LA Faculty Expectations
Structure your course to promote LA interactions
- Make use of LAs in the regularly-scheduled class components
- Integrate active learning and group work
- Introduce your LA(s) and their role to students and your support of them in the class
Support Learning Assistant development
- Weekly one hour meetings with your LAs for reflection and preparation
(During the first meeting, clarify your expectations to your assigned LAs)
Engage with the LA Program community
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the course design in use of LAs
- Promote a departmental culture that values teaching
- Participate in UH LA Program Faculty community events
Learning Assistants CAN do:
Bridge the gap between faculty and students:
- Create a safe and welcoming learning environment
- Form relationships with groups of students
- Respond to questions about instructions, due dates, test dates, and other logistics
- Hold office hours and/or review sessions.
- Make it easier and more comfortable for students to ask questions
- Give instructors feedback from the students’ perspective, including on classroom climate (e.g., whether students feel that the class is welcoming, accessible, equitable)
Facilitate Learning:
- Provide opportunities for students to get more practice and feedback both in and out of class.
- Explain concepts to students from another perspective
- Review student work for completion and provide feedback
- Monitor and report students’ progress toward the learning goals of the course
- Test drive activities, clicker questions, quiz questions, exams, etc.
Learning Assistants CAN’T do:
- LAs are Learning Assistants and not Teaching Assistants. They should not deliver new content. Instead, they should help to facilitate students’ learning of content covered by the lead instructor or the TA, and help them reason through answering questions and solving problems.
- Grade student work (However, they can check work for completion and/or give feedback).
- Respond to grade or attendance disputes, but they can communicate to students, TA’s, and faculty if they notice instances of students in distress, cheating, etc.
- Administer exams. They can help proctor, but there must be an instructor or TA in the room.