Design and Implementation of a Mentorship Course That Utilizes Senior Undergraduate Chemistry Students As Learning Assistants in the Introductory Chemistry Laboratory to Foster Transferable Skill Development

Transferable skills are essential for student success in the workforce. Despite their importance, many undergraduate chemistry students lack these skills upon graduation. To address this deficiency in the undergraduate chemistry students at the University of Alberta’s Augustana Campus, a senior mentorship experience course that utilizes senior undergraduate chemistry students as learning assistants in the introductory chemistry lab was developed and introduced into the chemistry program. Through this in-lab mentorship experience and accompanying seminars and assessments focused on metacognition and critical self-reflection, we were able to create a course with a significant focus on the identification and development of transferable skills. Initial instructor impressions and preliminary feedback from senior student learning assistants suggest that this course was well received by students and was effective in providing students with more opportunities to develop and demonstrate transferable skills.