RUME 25
2023
Omaha, Nebraska
Mathematics Learning Assistantships and Undergraduate Students’ Identity Development
Page: 72
Increasing the participation and achievement of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in PK-16 education continues to be a focal area of educational transformation and research. Faculty members at Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) plan, implement, and investigate how program structures can support the development, retention, and overall success of undergraduate students in STEM. Active learning classrooms, especially in mathematics, are one way IHE are reforming student learning experiences, and also provide a unique opportunity to engage undergraduate learning assistants with faculty to support near-peer students and deepen their own learning. This report examines the role of learning assistantships in developing undergraduate preservice teachers' identity while participating in a Noyce Scholarship program. Findings from this study show that preservice teacher participants gained competence in a variety of forms and developed their identity as a teacher through their experience as learning assistants in active learning classrooms.