• Context at a Glance:

  • Minority Serving Comprehensive Institution- ~2,500 undergraduate students

  • Small Enrollment Majors Course- enrollment about 20 each semester

  • Multi-Component Course

  • Lecture and laboratory course

    • 6 hours per week

    • Interactive group problem solving during lecture 

    • All components of the course taught by faculty member

    • LA in classroom 4 hours a week

  • Required field trip to The Field Museum

    • LA Hiring – 1 LA

    • Use of LAs

• Lecture

  • • LA guides discussion during problem solving

• Laboratory

  • LA assists students with connecting concepts as well as technical skills

  • While having an LA benefitted a number of course activities, it was essential for one of the instructor’s intensive lessons on taxidermy.  The faculty member commented that he would not have been able to do this particular lesson without an LA because of the close instructor monitoring and detailed work.

• Field trip

  • The instructor takes his entire class the Field Museum in Chicago for a behind the scenes look at the vast collection that is not on public display. (Only 1% of the collection at the Field Museum is actually on display!).  

  • By having an LA assist with the field trip to the museum, the instructor and LA were able to create an even more interactive lesson that extended well beyond the classroom walls. 

  • The LA facilitated class discussion during the field trip.

The LA’s comments about the field trip:

“I think it was a good experience for the students to see a fellow student who is affiliated with the museum. When the students didn't understand something, they would ask me for clarification. I would use some of the techniques taught in the LA class to help them understand.”