David Caldwell, a 2023 graduate of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in biology and Dr. Michael Moore, director of undergraduate research and mentoring at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, published their findings in the Journal of College Science Teaching.

The article, 鈥淎ssessing Interactions between Students and Learning Assistants in in-Person vs. Online Environments,鈥� is the second in a series that discuss training in 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Learning Assistants (LA) Program. Learning assistants are peer mentors who are trained to help students understand class material using evidence-based practices like facilitated group work.

Peer mentors assist fellow students in classes that the peer mentor has already successfully completed. Peer mentors often undergo training to increase the positive impact of their mentorship. At 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, LAs take a pedagogy course two hours a week during the semester. In the first part, they discuss weekly teaching and learning experiences that went well (wins) and those that could be improved (opportunities). In part two, LAs undergo training on teaching and learning, allowing them to conceptualize how these methods would be used in the classroom.

Previously, Moore and his team uncovered five common challenging interactions that LAs may face in the classroom. To help the LAs navigate these interactions, scenarions were developed by Moore鈥檚 research team. LAs roleplay the scenarios and then discuss what they would do if they faced similar situations. The training allows LAs to develop strategies to navigate these teaching challenges and receive advice from their peers and instructor.

鈥淲hat happens if you are a learning assistant, and you have a friend who tries to leverage their friend status to get information for class?鈥� Moore said. 鈥淟earning assistants read scenarios and then talk about how they might handle these situations.鈥�

When COVID-19 forced many college classes to go online, Moore found that the LA pedagogy training needed to be modified to help the LAs prepare for challenging scenarios that could arise in an online learning environment.

鈥淎n example of one of these scenarios is that you are having an online class while a student is doing laundry,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淗ow do you help that student learn that is not the best use of their time, and they should be paying attention to class? We talk about how you would handle it if you were in that situation. All of these are examples of proactive instead of reactive training. We train students so they know how to act before these situations happen.鈥�

The paper assessed whether learning assistants received adequate training for working in an online environment. Five new challenging interaction scenarios were created to show how classroom situations might evolve in an online environment. An example of a difficult scenario is trying to get a student to participate in a classroom review when they consistently keep their cameras turned off.

鈥淥ur article showed that there was a reason to rewrite these scenarios from an online perspective,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淲e talked about how these challenges manifest differently in face-to-face and online environments.鈥�

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鈥淚 was already not happy with my job, and I had been thinking about going back to school,鈥� Aleck said. 鈥淭hat is the moment when I said, 鈥楾his is the time.鈥欌��

Undeterred by adversity, Aleck embarked on a transformative journey back to academia, where her unwavering dedication and scholarly excellence have propelled her to the top of her class. She was recently named the Outstanding Graduating Senior in the anthropology program. She鈥檚 also gained a reputation as a reliable resident assistant, earning the Resident Assistant of the Year Award this year.

鈥淚 used to be very scared of science, and now I鈥檓 graduating as a scientist,鈥� said Aleck, who is graduating May 11 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in anthropology and a minor in biology. 鈥淔our years ago, I honestly didn鈥檛 think I could do this. It鈥檚 been very empowering for me.鈥�

Aleck cites her experience in the Learning Assistants (LA) Program at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock as one of the most transformative experiences of her college career, giving her the courage to learn more about science and helping others learn as well. As a learning assistant, Aleck used evidence-based, active-learning instruction to help students in chemistry, biology, and anthropology classes.

鈥淏eing an LA is where I鈥檝e realized that there are not 鈥榯ypes鈥� of people,鈥� Aleck said. 鈥淚 was told that I was an English and history person but wasn鈥檛 a math and science person. This is a journey to help people realize you can do something even if you find it intimidating. I wanted to help others feel empowered to learn science.鈥�

This semester Aleck became a peer mentor, where she observed and offered guidance to other learning assistants. Aleck thanked Dr. Michael Moore, who oversees the LA Program, for helping her believe in herself.

鈥淒r. Michael Moore has been amazing,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe I would have made it through my program if not for him and the LA Program. I can鈥檛 even express what it has meant to me to be in a school that has this program.鈥�

Aleck has also worked with Dr. Stefanie Leacock, instructor of biology, to create open educational resources that combine anthropological knowledge with concepts in genetics to create a new section for LibreTexts, a nonprofit online educational resource project. She鈥檚 also served as a volunteer field researcher at Plum Bayou Archaeological Mounds, where she has helped to search for indigenous artifacts, including decorated pieces of ceramics.

As she prepares to bid farewell to undergraduate studies, Aleck has her sights on a new chapter, poised to embark on a legal career that promises to merge her passion for understanding human cultures with her desire to advocate for justice.

鈥淎fter graduation, I will be heading to law school, where I have received a full-tuition scholarship,鈥� Aleck said. 鈥淚 want to work in government and policy. I鈥檝e been working as an intern for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the City of Little Rock since August. My ultimate goal is to serve on the Supreme Court one day.鈥�

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The university-level Faculty Excellence winners will be announced at the April 4 ceremony at 6 p.m. in the Schueck, McCarty, Lexicon Inc. Auditorium in the Engineering and Information Technology Building.

More information on the Donaghey College of STEM winners and excerpts from their nomination letters are below:

Faculty Excellence Award for Research and Creative Endeavors

Dr. Talburt is the director of the Information Quality Graduate Program at 糖心Vlog传媒 at Little Rock, a professor of information science, and Acxiom chair of information quality.

Talburt has been very active in scholarship over the past five years. He has played a major role in projects that involve graduate assistantships for master鈥檚 and doctoral programs, which provide great opportunities to students of those programs.

In addition to securing funded research grants, Talburt has historically published several research articles each year, often co-authoring with students and alumni to help 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students establish research credentials. He has also given many presentations in campus and industry talks and conferences.

Faculty Excellence Award for Public Service

Dr. Siraj is an associate professor of chemistry at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. Siraj has served in numerous committees in the chemistry department, including the awards committee, the schedule committee, chemical safety committee, chemistry program technology committee, among several others. In addition to her service within the chemistry program, Siraj has also served in various university committees, such as the faculty senate honors and awards committee, the students research and creative works committee, and the college combination task force, among others.

Siraj has also been involved in professional and community service outside the university. The Central Arkansas American Chemical Society honored her with two prestigious awards in 2023; Central Arkansas Professor of the Year and Volunteer of the Year. Over the past five years, Siraj has mentored 22 middle and high school students for their science fair projects, three of whom have won awards at the Scientific Review Committee for International Science and Engineering Fair.

Siraj has played a significant role in the community by helping build pathways to STEM careers for underserved children in Little Rock, as well as encouraging students, especially female students, to follow their STEM-related interests.

Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching

Dr. Turner is an assistant professor of construction management and civil and construction engineering at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. Turner has exhibited great dedication to providing an enhanced educational experience to students within her program. In 2019, Turner secured two grants that significantly advanced teaching resources within her department.

Turner employs an innovative approach when it comes to teaching, integrating traditional lectures with interactive approaches and accommodating different learning styles. She strives to foster a positive educational environment of inclusivity where students feel heard and valued. Turner goes above and beyond for students by analyzing student feedback and adapting to their educational needs.

Faculty Excellence Award for Social Justice

Dr. Moore is the Learning Assistant (LA) program coordinator at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, the director of undergraduate research, as well as the director of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participants (LSAMP). When asked to lead LSAMP, the program had not had leadership for over a year. Moore worked hard to revive the program by recruiting more students to attend 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock as part of the LSAMP program cohort, and built a program that includes weekly activities such as career mentoring, professional training, and service opportunities.

The Learning Assistants program allows students who have recently completed a course to help the next group of students who take the class. During their first semester assisting in the classroom, LAs take a course on pedagogy to help them facilitate learning for other students. As Learning Assistants program coordinator, Moore has expanded the LA program participation from four to 12 faculty members who now use 35 LAs. Moore also partnered with Dr. Mark Baillie and Dr. Lundon Pinneo to write a grant which allows LAs to receive stipends for their leadership roles.

As director of undergraduate research, Moore has doubled the number of student applications for research grants. The diversity and number of students who have their research funded has vastly increased under his leadership.

Faculty Excellence Award for Rising Faculty

Dr. Ghosh is an assistant professor of engineering at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. Over the past two years, Ghosh has demonstrated his commitment to student success, teaching three courses each semester and performing well in all of them. Ghosh has joined the Mobile Institute of Scientific Teaching and Academy for Teaching and Learning Excellence in order to become an even more effective instructor, and has established a successful research and education program in thin film fabrication and characterization.

Ghosh is known for his team-player mentality, which has facilitated the establishment of research partnerships between universities and more. Currently, Ghosh is involved with two projects with faculty from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and Arkansas State University.

Ghosh is also very involved in supporting the research endeavors of undergraduate and graduate students with his mentorship, and several of his undergraduate mentees have received signature experience grants from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship grants from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. These students have presented at the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Student Research and Creative Works Expo and received recognition for their work.

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