Learning Assistant Program

Welcome to the Physics undergraduate Learning Assistant program.

Learning Assistants (LAs) are undergraduates who are interested in pedagogy and in improving physics education. LAs promote discussion, engagement, and community in undergraduate classes. LAs meet weekly with their faculty supervisor and teaching team, participate in a physics pedagogy class, and apply their physics and pedagogy knowledge to elicit student ideas.

Learning Assistants perform a different but complementary role to that of Teaching Assistants (TAs). The LA role is focused on facilitating discourse among students and to enhance student engagement. LAs duties may include grading, holding office hours, and lab setup/maintenance, but those duties should not make up the majority of their work hours.

Calender

Important Dates

Academic Calendar:

Review important University dates & deadlines for the current academic year here.

Registration Periods:

The UT course schedules can be found here.

November 6^th: deadline for faculty to request LAs for their Spring 2021 courses

Faculty LA request form is here.

November 2^nd – 30^th: student LA application is open!

Please fill out the Qualtrics survey found here.

November 16^th – Dec 8^th: LA applicant interviews and placement

January 19^th: first day of class for Spring 2021

3^rd week of January (TBD): LA orientation

Required for all LAs, whether new or returning

Student Resources

Should I apply to be an LA?

Working as an LA is a significant time commitment but you will find the experience valuable if you:

Are motivated to use your skills and knowledge to help your peers achieve better learning outcomes in physics.
Are interested in physics education research and teaching methods.
Want to become a part of the physics education community.
Want to build deeper connections with physics faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students.

First-time LAs are required to take the LA Physics pedagogy course concurrently with your first semester working as an LA.

Administrative LA Policies

Learning Assistant (LA) is an undergraduate academic employment position & interested students must meet UT eligibility criteria.
Selected students must complete the Physics Student Employment Acknowledgement (SEA) form.
Additional LA onboarding information can be found here.

Faculty Resources

Should I request LAs for my classes?

Before applying for a LA for your class, you must consider the following:

Are you prepared to re-structure your course to provide LAs with opportunities to engage students during your class?
Are you willing to mentor undergraduate students who are interested in improving physics education?
Are you willing to set aside time on a weekly basis to meet with your LAs and TAs to go over class material and teaching strategies?
Are you willing to provide class materials in advance of each class to your teaching team? (ex: answers to UT Instapoll questions, lecture notes, homework problems, answer keys, etc.)

LAs in remote learning:

The following websites are great resources for UT faculty to consider to incorporate LA’s in remote learning:

Updates