Dr. Mary Emenike co-authored this Journal of Chemical Education article with colleagues from the Learning Assistant Alliance to highlight the various ways undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) supported the emergency shift to remote instruction required of chemistry courses at the start of the Covid-19 pandendemic. Because the co-authors on this paper teach at different institutions (Chicago State University, Montgomery College, Rutgers-New Brunswick, and the University of Colorado, Boulder) with varying class sizes, student populations, and learning management systems, the practices compiled in this article, along with considerations for implementation, can be applied to the variety of course and institutional contexts that exist across the US and potentially in other countries. Many of the lessons learned during this remote learning phase early in the pandemic are relevant even as we return to in-person or a blend of in-person and remote instruction.

Emenike, M. E., Schick, C. P., Van Duzor, A. G., Sabella, M. S., Hendrickson, S. M., & Langdon, L. S. (2020, 2020/09/08). Leveraging Undergraduate Learning Assistants to Engage Students during Remote Instruction: Strategies and Lessons Learned from Four Institutions. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(9), 2502-2511. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00779

 

About the Authors

Mary Emenike is an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, with a background in chemistry education research. She teaches the Introduction to Chemistry Education course for chemistry peer leaders (teaching interns and undergraduate laboratory teaching assistants), which is required for the Certificate in Chemistry Education and the ACS Chemistry Education Minor. She also teaches recitations in the extended general chemistry course. Emenike has previously taught the pedagogy course required for first-semester Learning Assistants - Peer Instruction Education. Learn more about Emenike’s teaching and research here: https://sasose.rutgers.edu/triad-coalition/93-triad-coalition/who-we-are/196-mary-emenike-about

Dr. Carolyn Schick is a chemist and the Learning Assistant Program Director at Montgomery College; Dr Andrea Van Duzor is a Professor of Chemistry at Chicago State University and Dr. Mel Sabella is a Professor of Physics at Chicago State University. Dr. Susan Hendrickson is a Teaching Professor, Senior Instructor of Chemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder and Dr. Laurie Langdon is the Co-Director & Research Associate for the Learning Assistant Program at the the University of Colorado, Boulder.