Learning Assistants (LAs) have been shown to have better conceptual understanding and more favorable beliefs about science than non-LAs, and are more likely to choose a career in K-12 science teaching [1]. We propose that connections between elements of identity, persistence, and participation in an LA program can be explained using the concept of the community of practice and its intimate relationship to identity [2]. In separate work, Hazari et al. found that physics identity was highly correlated to expressed career plans in physics [3]. We hypothesize that a thriving LA program has many features of a well-functioning community of practice and contributes to all four elements of physics identity: personal interest, student performance, competence, and recognition by others. We explore how this analysis of the LA experience might shape decisions and influence outcomes of adoption and adaptations of the LA model.
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22 January 2013
2012 PHYSICS EDUCATION RESEARCH CONFERENCE
1–2 August 2012
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Research Article|
January 22 2013
Understanding the learning assistant experience with physics identity
Eleanor W. Close;
Eleanor W. Close
Department of Physics, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX 78666,
USA
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Hunter G. Close;
Hunter G. Close
Department of Physics, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX 78666,
USA
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David Donnelly
David Donnelly
Department of Physics, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX 78666,
USA
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Eleanor W. Close
Hunter G. Close
David Donnelly
Department of Physics, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX 78666,
USA
AIP Conf. Proc. 1513, 106–109 (2013)
Citation
Eleanor W. Close, Hunter G. Close, David Donnelly; Understanding the learning assistant experience with physics identity. AIP Conf. Proc. 22 January 2013; 1513 (1): 106–109. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4789663
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