An investigation of how instructors choose to implement the Learning Assistant (LA) pedagogy course and their motivations

Author / Creator

PERC SM21 (2021)

Conferences

PERC SM21 Poster Session 1B (2021)

Available as

Online

Summary

The Learning Assistant (LA) program is designed to encourage the transformation of courses to incorporate more evidence-based pedagogical practices. The LA pedagogy course is one of the three centr...

The Learning Assistant (LA) program is designed to encourage the transformation of courses to incorporate more evidence-based pedagogical practices. The LA pedagogy course is one of the three central components of the program and diversely implemented across institutions with LA programs. The purpose of this study is to identify and compare the choices made by instructors regarding the composition of the LA pedagogy course at two different institutions -- one being a small, historically-women's, liberal-arts college and the other a large research university. To gather data, interviews were conducted with the LA pedagogy course instructor at each institution. These interviews show that instructors adapt the LA pedagogy course to their institutions in different ways, and that fostering relationship-building is an important factor for instructors as they decide how to design and teach their local pedagogy course. In describing the varied ways in which instructors implement the LA pedagogy course and the motivations behind those choices, this study could help guide different institutions when implementing their own pedagogy course.

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