Using Learning Assistants to Make Physics Teaching More Effective, Equitable, and Engaging

该项目旨在通过改进大型物理入门课程的教与学来服务于国家利益。这个合作项目涉及西雅图太平洋大学(应获奖-2235760)、华盛顿大学博塞尔大学(应获奖-2235744)和西华盛顿大学(次奖)的研究人员。物理入门课程对STEM教育和劳动力准备非常重要。积极的、以学生为中心的教学会带来更好的学生学习效果。然而，在大班中，教师很难有效地提供这种教学。学习助理(LAS)可以帮助教师使他们的课程更加活跃，以学生为中心，如果LAS准备回应学生对科学的不同想法。LAS既需要每周的内容准备，也需要一门教育学课程，向他们传授教与学的主要理论和实践。洛杉矶有很多项目。它们已被证明支持主动学习，但它们并不一定使LAS对学生的不同科学想法做出反应。该项目将开发一种培训LAS的模式，以有效地激发和建立学生的科学想法。通过这种方式培训的LAS将通过帮助学生更好地学习物理并将物理与他们的生活经验联系起来来促进公平。STEM专业的许多学生经常需要开设入门物理课程。这些课程是利用LAS可以提供的优势的理想环境，因为这些课程通常规模较大，需要LA支持才能主动学习，而且课程注册人数通常反映出边缘化群体的代表性严重不足。为了实现提高洛杉矶职业发展的目标，该项目将追求三个目标。首先，调查LAS用来思考教学和学习的富有成效的想法，并通过一组LA“角色”来交流这些想法，这些“角色”表征了LAS对于教学的共同资产、目标、关注和价值观。第二，为洛杉矶教育学课程开发和测试有效的教学材料(例如，阅读作业、反思提示、课堂活动、项目)。第三，也是最后一点，通过招募和支持来自不同背景的LAS参与项目开发和研究的LA项目，放大LA的不同声音。研究人员将他们对LA培训的改进方法称为“格子：激发和利用关于科学的想法的培训”，基于这样的概念，即这种培训促进的知识、技能和观点成为一个“格子”，使LAS能够支持物理学生关于科学的富有成效的想法。这个项目将开发的特定于物理的教学准备将立即与全国许多LA项目相关，并应作为扩展到其他学科背景的典范。NSF IUSE：EDU计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生的STEM教育的有效性。通过其参与的学生学习跟踪，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving teaching and learning in large introductory physics courses. This collaborative project involves investigators at Seattle Pacific University (Award DUE-2235760), the University of Washington Bothell (Award DUE-2235744), and Western Washington University (subaward). Introductory physics courses are important for STEM education and workforce preparation. Active, student-centered instruction results in better student learning. However, in large classes, it can be difficult for instructors to provide this kind of instruction effectively. Learning Assistants (LAs) can help instructors make their courses more active and student-centered if the LAs are prepared to respond to students' diverse ideas about science. LAs need both weekly content preparation and a pedagogy course to teach them the main theories and practices in teaching and learning. There are many LA programs. They have been shown to support active learning, but they do not necessarily prepare LAs to respond to students' diverse science ideas. This project will develop a model for training LAs to effectively elicit and build on students' science ideas. LAs trained in this way will promote equity by helping students learn physics better and connect physics to their life experiences.Introductory physics courses are often required for a broad range of STEM majors. These courses are ideal environments for leveraging the benefits that LAs can offer, because the courses are typically large and need LA support for active learning, and the course enrollment typically reflects significant underrepresentation of marginalized groups. Towards the goal of improving LA professional development the project will pursue three objectives. First, is to investigate the fruitful ideas that LAs use to think about teaching and learning, and communicate these through a set of LA "personas" that characterize the common assets, goals, concerns, and values that LAs have for teaching. Second, is to develop and test effective instructional materials for LA pedagogy courses (e.g., reading assignments, reflection prompts, in-class activities, projects). Third, and finally, is to amplify diverse LA voices by recruiting and supporting LAs from diverse backgrounds to participate in the LA programs that the project develops and studies. The investigators refer to their enhanced approach to LA training as "TRELLIS: Training to Elicit and Leverage Ideas about Science," based on the notion that the knowledge, skills, and perspectives that this kind of training promotes become a "trellis" that enables LAs to support physics students' fruitful ideas about science. The physics-specific pedagogical preparation that this project will develop will be immediately relevant to many LA programs nationwide and should serve as a model for extension to other disciplinary contexts. The NSF IUSE: EDU program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through its Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.