2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This work in progress paper presents an exploratory study that investigates the roles and impacts of undergraduate Instructional Aides (IAs) in robotics education, focusing on case studies from two undergraduate robotics courses at a large Midwestern university. While graduate and undergraduate students are commonly employed as instructional support staff – gaining valuable experience, helping to meet instructional demands, and controlling university costs – priority is often given to graduate students due to funding and professional development considerations. However, undergraduate IAs, if intentionally recruited and organized, may bring unique strengths and form highly effective student instructional teams. In this work, we examine instructional teams from a first-year, hands-on robotics course and an upper-level human-robot interaction core course. Robotics was selected as a context due to its multidisciplinary, project-intensive nature, which places high demands on instructional aides and student staff. This research incorporates both student feedback and IA perspectives, acknowledging the diverse backgrounds of IAs from recent course alumni to experienced aides, some of whom transition to graduate instructional roles.

Key research questions include: Do students find undergraduate IAs more approachable or helpful than graduate student aides in hands-on settings? How does the presence of undergraduate IAs influence students’ classroom experiences? Additionally, how does serving as an IA impact the aides’ own professional development, teaching confidence, and career aspirations in STEM fields? By presenting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative feedback from students and IAs in these courses, this work seeks to understand the undergraduate IA’s perspectives in several aspects of the IA roles, including their experience, preparation, interactions, professional development, team dynamics, and support. We hope the initial findings and observations will inform future recommendations for the recruitment, training, and support of IAs in robotics and other technical disciplines, with the broader goal of enhancing learning environments, mentorship, and educational outcomes within engineering curricula. This study also aims to initiate a discussion on enriching both student and IA experiences while contributing valuable insights to the ongoing discourse on peer-assisted teaching in STEM education.