While the LA program is most suitable for high-enrollment foundational BME courses and labs, instructors of any BME course may support their course with one or more LAs. Instructors will be informed if a suitable match is found. It can be challenging to find LAs for senior-level courses as former students would have already graduated from the program.

Instructors of LA-supported classes benefit tremendously from having an LA. LAs will come in trained and prepared with learning techniques and activities that they have acquired in the pedagogy course. Since LAs were selected and matched to the course because they took this course before, their input will be course-specific and ready for implementation, with little to no input from the course instructor. However, instructors of LA-supported classes are expected to meet with the LAs on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to discuss the plan (activities, techniques, …etc.) for the upcoming week and reflect on the results of the week before.

• Introduce the LAs to the students and emphasize that LAs will not provide direct answers but rather guide and help the students reach the answer on their own.
• Communicate how the LA role differs from the TA role. More information about the difference between an LA and a TA is in the “The LA is not a TA” section.
• Establish LA respect and appreciation in the classroom.
• Meet with the LAs on a weekly or biweekly basis to communicate with the LAs and agree on their role in the classroom.
• As much as possible, be supportive of and open to the ideas LAs bring in from the pedagogy course to allow/facilitate the LA experience in the classroom and reap its benefits.
• If the LA has created instructional material to help the students better navigate the course material (study guides, review session material, material summary,.. etc.), then the content has to be reviewed for correctness.
• Provide guidance on reported classroom issues.
• Provide guidance on how to handle challenging situations with struggling or anxious students.