A logistic regression investigation of the relationship between the Learning Assistant model and failure rates in introductory STEM courses

BACKGROUND: Large introductory STEM courses historically have high failure rates, and failing such courses often leads students to change majors or even drop out of college. Instructional innovations such as the Learning Assistant model can influence this trend by changing institutional norms. In collaboration with faculty who teach large-enrollment introductory STEM courses, undergraduate learning assistants (LAs) use research-based instructional strategies designed to encourage active student engagement and elicit student thinking. These instructional innovations help students master the types of skills necessary for college success such as critical thinking and defending ideas. In this study, we use logistic regression with pre-existing institutional data to investigate the relationship between exposure to LA support in large introductory STEM courses and general failure rates in these same and other introductory courses at University of Colorado Boulder. RESULTS: Our results indicate that exposure to LA support in any STEM gateway course is associated with a 63% reduction in odds of failure for males and a 55% reduction in odds of failure for females in subsequent STEM gateway courses. CONCLUSIONS: The LA program appears related to lower course failure rates in introductory STEM courses, but each department involved in this study implements the LA program in different ways. We hypothesize that these differences may influence student experiences in ways that are not apparent in the current analysis, but more work is necessary to support this hypothesis. Despite this potential limitation, we see that the LA program is consistently associated with lower failure rates in introductory STEM courses. These results extend the research base regarding the relationship between the LA program and positive student outcomes.