Building partnerships through research-based design of undergraduate teaching assistant innovations

At the University of Detroit Mercy, the Physics Program is exploring ways to bring more active learning into the introductory course sequence supported by a Learning Assistant (LA) model. In classrooms that encourage high activity, such as Studio Style Physics, more instructional support is needed. While the LA model is a well-researched and proven approach to incorporating undergraduates in teaching and learning, starting a program must be done with a deep understanding of the institutional context. The most up-to-date guidance about how to create change within Physics Programs is that change must be intentional and reflective (in alignment with APS' Effective Practices for Physics Program Guide). Thus, the first step to institutional change is to gather data and use that evidence to make informed decisions. To this end, the primary goal of our research project is to investigate current Teaching Assistant (TA) roles, faculty attitudes toward the LA model, and the LA model's alignment with existing practices across the College of Engineering and Science at Detroit Mercy. This presentation will share out the design of this research project and how we plan to use our findings to partner with other programs and administration in implementing an LA program.