In 2015, four Learning Fellows served as undergraduate teaching assistants in COLT 1: Read the World with Professor Rebecca Biron. At that time, our program was nascent. The four Learning Fellows in COLT 1 were among the first students at Dartmouth to step up and fill a much needed role in Dartmouth courses, as small group facilitators helping students engage more deeply with course material. The Learning Fellows worked with Dr. Biron and Ashley Kehoe, an instructional designer at the time and now associate director for the Experiential Learning Initiative. Ashley wrote up a story about the Fellows for our EdTech connection blog, and the Learning Fellows provided great insights into why they become Fellows and what they’ve learned. Here’s just one snippet from the conversation Ashley recorded:
Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of the experience as a learning assistant?
Whitney Martin ’17: “Being able to follow the progression of the course, know what’s coming up, and being really excited about each progressive step of the course. Knowing full well that there’s a path that you follow and knowing it ahead of time makes it more interesting to relate back and see the whole picture.”
John French ’17: “Having listened to [students’] conversations on day one, two, three…and then hearing a much more engaged, productive conversation weeks later, I wish I could hear that more. I like tracking that kind of increasing engagement.”
Arjun Sachdeva ’17: “Listening in on one group on any day, hearing them struggle through at the beginning, and if they have questions then prod them on. Not that there’s always a right answer, but there’s always something that clicks in a group, and that’s so rewarding, when they’re on the right track and engaging deeply with the material, and you recognize and help facilitate that in some way.”
Abena Frempong ’17: “I think that being a learning assistant specifically for COLT 1…is a really great way to see how you’re thinking, and be really introspective. Being able to lead discussions and learning how to encourage rather than shut people down has been really helpful.”
Arjun and Abena were able to join us for our Learning Fellows orientation this year and speak to our current cohort of students. Whitney Martin is continued to work as a Learning Fellow in COLT 1, which is taught this term by Dr. Dennis Washburn. Thank you to Arjun, Abena, John, and Whitney for their great work in COLT 1 and for jump-starting the Learning Fellows program at Dartmouth. If you’d like to read Ashley Kehoe’s story in full, it’s here.
-Kes