Trying on Teaching: Transforming STEM Classrooms with a Learning Assistant Program

Abstract

The nationally recognized Learning Assistant (LA) model, originating at the University of Colorado, Boulder (CU-Boulder), has been adapted for the two-year college setting at Montgomery College. LAs are recruited to assist in STEM classrooms and laboratories with a variety of unique assignments designed to enhance collaborative learning and student engagement. LAs get the opportunity to 'try on teaching' as they work alongside their faculty mentors, assisting students in the classes they support. Highlights on the faculty mentorship and reflections on teaching for the LAs are presented. Academic success, for both the students in the LA-supported classes and the LAs themselves, plus positive transformations in the STEM classrooms are discussed. The LAs, their faculty mentors, the classroom students, and the field of STEM education all benefit from this collaboration.