Undergraduate Learning Assistants (ULAs) are undergraduate students who, drawing on their recent experience in problem-based instruction in that course, facilitate classroom learning by fostering productive group discussions in class. Learning Design & Technology, in partnership with faculty, currently has learning assistants in Chemistry and Mathematics. These students have experienced the re-design of their math or chemistry class to a problem-based curriculum taught in an active learning classroom.

Each week learning assistants meet with the instructor to prepare for class, learning what challenges might be ahead. Learning assistants also advocate for students. They share their insights with the instructor so that students can be successful in the course. Assistants across courses work as a team sharing insights and teaching strategies in a monthly pedagogy workshop.

The Student Experience

In their weekly meetings, the learning assistants talk about their experience. During the conversations, students talk about what was going well. One student made the comment “It has been amazing leading the small group problem solving sessions in class. It has made me a lot more confident about myself. I also want students to be comfortable asking questions in class.”

The Faculty Experience

Research on having learning assistants shows that learning outcomes and knowledge retention improves for students who take courses with learning assistants compared to students who take the same course without learning assistants. In addition, there is evidence of reduced D/Withdraw/Failure rates in courses that have learning assistants. In the monthly meetings faculty shared how much they value the learning assistants' participation and feedback.

Alicia Frantz in Chemistry says, “Working with the learning assistants has allowed me to introduce several active learning strategies into my large-enrollment STEM course, where it was not feasible before. Students experience deeper learning with these strategies and are able to retain the information longer after the course has ended. The learning assistants are present in class to support students by answering questions and encouraging participation.”

Paul Bourdon, in Mathematics says, “I view our Fall ’18 pilot that brought learning assistants into Calculus I classrooms as a clear success. Instructors who worked with the learning assistants agreed that they helped create a positive, supportive learning environment. The course sections in which they were assigned achieved higher average tests grades and higher normalized gains on the pre-course/post-course Calculus Concept Inventory test.”

The Undergraduate Learning Assistant program continues to iterate and grow. Learning Design & Technology looks forward to reporting on more successes with ULAs in the future.