The pedagogy course serves as a condensed personal development training in which LAs acquire knowledge of college-level, collaborative pedagogy techniques that help them 1) learn about and recognize Kolb’s learning cycle, 2) learn about metacognition, questioning techniques, and cognitive engagement, 3) learning techniques and their utility, 4) understand team formation, team dynamics, and engagement 5) learn about asset vs. deficit based models a, 6) acquire communication, inclusivity and anti-racism skills that shall increase student engagement, 7) get introduced to and possibly participate in engineering education research. The pedagogy course is a flipped classroom that meets once a week for 50 minutes to summarize reading assignments, brainstorm ideas to implement research-based learning techniques, develop classroom activities, and reflect on class dynamics. LAs must attend the pedagogy course while performing their LA duties for the first time only. At the end of the semester, LAs receive a letter grade that reflects their performance in the LA role. Students who wish to return to the LA role in a subsequent semester don’t need to retake the pedagogy course.

The Pedagogy Course is a 1-credit BME Special Topics Course, BME 4931 Educational Methods for BME Learning Assistants (LAs). Students who have applied and were accepted into the LA program must contact the BME undergraduate advisor coordinator, Kelly Stalter (undergrad@bme.ufl.edu), to register for 1 -credit of BME4931.