Impacts of Learning Assistants on Student Belonging and Confidence Vary Across Science Disciplines and Course Contexts.

ABSTRACT: Students often experience science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses as competitive, weed-out spaces. Learning Assistants (LAs) have potential to improve students' experiences in these courses. Previously, we elucidated themes describing the impact of LAs on students' sense of STEM belonging and science-related confidence in introductory biology and general chemistry. Here, we expand our analysis to determine impacts of LAs on student belonging and confidence across science courses varying in structure, placement in students' academic trajectory, and discipline. Analyzing 1146 responses to questionnaires from seven classes revealed themes consistent with previous findings across all course structures and disciplines. However, impacts varied based on how LAs were integ

SUBMITTER: Clements KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12286625 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature