"I had a CS Learning Assistant in my Honors Intro to Object Oriented Programming class. He has done an exceptional job helping students in the lab with his outstanding expertise. He never missed a class, has always been prepared and punctual, and when asked also provided feedback on the content of the assignments. He has proven to be an invaluable asset to the class, being instrumental in helping students better understand the material and completing the work in a timely manner. I look forward to having LAs in all my future semesters."

"I used Learning Assistants for several semesters in Object Oriented Programming and Data Abstraction. The students felt that their mastery of material was enhanced by small, practice Active Learning exercises (facilitated by the LAs). Even more value was obtained by using LAs to spend quality time with students in reviewing their lab submissions. Instead of just receiving feedback at grading time, the students were able to have their code reviewed by LAs who took the opportunity to explain issues in the code or to suggest more elegant alternatives. The students definitely benefited from such exposure."

"I have been teaching (mainly) OOPDA classes with assigned Learning Assistants (“LA”s) for about five years. The LA’s have been a tremendous asset to me and to the students in my classes. First of all, they have been consistently excellent CS students with a sincere interest in helping their peers succeed in the coursework. In in-person classes, LA’s collaborate to provide help when students are doing labs.  In Zoom and Webex online class formats, the LA’s traverse breakout rooms and elicit answers to questions about the lab or assignment, and also assist students in completing labs. In my opinion, working with an LA is totally non-threatening to a student, whereas sometimes some students feel that they are revealing a lack of competency when they ask the instructor for help. Many current Tutors are also LA’s, and vice versa. Tutors meet with students on a “drop-in” basis online (Webex) or in person at a designated CS tutoring location, and they provide invaluable assistance to anyone who asks. I have been impressed by the overall structure of the LA program. Students are recruited via applications and/or recommendations from faculty and the LA’s get course credit through short seminar courses that introduce some fundamental principles of teaching and learning.  The dedication of the students, the staff and the Department to this program is impressive!"