Why Do They Do What They Do? A Model That Describes and Connects the Drivers of Learning Assistant Facilitation Practices

ABSTRACT Learning assistants (LAs) help implement evidence‐based teaching in undergraduate active‐learning courses and support student learning through their facilitation. Here, we present a drivers‐of‐LA‐action model with empirical evidence that connects across the macro level of LA‐supported course design and the micro level of LA‐student interactions to understand how course activity system design drives LA goals, actions, and student in‐the‐moment learning in interactions. Our study is guided by sociocultural theory, specifically: cultural historical activity theory, which helps us understand how different course components work together; and theory on authoritativeness and dialogicity, which helps us understand the centering of one canonical perspective versus multiple student perspectives. Our embedded multiple case study includes narratives of LA facilitation based on recordings of LA‐student interactions from 37 different LAs in 10 chemistry and physics courses and semistructured stimulated recall interviews with professors as main data sources. Our findings show that course design that supports targeting the canon directly versus through scientific knowledge‐building drives LA purposes to be either uni‐ or multi‐directional, LA facilitation to be authoritative or dialogic, and student in‐the‐moment learning to be LA‐ or student‐centered. We discuss the use of the drivers‐of‐LA‐action model in practice for intentional course design that integrates LAs to meet student learning goals.