive effect of LAs has not yet been distinguished from that of active learning. To determine the effect that LAs would have beyond a student-centered instructional modality that integrated active learning, we introduced an LA program into a large-enrollment introductory molecular biology course that had already undergone a pedagogical transformation to a highly structured, flipped (HSF) format. We used questions from a concept test (CT) and exams to compare student performance in LA-supported HSF courses with student performance in courses without LAs. Students in the LA-supported course did perform better on exam questions common to both HSF course modalities but not on the CT. In particular, LA-supported students' scores were higher on common exam questions requiring higher-order cognitive skills, which LAs were trained to foster. Additionally, underrepresented minority (URM) students particularly benefited from LA implementation. These findings suggest that LAs may provide additional learning benefits to students beyond the use of active learning, especially for URM students.

An examination of student outcomes in studio chemistry

Twenty years ago, a major curriculum revision at a large, comprehensive university in the Western United States led to the implementation of an integrated lecture/laboratory (studio) experience for our engineering students taking general chemistry. Based on these twenty years of experience, construction of four purpose-built studio classrooms to house the majority of the remaining general chemistry courses was completed in 2013. A detailed study of the effects of the entire ecology of the studio experience on student success was initiated at that time. Data from content knowledge pre- and post-tests, learning attitudes surveys, and student course evaluations show positive effects on student performance, the development of more expert-like learning attitudes, increased student engagement, and increased student–instructor interactions vs. the previous separate lecture and laboratory instruction for non-engineering students. Our data also show that an associated new peer Learning Assistant program increases student engagement while also having positive impacts on the Learning Assistants themselves.

Learning assistant program

Following the model of the University of Colorado at Boulder Learning Assistant (LA) program, the College of Science (COS) at Mason began its own LA program in 2012. The program is a key segment of the STEM Accelerator program, and is a keystone for retaining students in COS and enabling them to graduate in a timely manner. COS STEM Accelerator has now supported over 300 undergraduate LA’s since it's inception through both internal and external funding. The LA program is very successful in increasing grades, engaging students in large lecture classes, enabling faculty to better utilize the ALT classroom, increasing retention in sciences and also increasing confidence and GPA’s for the undergraduate LA’s. The cornerstones of the LA program are student mentoring by the faculty sponsor, a required seminar in pedagogical techniques, and face-to-face time with students in the classroom. This interactive presentation will include information about the program in COS. Faculty and students will demonstrate examples of how LA’s are integrated into different learning environments and across disciplines. Examples will include LA’s in the ALT classroom, in large and small lectures, in lab, in orals, and on-line. Disciplines include Biology, Chemistry, Forensic Science, Geography, Geology, Math and Physics. Attendees will understand the program and it’s key concepts, discuss how an LA could work in their classroom and discipline, and understand how COS is working to enable your students to conquer their MATH and Mason Core Science classes.

Becoming physics people: Development of integrated physics identity through the Learning Assistant experience

Participation in a learning assistant program supports both stronger physics student and instructor identity, and reconciles these into a coherent integrated physics identity.