What do Learning Assistants do?
Learning Assistants (LAs) are undergraduate students who are hired to support student learning through research-validated teaching and learning techniques. LAs are paid a stipend to work 8-9 hours per week. During this time, LAs:听
LAs work with their Lead Faculty to transform courses by creating environments in which students can interact with one another, engage in collaborative problem solving, articulate and defend their ideas, and explicitly discuss aspects of the nature of teaching and learning within their specific disciplines.听
What do LAs find impactful about this experience?听
These words came from end of semester surveys from Fall 2019 and Spring 2020, and responses to the LA Graduation Survey from the past 5 years. Words are scaled relative to the frequency they were used.
Expectations for Learning Assistant (LAs)
University of Colorado Boulder Learning Assistant (LA) Program
Community
After a professor is awarded LAs, and selects you as a great fit, you become part of an instructional team, and a much larger community. Locally, you are supported by this instructional team, and other New and Returning LAs and LA Mentors in the LA Pedagogy Course or Returning LA Professional Development Meetings. Each semester, >230 LAs work with faculty in >70 different classes across 17
departments at CU Boulder. Further, the International Learning Assistant Alliance consists of over 500 institutions across 28 countries, so you are connected to an international network. There are many models for how LAs are used in lecture, lab, recitation, help room, work group, office hours, etc., and through this diverse community, we continue to learn new and better ways for instructional teams to work together to support student learning. This was especially true amidst the transition to remote/online learning Spring 2020, and continued remote and physically-distanced learning during academic year 2020/2021.听
Effectiveness
In LA-supported courses, LAs facilitate group discussions and encourage interaction and collaboration among students. LAs apply pedagogical principles and are able to connect with students. By sharing their ideas and having their thinking challenged, students develop a deeper understanding of the content. The LA program improves undergraduate education and also expands the pool of qualified K-12 teachers. Research shows that LA-supported courses have better learning outcomes than comparison classes and have better retention in those classes, especially for students traditionally under- served by STEM disciplines (Pollock, 2009; Otero, 2015; Alzen, Langdon, Otero, 2018; Van Dusen & Nissen, 2020). Further, LAs who become K-12 teachers engage in more research-based instructional practices than their colleagues who came from the same teacher education program, but did not have the LA experience (Grey, Webb, Otero, 2017).听
There are three essential aspects to the LA Experience for which LAs receive a stipend:
I. LA-Student Interactions (LA Practice): LAs are expected to treat all students with kindness and respect, and promote a safe, inclusive, learning environment. You will lead and facilitate discussions of small groups of students, requiring you to identify students鈥� ideas through listening and/or observing their written work, use good questioning skills, and work to involve all students in meaningful learning.听
Expectations of LAs:
A. LAs attend all sections and meeting times assigned to them. If unable to attend a class time (in person or remote), due to health or other emergencies, you should听contact your Lead Faculty immediately, or as designated by their policies.听
B. LAs respond to all contact from Lead Faculty and LA Program Directors within 24 hours. Prompt and professional communication is essential for your success in听this听fellowship.听
C. LAs who participate in less than 75% of all expected duties will first be contacted by the LA Program Director and their Lead Faculty for a meeting to discuss听remediation. If remediation is unsuccessful, the LA鈥檚 fellowship will be reduced or terminated.听
D. LAs may not solicit their students (i.e. sell products), nor work as a paid tutor for students from their current LA fellowship.
E. LAs spend at least 30 minutes/week individually preparing for their student interactions.
F. LAs are expected to follow and enforce all campus policies related to health, climate, and safety.
II. Weekly Preparation Meetings with Lead Faculty and Instructional Team: You and your fellow LAs (and perhaps TAs) will meet with a department faculty member (usually the Lead Instructor) to prepare for the upcoming week, reflect on the previous week, and sometimes analyze assessment data from previous terms.
Expectations of LAs:
A. These meetings should occur at least weekly for at least 30 minutes, but more typically 60-90 minutes.听
B.听This is an essential, paid, part of your LA fellowship. LAs who miss more than 2 weekly preparation meetings (barring extenuating circumstances) will lose their LA fellowship.
III. LA Pedagogy Course (New LAs only): You will learn and practice evidence-based techniques for supporting and enhancing student learning, in a community designed to support you in your LA-student interactions. The LA Pedagogy Course (EDUC 4610) is a 2-credit course, and LAs are responsible for paying tuition for this course at standard rates. Previous new LAs report spending 3 - 5 hours/ week, including class time, on readings and assignments for this course.听
Expectations:
A. Participation in, and successful completion of, the LA Pedagogy Course is a required co-requisite of the first semester LA experience. As such, if your grade is less than a C (74%) by the 4th week of the semester, you must meet with your LA Pedagogy Instructor and the Associate Director of LA Development in order for any subsequent late work to be accepted.
B.听LAs who have a grade lower than a B- (80%) by the end of the semester, will not be eligible to be selected for a Returning LA or LA Mentor role.
C.听If you have any questions or concerns about your experience in the LA Pedagogy Course, please contact the Associate Director of LA Development, Dr. Betsy McIntosh at LAPedagogy@colorado.edu, or LA Program Managing Director, Dr. Laurie Langdon at laurie.langdon@colorado.edu.
IV. Returning LA Professional Development Meetings (Returning LAs only): You will participate in Returning LA professional development as part of your stipend, including Orientation and seven 50-minute meetings. These meetings will take place on Zoom or in-person and be offered at multiple times throughout the week.听
Expectations:
A. Participate in LA Orientation, Returning LA Community meetings, present your 鈥済etting to know your students鈥� and 鈥渕id-semester feedback鈥� surveys, and participate in mid- and end-of-semester LA Program surveys.听
B. If you are meeting < 80% of expectations by the 7th week of the semester, you must meet with the Associate Director of LA Development, Dr. Betsy McIntosh, to create a plan for meeting expectations moving forward. If you have met less than 80% of expectations by the end of the semester, you will not be eligible for a future Returning LA and/or LA Mentor fellowship, even if one has already been offered.
C. After 2 semesters of Returning LA Professional Development (beginning in your 4th-or-later semester as an LA), you are expected to attend orientation and complete the LA Program听 end-of-semester survey, but are no longer required (but still welcome!) to attend Professional Development Meetings and LA Community Hours.
OVERALL, LAs should expect to spend 8 - 9 hours/week (on average) on all paid LA stipend responsibilities, including weekly preparation meetings, individual content preparation, and LA-Student Interactions. This does not include the LA Pedagogy course, but does include Returning LA Meetings.
Benefits
LAs report that they learn the content better, become better learners, and develop leadership skills. They also have the unique opportunity to develop close relationships with like minded students and with instructors at their institution. Most LAs put their LA experience on their r茅sum茅s, since it points to their abilities to teach, to manage, to lead, and to communicate with others of varied experiences, and to learn. Most LAs report that they learn much from the LA experience, especially by tying their evolving understanding to particular principles addressed in the pedagogy course. During the Spring 2020 transition to remote learning, LAs reported a high sense of belonging to CU, departmental, and LA Program communities, and increased motivation due to their work as LAs, which translated to their roles as students, as well. Welcome (back) to the Program!
References
Alzen, J. Langdon, L., & Otero, V. (2018). A logistic investigation of the relationship between the learning assistant model and failure rates in introductory STEM courses, International Journal of STEM Education, 5 (56), .
Gray, K., Webb, D., & Otero, V. (2016). Effects of the Learning Assistant Model on Teacher Practice, Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 12, 020126.听
Otero, V. (2015). Nationally scaled model for leveraging course transformation with physics teacher preparation, To be published in Effective Practices in Preservice Physics Teacher Education: Recruitment, Retention, and Preparation, edited by E. Brewe and C. Sandifer.
Pollock, S. (2009). Longitudinal study of student conceptual understanding in electricity and magnetism, PhysRev: Phys Ed. Rsrch 5, 020110, 1-8.
Van Dusen, B. and Nissen, J. (2020). Associations between learning assistants, passing introductory physics, and equity: A quantitative critical race theory investigation, Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 010117 鈥� Published 9 April 2020
Publish Date: April 17, 2023
