Learning Assistant Program

University classrooms can be intimidating

Imagine you’re an incoming college freshman. You walk into your introductory chemistry class and there are 200 other students in the room. You see the instructor, but they’re way down at the front of the room, and you think that they are surely too busy to spend time with brand new freshmen like you. The content is confusing, and you’re a bit overwhelmed. All of a sudden, someone who looks like you walks up and says “Hey, how’s it going? I see you're working on the chemistry problem, it looks like you are stuck. Can you talk me through your thought process so far?” Suddenly, you realize you’re not alone. Learning Assistants (LAs) are undergraduate students who have previously taken a course and are hired to work alongside CU Boulder professors to ensure that all students feel seen, like their voice matters, that their participation is valued, and that they have a trusted peer with whom they can get help, advice, and direction.

“The LAs were able to help us understand the materials because they had been in our shoes the semester before.”

Students in LA-supported courses say, “LAs explain better,” “they figure out what I know before offering help,” “they help us construct knowledge rather than giving the answer to us,” “they’re like me,” “they understand me,” “they care about me”, “they’re more approachable,” “they help me feel cared for in courses that are sometimes very large” (Top, 2019). LAs play a unique role in the undergraduate classroom, in part, because students, professors, and LAs view LAs as legitimate members of the instructional team of a course and as a part of the student body. As such, LAs provide the connective tissue between students’ sense of self and the campus and academic disciplines, fostering students’ feelings of belonging in the classroom, on campus, and within academic disciplines.

“Being an LA means being the bridge between the knowledge of the professors and the student experience. Even the best teachers can't connect with every student, and it can sometimes be much easier to bond with an educator who is at the same level as you.”

LAs are part of a community of other students and faculty members who have taken responsibility for inclusive educational innovation that impacts all students. They are compassionate and accessible leaders who are as willing to help as they are to learn from their experiences. LAs not only practice and learn about leadership through this experiential program, they have opportunities to grow with the program and become returning LAs, mentors of LAs, and consultants with faculty throughout campus. To start, the semester-long LA pedagogy course–EDUC 4610 Becoming an LA–is taken by all LAs during their first semester of being an LA. Like an earth scientist who goes out in the field and collects core samples from the earth and goes back to the lab to analyze it, LAs reflect on their experiences with students, set goals for future student and faculty engagement, and become expert learners through this relational leadership experience. LAs' identities both as students and instructors break down traditional power structures in classes leading to more students having a voice in their own academic affairs.

“The role of an LA is also to help create an environment conducive to learning, meaning that it is our responsibility as LAs to create an environment free from judgment, discrimination, and harassment.”

LAs are leaders in the classroom who improve their peers’ learning outcomes and experiences

The LA Model was founded at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2001 by professors Dick McCray and Valerie Otero. In the past year alone, LAs were incorporated into 134 courses in 18 departments at CU Boulder, impacting over 23,000 student seats--with over 270,000 impacted students since 2011! Studies at CU Boulder and other institutions with LA Programs have demonstrated that students in LA-supported courses have more successful learning outcomes (Pollock, 2009; Van Dusen & Nissen, 2019). Additionally, failure rates in calculus, chemistry and physics were shown to decrease by 60% for students in LA-supported courses in comparison to those who did not have an experience in such a course (Alzen, Langdon, & Otero, 2018; Barrasso and Spillios, 2021). There is evidence that these impacts are due to LAs improving social and academic integration and enhanced belonging among students, necessary components of equitable and effective learning (Top, 2019; Talbot, Hartley, Marzetta, & Wee, 2015; Clements, Friedman, Watkins, Johnson, Meir, Watkins, Brockman, & Brame, 2022). Due to its popularity and published impacts, the LA Model has spread from CU Boulder to hundreds of universities throughout the United States and in 31 countries throughout the world. The program is successful because it provides relational engagement of faculty, students, and staff who are all working interdependently, across traditional hierarchical boundaries, to learn, to teach, and to lead. 

Beyond the impacts to students enrolled in LA-supported courses, LAs, themselves, walk away from this role with increased content knowledge, stronger disciplinary identities, and are 10% more likely to graduate within 6 years than a matched sample of peers (Close, Con, and Close, 2016; Otero, 2015). One LA said, “This program has made me feel valued. Before I became an LA, I really struggled with feeling like I belonged at CU.” Another said, "I didn't expect that working with my lead faculty would be a key part of my LA experience, but getting to know faculty and learn about their careers and research has strengthened my sense of community at CU Boulder. Another great aspect of LAing is how it taught me skills that have made me a better student, teacher, and public speaker." Indeed, LAs see themselves as central to the process of institutional growth and renewal. One LA stated, “My work as an LA involves working with the university to provide meaningful feedback on their method of instruction, their students and the effectiveness of the LA program as a whole.”

Undergraduate LA Mentors provide peer support and are leaders on campus

LAs who have at least one semester of experience are encouraged to apply to become an LA Mentor. LA Mentors are undergraduate students who experience mentoring preparation and reflection in EDUC 4620: Becoming a LA Mentor. Throughout each semester as Mentors, they   support first-time LAs through consultations and discussions about the challenges and successes of their student interactions, supporting and challenging LAs in ways that promote the development of self-efficacy, confidence, and curiosity in the classroom. LAs meet with their LA Mentors as a part of the LA Pedagogy Course through weekly group mentoring, in-class observation of their LA-student interactions, and one-on-one mentoring sessions. The leadership of LAs and LA Mentors is not just contained to their hired roles; even in their own coursework, these undergraduates consistently work to build community among students and between students and faculty. LA Mentors have substantial opportunities to reflect on their experiences and the meaning of mentorship and leadership. Brief videos highlighting their growth and experiences can be found here:  https://www.colorado.edu/program/learningassistant/meet-la-mentors .

Where are graduated LAs? They’re in leadership roles across industries!

In an internal investigation of graduated LAs, we found that 27% have earned Master’s degrees, 24% have earned a Doctorate (PhD, MD, JD, etc.), 25% are currently working in engineering, and 30% have done some kind of teaching--of these, 31% as graduate students, 36% in K-12, and 16% in higher education (including some current faculty at CU Boulder)! You can find examples of LA grads’ stories here. For example, Melody, an LA in the physics department and Lead LA Mentor who graduated with her physics degree in 2020, is currently employed as a clinical consultant at Medronic. She commented, “Personally, being part of the LA program greatly helped me find confidence in myself. It is too common that young professionals experience imposter syndrome, as an LA I would sometimes feel nervous or unsure of myself if I didn’t know the answer to something. By working through that during college and knowing those feelings when they arise, I can push through and advocate for myself more strongly in life and career. Being an LA/LA Mentor also brought me a lot of satisfaction in the process of helping build the program alongside amazing professors and mentors.” Collin, an LA in astronomy and computer science and an LA Mentor, graduated with a degree in astrophysics in 2022 and is currently working as a full-stack software developer and theater music director. He said,

“The program encourages deep introspection about your learning and teaching methods. It challenges you to engage with fundamental questions about educational practices that aren’t typically explored in standard college curricula. This kind of introspection can lead to significant personal and academic growth, making you a more effective learner and educator.”

Learn more about the LA Program and upcoming LA hiring timelines: https://www.colorado.edu/program/learningassistant/

Works cited:

Alzen, J. L., Langdon, L. S., & Otero, V. K. (2018). A logistic regression investigation of the relationship between the Learning Assistant model and failure rates in introductory STEM courses. Int. J. STEM Educ. 5(1), 56.

Barasso, A. P. and Spilios, K. E. (2021). A Scoping Review of Literature Assessing the Impact of the Learning Assistant Model. Int. J. STEM Educ. 8(12).

Clements, T. P., Friedman, K. L., Johnson, H. J., Meier, C. J., Watkins, J., Brockman, A. J., and Brame, C. J. (2022). “It made me feel like a bigger part of the STEM community”: Incorporation of Learning Assistants Enhances Students’ Sense of Belonging in a Large Introductory Biology Course. CBE-LSE. 21(2), 1:13.

Nissen, J., Donatello, R. & Van Dusen, B. (2019). Missing data and bias in physics education research: A case for using multiple imputation. Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15: 020108.

Otero, V. K. (2015). Nationally scaled model for leveraging course transformation with physics teacher preparation. Recruiting, and Educating Future Physics Teachers: Case Studies, and Effective Practices. 107-127.

Pollock, S. J. (2009); Longitudinal study of student conceptual understanding in electricity and magnetism. Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 5(2), 020110.

Talbot, R. M., Hartley, L. M., Marzetta, K., & Wee, B. S. (2015). Transforming undergraduate science education with learning assistants: Student satisfaction in large-enrollment courses. J. Coll. Sci. Teach. 44(5), 24-30.