2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

With many universities exploring ways to increase undergraduate student engagement and reduce budgets for graduate teaching assistants, undergraduate teaching assistants are being used more often. Undergraduate teaching assistants can assist with teaching and grading, and they have the advantage of typically being a recent student in the same course, so they have first-hand knowledge and understand the material from the student perspective. As they are helping their peers, they understand the level of interest, enthusiasm, and energy in the course. Additionally, they “learn by doing” and gain a deeper understanding of the material. However, they typically differ from graduate student teaching assistants in age and experience, so faculty members must work with the undergraduate teaching assistants differently. For example, as undergraduates, they usually need more help to ‘learn how to teach’ and resolve potential classroom problems. They may also require more preparation for the classroom or lab and more consistent and deliberate guidance and feedback throughout the semester.
At Penn State, the number of undergraduate teaching assistants, referred to as Learning Assistants (LAs), increased, in part, as a budgetary solution to reduce the cost of instruction for courses that historically used graduate teaching assistants. After several semesters of growing the number of LAs, a more formal preparation program began for lab courses that consists of a common course regardless of lab or course. Students complete mandatory institutional and facility-specific training, develop essential communication skills, and learn to support the College of Engineering’s mission. A follow-on course allows the LAs to employ their skills in a specific lab. This paper details the onboarding and the role of the LAs in two different areas in the College of Engineering, specifically a Makerspace that is open to all students and an Aerospace Engineering lab for third- and fourth-year students. The Makerspace has used LAs for several decades, while the Aerospace lab has just started. The paper concludes by describing lessons learned and best practices as well as short- and long-term goals for the improvements of LAs’ roles and responsibilities.
With many universities exploring ways to increase undergraduate student engagement and reduce budgets for graduate teaching assistants, undergraduate teaching assistants are being used more often. Undergraduate teaching assistants can assist with teaching and grading, and they have the advantage of typically being a recent student in the same course, so they have first-hand knowledge and understand the material from the student perspective. As they are helping their peers, they understand the level of interest, enthusiasm, and energy in the course. Additionally, they “learn by doing” and gain a deeper understanding of the material. However, they typically differ from graduate student teaching assistants in age and experience, so faculty members must work with the undergraduate teaching assistants differently. For example, as undergraduates, they usually need more help to ‘learn how to teach’ and resolve potential classroom problems. They may also require more preparation for the classroom or lab and more consistent and deliberate guidance and feedback throughout the semester.
At Penn State, the number of undergraduate teaching assistants, referred to as Learning Assistants (LAs), increased, in part, as a budgetary solution to reduce the cost of instruction for courses that historically used graduate teaching assistants. After several semesters of growing the number of LAs, a more formal preparation program began for lab courses that consists of a common course regardless of lab or course. Students complete mandatory institutional and facility-specific training, develop essential communication skills, and learn to support the College of Engineering’s mission. A follow-on course allows the LAs to employ their skills in a specific lab. This paper details the onboarding and the role of the LAs in two different areas in the College of Engineering, specifically a Makerspace that is open to all students and an Aerospace Engineering lab for third- and fourth-year students. The Makerspace has used LAs for several decades, while the Aerospace lab has just started. The paper concludes by describing lessons learned and best practices as well as short- and long-term goals for the improvements of LAs’ roles and responsibilities.