Western Illinois University will expand its Learning Assistant Program (LAP) this fall.
The university introduced the LAP peer-based initiative in 2017, according to a news release. Designed to help students remain engaged and focused on conceptual learning, the program provides classroom tutors, encourages faculty and students to be mindful of the learning process, and promotes active and collaborative learning.
Undergraduate learning assistants (LA) receive weekly preparation and pedagogy courses to facilitate discussion among groups of students in a variety of classroom settings, WIU said in the release.
According to WIU, the program has yielded impressive results, including improved student grades and a significant uptick in engineering program retention rates.
Now, WIU plans to include LAs throughout its calculus and chemistry courses in Macomb beginning this fall. In addition, a recent National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program grant has allowed WIU to partner with Black Hawk Community College to introduce an LA program in chemistry, biology, physics and calculus at their Moline campus, the release states.
“I’m so excited about our partnership with Black Hawk College and that WIU’s Learning Assistant Program is expanding on our Macomb campus,” said WIU Mathematics Associate Professor Susie Brooks. “Learning Assistant Programs are a low-cost way to improve student learning, persistence, retention and a sense of community.”
To become an LA, email [email protected]. For more information about WIU’s Departments of Physics and Mathematics, visit wiu.edu/physics or wiu.edu/mathematics.
