Development and application of the Action Taxonomy for Learning Assistants (ATLAs)

Abstract

Background The success of the learning assistant (LA) model has largely been attributed to LA facilitation of active learning tasks. A deeper understanding of how LAs facilitate these tasks would inform LA training and support successful adoption of the LA model. Our investigation of LA actions during their interaction with students in the classroom contributes to that understanding. We present and discuss the development of the action taxonomy for learning assistants (ATLAs), as well as illustrate its applicability by presenting some analyses that were conducted on sample data. Results The LAs carried out several different actions that we categorized broadly as LA-Directed Facilitation, LA-Guided Facilitation, Advice, Feedback, Course-Related Talk, and Non-Course-Related Talk. LA-Directed Facilitation and LA-Guided Facilitation were the most common types of actions observed. We found that LA actions varied by course. Conclusions ATLAs is a tool that can be used to examine LA actions. In our sample data set, LAs undertook many different actions during interactions with students which indicates that LAs play several different roles in the classroom. These findings have practical implications not only for faculty seeking to implement a peer instruction model such as the LA model, but also for instructors wanting to utilize LAs in their courses more effectively. Understanding what the LAs are doing during interactions with students can provide us insight into the different roles that LAs undertake. Knowledge of these roles will guide effective training, feedback, and direction of LAs, particularly during the pedagogy course.

Science identity and metacognitive development in undergraduate mentor-teachers

“…At our institution, all first time LAs take a two-credit course through the School of Education where they learn about educational theories and effective, research-based pedagogies relevant to teaching and learning in undergraduate STEM (Table 1). See Thompson et al (2020) for the course syllabus. LAs attend all class sessions for the courses they support and generally hold weekly office hours and/or study groups.…”

Measuring supports from learning assistants that promote engagement in active learning: evaluating a novel social support instrument

“…The final type of validity evidence we collected was evidence based on relationships to other variables. Drawing on the literature on LAs, LAs seem to have their largest impact through their in-class interactions with students (Talbot et al 2015), which implies that LAs influence how students engage in classroom activities (Chini et al 2016;Knight et al 2015;Thompson et al 2020). Several studies have specifically documented that LA prompting can lead to increased sharing of logic and participation.…”

“…This suggests that one possible explanation for the positive impacts of LAs on student learning is their ability to engage frequently and extensively with students during active learning. Initial studies on the interactions of LAs during active learning demonstrate that LAs can change how students engage with inclass activities by both prompting students (Knight et al 2015) and sharing feedback (Thompson et al 2020) on their reasoning. LAs also encourage all students to contribute to the exchange of ideas (Chini et al 2016).…”

Shifts in learning assistants’ self-determination due to COVID-19 disruptions in Calculus II course delivery

“…The Learning Assistant Alliance (LAA), hosted by the University of Colorado Boulder, reported 481 member institutions and more than 200 active LA programs around the globe (LAA, 2020b ). The LA model has been extended outside of the sciences, but the majority of programs remain in STEM disciplines (Thompson et al, 2020 ). Despite this growth and adaptation to new undergraduate contexts, the LA program remains mostly consistent.…”

“…LA programs appear to foster positive subject-matter mastery and identity formation among the LAs themselves (Close et al, 2016 ; Davenport et al, 2017 ). While more research is still needed, evidence continues to grow to support claims that LA programs can enhance K-12 teacher recruitment (Otero et al, 2010 ) and training (Gray et al, 2016 ; Thompson et al, 2020 ). Current efforts to increase the number and diversity of STEM graduates in the United States provide a strong rationale for investing energy and resources in supporting better student outcomes in STEM undergraduate courses.…”