We recently developed a learning assistants pilot program in which we train and mentor a team of undergraduate learning assistants to provide additional support for students in our calculus 1 and introductory statistics courses. The learning assistants attend each class to help facilitate active learning, promote metacognitive approaches, and help students adapt to new technologies in the courses. They also run weekly supplemental instruction sessions that provide structured and peer-led review of course content. After two semesters, feedback on the pilot program has been very positive, with students, learning assistants, and professors all reporting high satisfaction. In an end-of-semester survey, 60% of students who attended supplemental instruction sessions reported them being very helpful and 93% said they were at least somewhat helpful. Students largely said they would recommend sections with learning assistants and attendance of supplemental instruction sessions to future students. In this talk we discuss how we created the program and share further survey results demonstrating the positive impact that this program is having on calculus 1 and introductory statistics students at our university.

This talk is joint with Ryne VanKrevelen, Senior Lecturer of Statistics, Elon University