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Katie Johnson invited as a guest on the Intentional Teaching podcast to talk about FGCU’s Learning Assistants (LA) program
Dr. Katie Johnson, associate professor in the Department of Mathematics for the College of Arts & Sciences, was invited as a guest speaker on the Intentional Teaching podcast that features interviews with educators who are working on interesting projects related to teaching in higher education.
The podcast is hosted by Dr. Derek Bruff, who directed Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching for over a decade and is currently at the University of Mississippi.
Katie met Derek at the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network Conference last November. Derek, who had been a math professor and knew a little about LA programs from his time at Vanderbilt, contacted Katie after the conference to ask about recording the podcast episode to talk about FGCU’s LA program.
FGCU’s LA program started in fall 2016 as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program to recruit STEM majors to teach in local high-needs middle and high schools. Katie was a co-principal investigator (Co-PI) on this grant through the Whitaker Center. As Co-PI, part of her role was to create and manage the LA program, which she has led ever since. Currently housed in Academic Programs & Curriculum Development, the program has been funded entirely by the Office of the Provost since fall 2019 (including three years through SISR).
The LA program is comprised of undergraduates who support student learning in interactive classroom environments, working with small groups of students as they solve challenging problems or discuss difficult topics. The LAs have recently taken the course and remember what it is like to learn the material.
FGCU follows the research-based LA model, which requires the LAs to meet weekly with their faculty members to “prep,” as well as attend weekly pedagogical training. When last surveyed, 74% of students strongly agreed that LAs positively impacted their academic performance.
Moreover, program data shows that the success rate of students in classes with LAs is 12 percentage points higher than the rate in similar classes without the support of LAs. Last year, 37 faculty across 16 departments taught with LAs, which supported over 4,600 students.
In 2023-24, 125 LAs were hired, and 44% of these students were work-study eligible. Having an on-campus job that includes leadership experience sets these students up for success.
One specific success story is of FGCU student and frequent LA, Katarya Johnson-Williams, who used her experience to help her get two internships and a full-time position at Microsoft.
The LA program is always recruiting, and faculty can help by hiring and mentoring LAs and spreading the word about the program to their colleagues and students.
“Faculty and staff are the backbone of the program; it wouldn’t happen without a lot of people giving their time (often uncompensated),” said Katie.
Katie teaches with LAs in some of her classes and, occasionally, facilitates a section of the pedagogy training.
As a passionate advocate of the LA program, she co-authored with Dr. Laura Frost, associate dean and professor in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Lindsay Singh, internship coordinator for the Department of Communication & Philosophy, the paper “Building a Grassroots Learning Assistant Program,” which has now officially been published by the International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning.
Katie shares that in a recent survey 100% of faculty who teach with LAs reported using more active learning methods.
“There have also been discussions about growing the program due to its success, even doubling it in the coming years. Currently, the largest LA program in the world is at FIU, where they hire about 350 LAs each semester. The LA program will help the university continue to move towards more student-centered active learning, serving as a catalyst for institutional transformation,” added Katie.
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