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University of Florida

Developing a Physics Learning Assistant Program


UF Faculty: Sujata Krishna
Department: Physics
College: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Partner Faculty: Martha Mwiinga
Department: Physics
Partner Institution: Chengelo School, Zambia

Partner Faculty: Meena Laad
Department: Physics
Partner Institution: Symbiosis Institute of Technology, India
Title: Development of a Physics Learning Assistant Program
Project Description: We plan to start a Physics Learning Assistant program at Chengelo School, Zambia, with the help of current UF Physics Learning Assistants and the instructors at both institutions. The LA program has 3 essential elements – pedagogy, preparation and practice. In the Spring 2022 semester we are going to start by Martha Mwiinga selecting 2 LAs from her team of A2 level Physics students. These 2LA will develop active learning sessions with the help of LAs from UF and will hold at least one such active learning session. We will hold a debrief session and a final reflection on the project.
Learning Outcomes:

After the virtual exchange student will be able to:

  • Design and develop an active learning session in physics for a particular topic in the context of another culture
  • Reflect on and alter the delivery of the active learning session to make it better suited to conditions that may be specific to another country
  • Develop an understanding of the teaching and learning of physics on another continent.
Participating Countries: India, Zambia
Number of Participants: 5 UF students and 2 students from the partner institution
Discipline: Physics
UF Course Code & Name:
PHY4905-LA - Physics Learning Assistant Program
Project Duration: 6 weeks
Activity Type(s):
  • Student-to-Student Dialogue
  • Student-to-Student Project
  • Other
Time allotted to each activity:
  • Synchronous Activities: 3 hours
  • Asynchronous Activities: 6 hours
  • Local group activities: 4 hours
  • Individual work: 6 hours
Technology Tools:
  • Videoconference (Zoom)
  • Messaging Applications (Slack)
  • Learning Management Systems (Canvas)
  • Collaborative Authoring Platforms (Google Drive)
  • Message Boards/ Video Boards (Padlet)
  • Email
Sequence of Activities:
  1. Pre-VE Qualtrics survey for all participants.
  2. Jan 21st, Introduction Activity: Synchronous kick-off session. Students will have time to get to know one another via the padlet icebreaker activity.
  3. Asynchronous 2 weeks: We will spend the next 2 weeks developing appropriate worksheets for the physics AS active learning session.
  4. Next 2 weeks: To implement the active learning session at Chengelo School and write a reflection on it. 
  5. Feb 21: Synchronous zoom debrief session with all participants of the VE program.
  6. Asynchronous 4 weeks to allow new LAs to offer the office hours, while they maintain open dialogue with UF students for feedback and advice on how best to meet any challenges that come up. 
  7. March 21: Synchronous concluding meeting with post-VE Qualtrics survey.
  8. The instructors on both sides will consider whether to present this work at a suitable conference.

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