Sustainable individualized instruction of biochemistry: A framework for recruiting, training, and utilizing undergraduate teaching assistants

Abstract

Individualized instruction of biochemistry has been a promising alternative to large lecture format classes at our institution. The challenge, however, is that individualized instruction courses have larger staff requirements, which can be infeasible under the current scope of educational budget and human resource constraints. In this article, we highlight how we have met those larger staff requirements in a sustainable way by utilizing undergraduate teaching assistants. We also provide an effective framework for recruiting, training, and utilizing undergraduate teaching assistants, which can be replicated in other contexts. © 2019 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 47(5):560–564, 2019.