Learning Assistants

Working with and Recruiting Learning Assistants

Learning Assistants (LAs) are talented undergraduate students who serve as learning coaches and mentors for students while supporting instructors with teaching-related tasks. LAs are assigned to a particular course and work closely with instructors to provide challenging and meaningful learning experiences for students enrolled in the course.

Instructors who are interested in working with LAs should recruit their best students to apply each semester. Instructors who recruit LAs from students in their own courses tend to have an easier time getting started at the beginning of the semester, as they already have a prior academic relationship. For more information on how to best recruit LAs from your classes, check out these LA recruiting tips from experienced IST instructors.

Information follows on what the job entails, the best uses of LAs, and the application process.

If you have questions, email us at learning@ist.psu.edu.

LA Job Description and Application

Learning Assistants (LAs) are motivated undergraduate students who assist instructors and students in the teaching-learning enterprise. LAs are assigned to a particular course, and they work closely with instructors to provide challenging and meaningful learning experiences for enrolled students.

To be hired as an LA:

Be familiar with the course (preferably taught by a particular instructor)
Receive an A or A- in the assigned course
Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher
Have availability in your schedule during the class meeting time for the assigned course

LAs and their supervising instructors will meet at the beginning of each semester to sign an LA Instructor Agreement. This agreement will outline the responsibilities of both the LA and the Instructor. Mandatory responsibilities for all LAs includes:

Meet with the instructor in and outside of class, as determined by the instructor
Communicate effectively with supervising instructor, any additional teaching staff, and enrolled students
Prepare for specific teaching- and learning-related assignments

Additional responsibilities could include:

Explain course concepts to individual students or groups
Help with in-class activities, group projects, specialized software, or virtual labs
Provide feedback on writing and other assignments
Grading (assuming a rubric)
Out-of-class tutoring
Troubleshoot course technologies
Other learning-focused responsibilities

All new LAs are required to participate in training in their first semester as an LA, including New LA Orientation and the one-credit training course for LAs, IST 389: Leadership and Technology for Instruction.

New LA Orientation occurs the Sunday immediately before classes begin, usually from 2:00 – 4:00 PM. This virtual meeting offers just-in-time training to get you started in your first week as an LA, as well as tips from experienced LAs.

During the first semester of employment, you will be enrolled in IST 389 for one credit. The course meets once a week for 75 minutes for the first seven weeks of the semester. A college administrative assistant will enroll you in one of the sections after you have been officially hired.

The Fall 2022 sections of IST 389 are:

Wednesdays from 4:00 – 5:15 p.m.
Thursdays from 4:35 – 5:50 p.m.

Start date is Friday before classes begin. (LAs may work with instructors online prior to classes.)
End date is the last day of Finals Week—or whatever earlier date the instructor sets (make end-of-semester travel plans accordingly).

LA positions are paid by the College of IST. The rate of compensation is $13/hr for first-semester LAs and $14/hr for each semester after the first.

LA applicants who are hired and assigned to a faculty member must complete the PSU job application in addition to the application (link at the top of the page) that indicates interest. The link to the PSU jobs application will be sent to your PSU email account if you are hired as an LA.

There are two types of applications: “general pool” and “matched with verbal agreement from instructor.”

Matched: Faculty member and student establish mutual verbal agreement that they would like to work together; student submits “matched” application
General Pool: Student submits application without being matched; College places qualified student where needed

With either type of application, no jobs are guaranteed until Notification of Offer email messages are made to the student (typically two weeks prior to the start of the semester). In general, matched applications are more likely to yield an offer.

Payroll

Enter your hours in Workday. For more details, visit the IST Human Resources Information page. Scroll down to "Part-Time Employees" for information on onboarding, timekeeping, and more.

Check pay period start and end dates on the 2025-2026 Payroll Schedule.

Important Reference Documents

Important Contact Information

Sharon Lazarow
- Your Scheduled LA Assignment (e.g. Number of hours, pay)
- Registration for IST 389 (e.g. registration questions)
Pamela Carey or Abhijay Chelli
- LA Program Responsibilities (e.g. Concerns, Absence notifications, LA forms)
- Assignments for IST 389 (e.g. Grades, Gradebook errors)
Erica Fleming - Course Content in IST 389 (e.g. Coaching, Grading, Teaming, Learning)
Jeannette Macaluso - HR Inquiries and Workday Questions (e.g. W-4, I-9, automatic deposit, payroll questions, etc.)
IST Learning Design - Canvas Questions (e.g. Set up teams, export grades to Excel, etc.)
TechTutors - Instructional Technology Support (e.g. Classroom podium, Office 365, Voicethread, Top Hat, etc.)

Share your preferred name and pronouns with the students in your course an include them in your email signature.
Introduce yourself when interacting with students through discussion forums, email, or other chat tools.
Post an introductory video in Canvas at the beginning of the semester to help students get to know you and understand your role in the class.
If using Zoom, turn your camera on and microphone on when engaging with students whenever possible.
Check-in with students regularly in-person or online to maintain student engagement and create a sense of community.
Address students by name to help establish a sense of belonging and community. This will also help you better facilitate discussion.
Have an up-to-date profile picture of yourself on your Canvas profile and Outlook email account.

Take notes on specific issues, students, or things that occurred to look back on in preparation for the next class.
When possible, come to class early and remain after class to address students’ questions/concerns.
Help students stay on top of course materials and assignments by sending emails or post announcements on Canvas.
Use wait-time consistently and avoid jumping in too quickly when there is prolonged silence.
Smile and nod to indicate you are listening and paying attention.
In a class with multiple LAs, split up the class during discussions to ensure each student gets as much LA interaction as possible.

Host office hours at “alternative times” to best meet student needs (i.e. weekends, earlier for international students, after class).
Office hours can either be Q&A style, review of a specific topic/skill, or have a prepared topic or question.
Make sure students know what to expect when they attend.
Send a reminder or announcement via Canvas or email before office hours begin, even if it is recurring, to remind students periodically of the time and location.
Schedule more frequent, shorter office hours to accommodate students’ schedules.
Solicit the best days/times for office hours from your students.

Calendar: set due dates for items so that they appear on the Canvas calendar; alert students that color-coding their course cards on the dashboard will color code the respective assignments for those courses in the calendar
Announcements: use an announcement to tell students where to access course materials/resources in Canvas as well as any additional announcements/reminders throughout the semester
Notifications: have students set communication options and notification preferences
Profiles: utilize this feature to update your preferred name, professional headshot, and preferred methods of contact
Canvas as an Instructional Tool
- Using Rubrics in Speedgrader
- Assignment scores are not being saved (see section on "Select Rubric Settings")
- Set up Grade Posting Policies
- Setting up office hours as Canvas events
- Handling course communication with Canvas inbox and Canvas announcements

Frequently Asked Questions

: Successful LA applicants must show a good understanding of course material (having completed the course with either an A or A-), academic success (a minimum cum GPA of 3.2), good communication skills (both speaking and writing), initiative, and a desire to help others. LAs must also arrange their schedules to allow them to attend the class in which they are working.
: Mandatory responsibilities are listed in the LA Job Description. All LAs are required to meet with the instructor at a regularly scheduled time each week; communicate regularly with instructor, teaching team, and students in the course; prepare for specific teaching- and learning-related assignments; and attend class (unless otherwise specified by instructor).
: Instructors determine what LAs will be responsible for from the full list of responsibilities in the LA-Instructor Agreement form. LAs may assist with explaining course concepts in office hours, providing ungraded feedback on assignments, helping teams get organized for large projects, coaching students on problems related to course assignments, and collecting informal feedback on how the course is going. They may also assist with grading (provided the instructor supplies the student with a grading rubric).
: Instructors should provide regular, verbal feedback to LAs throughout the semester. In addition, instructors will be prompted at the middle and end of the semester to provide written feedback using an online evaluation form. Students enrolled in the course are asked to provide written feedback to LAs as well. Links to online evaluation forms are sent to instructors via email to distribute to students.
: The LA Program sends an email each semester to explain the application process to new applicants. In addition, faculty members help inform students by presenting recruiting slides in their classes and sharing the LA marketing flyer around the middle of the semester.
: Students can apply to be Learning Assistants by completing the application. Applications for Fall semester open in March each year, and applications for Spring semester open in October. The application form will stay open until all course assistant needs for the following semester are filled.