Learning Assistants and Instructors Provide Social Support That Influences Student Engagement Differently in Undergraduate Active Learning Chemistry Courses

Abstract

Active learning commonly involves students engaging with course material in small groups during class time. The quality of this engagement may be key for students to reap the benefits of active learning. Social support theory suggests that supports from key classroom personnel like instructors and learning assistants (LAs) could positively influence student engagement in in-class activities. We explored the influence of social support across multiple sections of general chemistry courses taught in two modalities: in-person and remote synchronous. We found that students perceived that LAs and instructors both provide high levels of support for active learning in general chemistry courses. However, the influence of support on engagement varied by both who was providing it and the type of support being provided. Instructors' provisioning of informational support significantly affected student engagement in active learning regardless of course context (in-person and remote synchronous). In contrast, LAs provisioning of appraisal and emotional support impacted student engagement, though the importance of each of these supports from LAs depended on course context. Overall, we found social support can influence student in-class engagement and course context greatly influenced the relationship between the provided social support and student engagement.