Education Reimagined: Advancing Student Engagement, Well-Being, and Career Readiness through the Learning Assistant Model

Friday, January 23, 2026

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM East Coast USA Time

Location: Capitol - Level M4

Primary Presenter(s)

Jennifer Bebergal

Associate Dean, Academic Support and Student Learning
Florida Atlantic University, United States

PDF

Co-Presenter(s)

Brittanney Adelmann

Director, Learning Assistant Program and Instructor III, Department of Mathematics
Florida Gulf Coast University, United States
Wendy Hinshaw

Provost Fellow for Academic Affairs; Director, Writing Programs; Associate Professor, English
Florida Atlantic University, United States
Jiehong Liao

Associate Professor, Department of Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, and Environmental Engineering
Florida Gulf Coast University, United States
Tito Sempertegui

Senior Instructor, Chemistry and Biochemistry and Director of the Learning Assistant Program
Florida Atlantic University, United States

In an era of declining student engagement and weakened classroom community, innovative pedagogical approaches are needed to flip the script. The Learning Assistant (LA) Model is a research-based approach that integrates trained undergraduate peers into the classroom. Implemented at more than 150 institutions, the model has been shown to increase student engagement, improve learning outcomes, and support career readiness across disciplines and modalities.

In this session, panelists from two institutions and four disciplines will share how the model has transformed their classrooms, rehumanizing the learning experience by encouraging collaboration, building academic confidence, and promoting a sense of belonging. Panelists will highlight assessment strategies, including rubrics, survey data, institutional measures of student success, and improved alignment between instruction and learning goals, using formative feedback from learning assistants.

Participants will gain insights into how the LA Model could be adapted or scaled within their own institutional or disciplinary contexts.