Longitudinal Associations between Learning Assistants and Instructor Effectiveness

Abstract

A central goal of the Learning Assistant (LA) model is to improve students' learning of science through the transformation of instructor practices. There is minimal existing research on the impact of college physics instructor experiences on their effectiveness. To investigate the association between college introductory physics instructors' experiences with and without LAs and student learning, we drew on data from the Learning About STEM Student Outcomes (LASSO) database. The LASSO database provided us with student-level data (concept inventory scores and demographic data) for 4,365 students and course-level data (instructor experience and course features) for the students' 93 mechanics courses. We performed Hierarchical Multiple Imputation to impute missing data and Hierarchical Linear Modeling to nest students within courses when modeling the associations between instructor experience and student learning. Our models predict that instructors' effectiveness decreases as they gain experience teaching without LAs. However, LA supported environments appear to remediate this decline in effectiveness as instructor effectiveness is maintained while they gain experience teaching with LAs.

A scoping review of literature assessing the impact of the learning assistant model

“…Evidence from a case study provides some explanation for how student-faculty collaboration impacts course effectiveness, as observed in the two studies summarized in the previous paragraph (Caravez et al, 2017;Van Dusen et al, 2015). A team comprised of two faculty members and three LAs was formed, and under the guidance of two pedagogy coaches, was tasked with redesigning courses and monitoring the progress of those course during the semester.…”

“…When instructors have 6 terms of experience teaching their respective courses, the students in LA-supported courses are predicted to outperform those in non-LA courses by 10.3% on their post-semester concept inventory. Given that the average student raw learning gains for students in non-LA classes were approximately 20%, instructors that teach without LAs are losing approximately half of the predicted student learning after 6 semesters (Caravez, De La Torre, Nissen, & Van Dusen, 2017). Thus, faculty may be able to improve their teaching skills by working with LAs and teaching in LA-supported courses.…”

The transition to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic at a regional, rural university: The experience of learning assistants

“…The LA model is distinct from other models of student instructors such as Supplemental Instruction and undergraduate teaching assistants in that LAs take a pedagogy class and are engaged as part of a teaching and learning community [1,2]. LA programs have been found to have many benefits: improved learning for both the LAs and their students, course transformation, and faculty professional development [3][4][5][6][7]. Additionally, high school teachers who had been LAs were found to be more likely to use reformed teaching practices than those who had not [8].…”

Analysis of Learning Assistants' Beliefs of Status and Their Role as Status Interventionists

“…Lessening unequal status interactions and inequity is integral to helping students succeed within educational spaces. It has already been documented that LAs and their participation in instructional teams provide benefits for students in the social, emotional, and cognitive aspects of their learning (see [34], [35], [36], [25], [27], [4], [5], [37], [38]). This study focuses on ways that LAs can help address unequal status interactions towards education practices that are more equitable and diverse.…”