Using the Learning Assistant Model in an Undergraduate Business Analytics Course

Undergraduate business students, like many other undergraduate majors, are often apprehensive about the quantitative courses required to earn their degree. Active learning methods, including flipped classrooms, have been studied as approaches to mitigate these fears among students. With our overarching goal of helping students improve their understanding of quantitative business concepts, we implemented a novel active learning method called the Learning Assistant model. Using an experimental design holding the instructor and the student assessments constant, we report the results of the first-known implementation of this technique in a business course. As indicated by the change in the students’ final numerical grades, this pedagogical technique shows promise in helping students master the material better than those who took the course in a traditional lecture-based learning environment.