College is an important time of transition for many students. They’re learning new things, meeting new people, and exploring new surroundings. But managing the many changes taking place isn’t always easy. That’s because with the many changes and opportunities also come challenges for students, and with that can come the feeling like they may not belong in their class, or even in college at all. There are a range of reasons why students may not feel like they belong, and it varies widely from student to student. Some may be the first in their families to attend college. Some students may struggle with mental health issues. Some may simply find it difficult to make friends. And yet others still may have challenges with their financial situations. For these students, feeling like they do not belong, or are an “imposter” can hinder their academic success as well as their mental health, and overall well-being. Some students from traditionally underrepresented minority groups may also feel a sense of marginalization or stigmatization on campus.  Research has demonstrated that students who feel like they belong are more likely to be engaged in their studies, perform better academically, and are more likely to stay in college and graduate. For example, a recent study found that students who report a higher sense of belonging at the end of the first year do better than their counterparts, persist more in their second and third years and have lower levels of mental health issues. “Regardless of the reason, when students feel like they don't belong, the consequences can be detrimental,” said Macmillan Learning Research Specialist Sarah Gray. “It can impact the students’ future career opportunities and earning potential alongside society as a whole by creating higher levels of social inequality and race-based disparities in academic achievement.” At Macmillan Learning our mission is to inspire what’s possible for every learner. That’s why we’ve been so interested in learning more about how having a sense of belonging impacts student performance, and whether courseware can have an impact. Most recently, we have been conducting research in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to learn more about digital tools that could foster a sense of belonging and the impact that may have on student success for underserved student populations. What is Having a Sense of Belonging Sense of belonging in the college settings refers to how students understand their role and their social fit in a college environment. It goes beyond just physical presence on campus. Rather, it's a feeling that students have that they are part of a larger community, where they are valued, understood, and supported. It’s also about having social and cultural capital–understanding the social norms, shared values, and expected behaviors of college. Their sense of belonging can be enhanced through both social and academic interactions in their classrooms and institutions.  According to Gray, an unfortunate reality is that underrepresented minority groups can report a weaker sense of belonging than their White peers on their campuses.  “Having a sense of belonging is not necessarily a binary issue, where students either feel like they belong or they don’t. Rather, it's a complex and dynamic feeling that can be influenced by a variety of factors, including social identity, campus climate, individual experiences and cultural norms,” said Gray. She added that having a sense of belonging can be further complicated for underrepresented minority students by assumptions that they are coming into college with a deficit of the knowledge and skill needed to succeed, as well as the pressure to fit into the campus environment at the expense of their home culture. There are three types of belonging that Macmillan Learning has been particularly interested in learning more about: students’ individual sense of belonging, their sense of belonging in a particular class, and their sense of belonging within college.  Individual belonging reflects a student's overall sense of belonging within the college environment. It encompasses their feelings of social and academic fit and can be influenced by factors such as campus culture, social identity, personal experiences, and individual personality traits. Students who feel individual belonging may feel like they are valued for their unique perspectives, and that they are free to express themselves and explore their interests without fear of judgment or discrimination. Belonging in class reflects a student's sense of connection and engagement within a specific course or academic program. It's having a sense of ownership over their learning and success in that course or program, and understanding how their classwork is helping them achieve their academic goals. A student who feels a strong sense of belonging in a particular class might feel comfortable speaking up in class discussions, collaborating with their peers on group projects or feel close with their instructor.  Students may or may not feel like they belong at college at all, and it has to do with their sense of connection and belonging that expands beyond just their individual academic programs or their courses.This belonging encompasses their feelings of social and academic fit, as well as their sense of connection to the broader campus community and institutional values. Whether or not they feel like a welcome part of a larger community that shares similar values and goals. Studying Sense of Belonging Macmillan Learning’s Sense of Belonging and Metacognition study seeks to understand the impact of using digital tools like out-of-class peer learning, low-stakes quizzing, and routine sentiment check-ins embedded within a digital courseware platform, like Achieve, to improve students’ sense of belonging and metacognition skills. The study will also examine whether improved sense of belonging and metacognition skills are related to other student outcomes such as course retention, content knowledge and exam scores.  The study is part of the company’s ongoing research about how digital learning platforms and courseware can help to close equity gaps in course completion for historically and presently underserved students, and students experiencing poverty. Initial research began in Spring 2023, and further research will take place in Fall 2023.  “We believe that having a sense of belonging can have an impact, and are testing related digital courseware solutions that administrators, instructors and students said would be helpful. This will help us to see what works best in practice, what students will actually use, and how they will use it,” said Guido Gatti, Sr. Quantitative Research Analyst. In the second part of this series, we’ll offer practical examples of tools and activities that instructors can use to help foster students’ sense of belonging both in and out of the classroom. ... View more

“Remember what it was like not to know,” said Dr. Kelley Young, co-author of Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight. That’s Dr. Young’s mantra, and it is one that has long fueled her teaching expertise. Dr. Young clearly remembers her struggles as a student in both undergraduate and graduate school, and it has allowed her to better empathize with her students today.  It’s Dr. Young’s teaching experience and expertise that uniquely positions her as an ideal candidate to author a textbook. Joining the author team for the eighth edition of Chemical Principles has allowed Dr. Young to now reach students around the world. Macmillan Learning’s mission is to inspire what’s possible for every learner and we recognize that our success is in large part due to our outstanding authors–many of whom, like Dr. Young, take such pride in, and prioritize, their teaching.    Dr. Kelley M. H. Young, Associate Teaching Professor, University of Notre DameDr. Young loved growing up in a rural part of the thumb of Michigan. It was quiet and familiar; not many people left the area after high school. Dr. Young, like others, wanted to stay close to her friends and family. “I was drawn to Adrian College for that reason,” she said, “and also because I wanted to continue playing soccer.”  Athletics drew Dr. Young to Adrian College. “I was an avid athlete, and I admit to partially choosing where to continue my education because of that and less because of the school’s science prowess,” she joked. Nevertheless, Adrian College gave Dr. Young the freedom to discover and further develop her interests in the natural sciences, all while she continued with her love of soccer.  “I’m a big proponent of athletics as a creative outlet beyond the classroom,” Dr. Young said. Dr. Young believes that her time as a student-athlete taught her many of the skills that helped her succeed later in graduate school and now as a teaching professor at the University of Notre Dame. “As a STEM student, time was always valuable,” she said. “I learned the importance of time management, balance, and also how to deal with failure.” While playing soccer, Dr. Young learned that failure is going to happen; it was going to happen in graduate school, too. “We learn more from our failures than from success,” Dr. Young said.  One of the best ways for a person to deal with failure is to surround themself with a genuine support network. “Adrian College was small, so I got to know my professors really well,” Dr. Young said. Her professors helped steer Dr. Young toward opportunities that allowed her to continue her love of chemistry beyond the classroom. “I didn’t really know what I had planned to do with a chemistry degree, or really what research was,” Dr. Young said, “and I was encouraged to apply for an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates), which made me realize how much I enjoyed conducting research.”  No one in Dr. Young’s family had gone to graduate school, but her desire to continue doing research was the motivation she needed to be the first. “My professors were really supportive and helped me find programs that aligned with my interests,” she said. Dr. Young was interested in renewable energy. She was accepted at Michigan State, where she was able to join a lab and work on semiconductor research projects.  After completing her Ph.D. in 2015, Dr. Young remained at Michigan State for one year as a Lecturer before joining Hope College as a Visiting Assistant Professor. In 2016, Dr. Young joined the Chemistry Department at Notre Dame, where she has been since and was recently promoted from Assistant to Associate Teaching Professor.  “Notre Dame is a special and privileged place to be,” Dr. Young said. “In addition to our research faculty, who are top-notch educators in their own right, we also have dedicated teaching faculty such as myself.” Dr. Young believes that it’s really valuable for the students, especially in first-year courses, to know that they have instructors who are fully committed to their success. “I remember as an undergraduate student how important it was to know that I had instructors who cared about me as a young adult away from home for the first time,” Dr. Young said. “Now I get to be that person for my students.”  Dr. Young didn’t always know that teaching was her calling. “As a graduate student,” she recalled, “I was a teaching assistant for the first time, and I was awful.” Nevertheless, that experience of struggle and failure was a great learning experience and gave Dr. Young the bug to keep teaching. Now she’s considered an expert in her field: teaching. In 2021, Dr. Young took on the role of Boler Family Director of the Mary E. Galvin Science & Engineering Scholars Program, and in 2022 she was awarded the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.  As a lifelong learner, Dr. Young has continued to seek out new opportunities to improve her teaching. “Many doctorate programs don’t require students to serve as a teaching assistant more than once or twice,” she said, “but I took every opportunity available.” Dr. Young’s teaching experience is also varied, which has taught her what works well and what doesn’t in the classroom. While at Hope College, she gained experience teaching at a PUI (primarily undergraduate institution) with a great chemistry program. Dr. Young is now a frequent visitor of the Teaching Center on campus at the University of Notre Dame, which offers regular trainings in pedagogy.  Many of the students in Dr. Young’s courses are not majors in chemistry, and her expertise in teaching and pedagogy allows her to meet her students where they are in their preparedness. “It’s one of my favorite things about teaching,” she said. “I enjoy seeing the struggle–in a good way.” Dr. Young loves seeing her students face and overcome the challenge of not knowing something and then finally having that “Aha!” moment. “To see a student figure something out on their own,” she said, “that helps them build confidence and sets them up for success after they leave my class.”  Dr. Young’s teaching not only received the praise of her students and colleagues, but it also got the attention of Macmillan Learning. “I had been using their book, Chemical Principles, in my courses,” she said, “so I was used to reps visiting often.” After one visit and class observation, the rep approached Dr. Young and asked if she would join him for lunch. “He asked me if I would be interested in writing,” Dr. Young said. “I remember feeling very thankful and excited to contribute.”  The editing process began just after Dr. Young gave birth to her second child and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I didn’t know what to expect,” Dr. Young said. “Everything felt so precarious.” Thankfully, Dr. Young felt well supported by the rest of her author team. “Loretta Jones and Peter Atkins were the veterans of the group,” she said, “and I remember using Peter’s book when I was a student.” All five authors of the eighth edition worked meticulously together, each reviewing every sentence of the book. “I learned so much from Loretta, Peter, and Leroy, and about how their previous editions were so successful,” Dr. Young said.  With the addition of Dr. Young and Dr. James Patterson to the author team, the eighth edition of Chemical Principles received some new updates. “It was already and always an excellent book,” Dr. Young said, “but we were eager to make it a little more conversational for students who didn’t have much background in chemistry or the sciences.” The new edition also has some new structuring and ordering, as well as more features of women and people of color who have made discoveries in the field of chemistry.  When the writing and editing process concluded about three years later, Dr. Young gave birth to her third child. “The book is book-ended with two of my children,” she joked. When Dr. Young is not busy teaching or writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and all three children. She resides in southwest Michigan, where she enjoys spending time outside hiking, camping, hunting, and gardening.   Kelley Young is an associate teaching professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Adrian College and earned her Ph.D from Michigan State University where she investigated the fabrication and electrochemical characterization of thin-film semiconductors for solar water oxidation. Dr. Young has been teaching general chemistry and physical chemistry laboratory since 2015 and is currently the Director of the Mary E. Galvin Science and Engineering Scholars, a program aimed at building community and increasing retention in STEM disciplines. ... View more

Susan Karr, MS, Carson-Newman CollegeEarth Day serves as a moment each and every year for people to not only appreciate the natural world around us, but to also reflect on what we can do to better preserve and protect it. Fortunately, much of what many of us learned as children remains tried and true today, and we can continue to focus on behavioral changes that will help reduce our water and energy consumption.  These behavioral changes are the types of lower-impact actions that cost us nothing. For those of us that seek to reduce our impact on the environment to a greater degree, we can invest a little (or a lot) of money to employ new technologies that reduce resource use in our homes. For this year’s Earth Day, we’ve invited Susan Karr, author of Environmental Science for a Changing World—available for the first time with Macmillan Learning’s new online learning tool, Achieve—to share more about a feature in the book called “Bring it Home.”  “With ‘Bring it Home’, we offer students suggestions on ways they can reduce their impact on the environment,” says Karr, such as ways to reduce their water and energy consumption.  “We also share with students the 4 “Rs” when considering their consumer choices: refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle.”    Water Susan encourages us to consider how we use water and to look for ways to reduce that use. “And remember,” she says, “saving water also means saving the energy it took to collect, purify, deliver, and perhaps heat that water.”  Karr suggests that a technology option to consider is a low-flow faucet and a low-flow showerhead. A low-flow faucet can reduce the rate of water flow by 1 to 2 gallons per minute, and a low-flow showerhead can reduce flow rate by 1 to 1.5 gallons per minute, she explained. “It really makes a significant difference knowing that some older kitchen faucets have a flow rate of up to 5 gallons per minute,” Karr says.  If you don’t have the money to install a low-flow faucet or showerhead, Susan suggests some behavioral changes you can make when running water in the kitchen or bathroom: Don’t let the water run while brushing your teeth or shaving. Don’t turn on the water at full speed unless needed. Capture water while waiting for it to heat up and use that collected water to water plants, fill the dog bowl, or other uses.  Time your shower for a few days to determine its average length, and then try to reduce shower time by a few minutes.  Take a “Navy” shower by turning off the water except to rinse.  Other technologies to consider that will reduce your water consumption include a front-loading washing machine or a low-flow toilet, Karr says. An energy and water efficient front-loading washing machine uses nearly half the water as older top-loading models. “Similarly,” Karr says, “installing a low-flow toilet or a model with two buttons—one for liquid waste and one for solids—will also reduce water waste.”  Once again, if you’re unable to purchase and install these water-waste reducing technologies, Karr offers some behavioral changes you can make:  Only wash clothes when needed. Only run the washing machine when it’s full. Don’t flush the toilet to dispose of tissues; dispose of them in the trash.  Energy Karr also reminds us that right now, fossil fuels power modern society, so making choices that use less energy will reduce the use of fossil fuels and, consequently, reduce the negative impact of using those fuels. “Three areas of our lives where we can use less energy include transportation, home, and electricity,” Susan says.  Transportation When possible, Karr encourages people to purchase the most energy efficient vehicle they can afford and that meets their needs. If you’re unable to upgrade your vehicle to one that is more energy efficient, there are still behavioral changes you can make: Carpool, take public transportation, walk, or bike.  Combine trips and plan your route to avoid backtracking if you are out running errands to reduce miles driven. Keep your car tuned up and tires properly inflated to improve the fuel efficiency of your vehicle. Use cruise control when appropriate—maintaining a constant speed improves fuel efficiency. Avoid idling—starting a car back up takes less fuel than idling for more than a few seconds. Home According to Karr, it’s important to make sure that your home has the recommended insulation for your region to reduce energy needed to heat and cool your home. “You can also insulate your hot-water heater,” Susan says. Inexpensive hot-water heater ‘blankets’ are also available and easy to install. Behavioral changes made at home include: Lower your thermostat in the winter by a degree or two; do the same in the summer by turning it up. Set the water heater to no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit; turn it off if you will be away from home for at least several days.  Electricity Energy efficient versions of many devices are available. For example,replacing light bulbs with more energy efficient varieties, such as LEDs, can save energy and money. You can also invest in renewable energy, such as solar panels, by installing them in your home, or you can support local renewable energy initiatives with your energy providers. Some key behavioral changes include: Turn off lights and electronics when not in use.  Take advantage of natural light by opening curtains during the day.    The 4 “Rs” when considering consumer choices “Other changes are more related to your consumer choices than to technology or behavioral options,” Karr says. “You can reduce the impact of your consumer choices by considering the resources used to make those consumer goods.” The 4 “Rs” when considering consumer choices are refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle.  Refuse “Don’t buy a product if you can do without it,” Karr says. For example: Drink water from a fountain instead of buying bottled water. Refuse to take a shopping bag from a store—carry your items or bring your own reusable bags.  Opt to buy unpackaged produce rather than bagged or boxed items. Rent or borrow items, when possible, and lend them to others—especially if you will rarely use them.  Reduce Karr says to choose products that require fewer resources to make or that are minimally packaged. For example: Minimize packaging—if you must buy a bottled drink, buy the largest bottle you will use instead of several smaller bottles.  Contact retailers or marketers to reduce receipt of unsolicited mail or visit the Federal Trade Commission for suggestions on ways to reduce promotional mail such as catalogs, credit card and insurance offers.  Reduce your consumption of meat, especially the consumption of beef—the animal-based food with the highest water and carbon footprint.  Reuse “Use products again,” says Karr, “for their intended purpose or another.” For example: Purchase durable products you can use again and again rather than disposable items or those with a short lifespan.  If you must buy a product that comes in a package, consider reuse potential—can you use it for another purpose? Recycle Karr reminds us that we can turn a recyclable item back in to be made into a new product. For example:  Check with your local recycling center or solid waste department to learn about which materials are accepted for recycling in your area. Choose products that can be recycled over items (or packaging) that are not recyclable. Support the recycling industry by choosing products made from recycled materials. Avoid “wish-cycling”—placing items in a recycling bin that are not recyclable in your area; this has the potential to contaminate other recyclables in the bin (forcing recyclers to dispose of the entire bin) and/or increase the time and money needed to sort through the recyclables, decreasing profit and viability of the recycling industry. There are many things that we can all do to reduce our impact on the environment. Perhaps you already do some of the things on this list, or perhaps there are other ways that you decrease your usage of resources such as water and energy. We hope that this Earth Day you try something new and consider your impact on the environment. You can also sign up for a demo of Achieve for Environmental Science for a Changing World: https://go.oncehub.com/ AchieveDemos. ... View more

Whether you’re planning to run a marathon or achieve a specific career, setting goals is a good first step towards planning for the future. Goal-setting offers direction and a sense of purpose in our lives, so it should come as no surprise that setting goals can actually help students do better in their classes. At Macmillan Learning, our Learning Science & Insights team was curious about the impact that setting and then reflecting on goals could have in student success. They have been researching its impact over the past five semesters. Spoiler alert: there is a correlation! But before we get to the data, here’s some important background about why goal-setting and reflection is something we wanted to learn more about, and how we went about that learning. The Backstory of Goal-setting & Reflection Surveys When Macmillan Learning was developing its digital learning platform, Achieve, a critical area of focus for us was self-regulated learning. We recognized that students’ ability to plan, monitor, and evaluate their own learning processes (a process called metacognition) touches on so many elements that are important to learning and retaining information, and built in several tools to help support it. Notably, we focused on students’ ability to reflect on what they’d like to accomplish and created an aptly named feature called Goal-setting and Reflection Survey (GRS).  The GRS within Achieve engages with each of the three phases of metacognition: planning (where students set goals and plan how to accomplish them), monitoring (where students check in on and track their progress), and evaluating (where students decide whether or not their strategies have been successful, and decide to seek help). Ideally, five different surveys will be deployed throughout the semester to allow students to set goals for themselves and reflect on their progress throughout the semester. Flexibility was built in the GRS though, so that instructors could assign and students could make use of them as needed. The GRS will typically begin with the introductory survey -- arguably the most critical since it helps to establish the initial guidance for students and helps instructors get to know the students in their class. Checkpoint surveys that ask questions such as “how often did you give yourself enough time to complete assignments” are used to give students the opportunity to re-evaluate their learning strategies, while also giving instructors the opportunity to better understand where the class is struggling. While these were also designed with flexibility, and can be used as needed, they’re most successfully used following exams and major assignments. According to Macmillan Learning Implementation Scientist Kelly Boden, this is because the questions are created for them to reflect on strategies and performance, these are most "fresh" in their mind after exams and projects. “Students commonly struggle with the self-awareness required to think about their own thinking that self-regulated learning requires. Being intentional about what they’d like to gain from a learning experience and how they’ll accomplish those goals can help students develop their metacognitive skills and succeed both in and out of class,” Boden said. Results of Goal Setting & Reflection Research To learn more about the impact of Goal-setting & Reflection Surveys, Macmillan Learning funded a series of research studies from fall 2019 through fall 2021. The studies represented 115 institutions, with 136 unique instructors, teaching 292 courses across eight different subject areas to 7,225 students. Various institution and course sizes as well as course formats were represented, including face-to-face, virtual synchronous and virtual asynchronous. The diverse student sample included 47% non-White or Asian, 22% who were first in their families to go to college, 65% who were eligible for financial aid, and 31% who had a high school GPA lower than 3.5. Overall, benefits to GRS include better academic performance, motivation, self-efficacy and engagement.  Students who completed two or more Goal-setting and Reflection Surveys performed significantly better in their courses than students who only completed one survey or didn’t complete any surveys. Assigning more than two surveys, including the introductory survey and at least one checkpoint survey, increased grades by an average of 3.4 - 8.4% compared to students who did not complete the surveys, depending on how many surveys were assigned.   Students self-reported higher self-efficacy and emotional engagement. Students who completed at least one checkpoint survey had significantly higher self-reported self-efficacy and academic engagement, particularly emotional engagement. Completing a checkpoint survey moved students closer to reporting being “very confident” in their ability to complete their coursework than those who didn’t, who were closer to “pretty confident”. Students who completed a checkpoint survey moved closer to “often” reporting being emotionally engaged in their course than those who didn’t, who were closer to "sometimes" being emotionally engaged.  Students participating in the research believed the GRS was a valuable tool. In fact, 75% of the students agreed or strongly agreed that the surveys helped them improve as a student during the course. Eighty percent agreed or strongly agreed that the surveys helped them to think about their goals and learning habits in and out of the classroom. “We all have experience with setting goals and then following up on those goals in our personal lives. We also see consistently in the educational literature that metacognitive practices impact learning. It’s been rewarding to see the literature come to life as we learn more about the impacts on learning outcomes from the GRS in practice,” said Guido Gatti, Sr. Quantitative Research Analyst. Gatti added that with just 15 minutes a month to reflect on study skills, study strategies and goals, the students can learn skills to help support their success. Given these findings, here are some best practices for instructors to incorporate the Goal-setting and Reflection Surveys into their instruction: Assign the Introductory Survey in the first few weeks of a semester Create at least one Checkpoint Survey (assigned right after an exam or project could be more impactful).  View insights and reports of student survey responses to get insights beyond just grades to help identify areas where students may be struggling.  Macmillan Learning takes our research seriously. Each study undertaken by our Learning Science & Insights Team is Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved. This particular research was reviewed by the Human resources Research Organization, an accredited third-party IRB with no affiliation to Macmillan Learning.  If you’d like more information about the study, click here to read the white paper or check out this previously recorded webinar featuring Mollie Anderson on the value of GRS. ... View more

In recognition of Cesar Chavez Day, Macmillan Learning’s Hispanic/Latin(a/o) employee resource group, VIVA@ML, shares what you should know about this American labor leader and civil rights activist.    Cesar Chavez (1927–1993) is best known today as an activist for workers rights and co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), now part of the United Farm Workers (UFW) labor union. He was born in Yuma, Arizona, to Mexican-American immigrants. His family lost their farm in the Great Depression, after which they became migrant farm workers, ending up in California. By the time Chavez finished eighth grade, his formal education was over; he began working in the fields alongside his parents. After a two-year stint in the Navy, Chavez returned to California and wed Helen Fabela in 1948, with whom he eventually had eight children. In the 1950s and 1960s, Chavez led boycotts, pickets, and strikes in California, fighting for better wages and working conditions for farm laborers. The most notable of these is the Delano Grape Strike, though it was actually started by the primarily Filipino Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). The strike lasted five years and ended after the NFWA boycott in 1965–1966, when Delano growers finally bargained with the NFWA. The AWOC and the NFWA then joined forces to form the UFW. In addition to peregrinaciones, or pilgrimages, to attract national attention, Chavez was known for his hunger strikes. Multiple 25-day fasts helped attract coverage of the Delano boycotts and unfair labor laws, and he even publicly broke one fast with President Kennedy attending as a guest of honor. His last public fast lasted 36 days and took place when he was 61 years old. Some of Chavez’s successes include starting the first credit union for farm workers, building affordable housing for displaced Filipino-American laborers, and opening health clinics, daycare centers, and job-training programs for UFW members. He also initiated a burial program and opened the Fred Ross Education Institute to train negotiators and union organizers. Chavez attracted controversy even among union members and staff for his strict adherence to nonviolent tactics. The FBI investigated him with concern that he had communist ties, and others said he was motivated by greed and personal gain and described him as a dictator. He was also criticized for his idealism and lack of patriotism. Still, “Chavistas,” his loyal supporters, described him as a humble leader and an effective speaker—even a saint. He was an early advocate of gay rights, spoke out against the Vietnam War, and supported immigration reform. Chavez died of natural causes at age 66 in 1993. After his death, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Clinton. In 2011, a U.S. Navy ship was named after Cesar Chavez. His grave site in Keene, California, is the location of the National Chavez Center, complete with a visitor center and memorial garden. Although not an official federal holiday, President Obama deemed March 31 “Cesar Chavez Day” in the United States, and it is observed in at least ten states. He has received numerous other accolades with parades held and monuments erected all over the country in his honor. Please check out the Cesar Chavez Foundation if you’d like to learn more.   Sources: https://chavezfoundation.org/ https://web.archive.org/web/20160207090606/http://www.ufw.org/_page.php?inc=history%2F07.html&menu=research https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/workers-united-the-delano-grape-strike-and-boycott.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20100330150812/http://www.colapublib.org/chavez/chronology.htm ... View more

“When I was a student,” said Dr. Loretta Jones, “during all four years of my undergraduate studies, there was only one female professor–and she was an adjunct professor.” Much has changed since Dr. Jones was a student, and she has played a significant role in that. Dr. Jones was one of the first female authors of a chemistry textbook, and is co-author of the newest edition of Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight.  Macmillan Learning recognizes that the success of our textbooks and courseware is in large part due to our outstanding authors, many of whom are pioneers and trailblazers in their fields. Our authors have remarkable careers that extend beyond higher education. They are excellent and innovative teachers, and they are impeccable writers and storytellers.  For this year’s Women’s History Month, Macmillan Learning is excited to feature Dr. Jones as part of its Author Spotlight series.    Dr. Loretta Jones, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, University of Northern ColoradoDr. Jones was always interested in science. As a young girl, she was highly curious; she wanted to know how flowers grow and why birds could fly. In middle school, she read a book about atoms and was introduced to the periodic table. “I remember being completely stunned by the incredible harmony underlying everything,” she recalled.  Her early love for the natural sciences convinced Dr. Jones that she wanted to become a physicist. “At the time, when I thought of pursuing a career in chemistry,” she said, “I thought all I would be doing was washing test tubes.” Dr. Jones’’s high school chemistry teacher completely changed her perspective. “My teacher hadn’t taught in a while and tried some new things in the classroom, so we performed some crazy experiments,” she said. “I found it all really interesting–and entertaining!”  At the time, Dr. Jones considered majoring in biology to explore further the natural world. However, because she wanted to be able to support herself and because her love for chemistry had grown, she decided to major in it when she enrolled at Loyola University.  After graduating from Loyola University, Dr. Jones continued her studies at the University of Chicago. It hadn’t crossed her mind to consider teaching as a career until she read the original writings of Italian physician Maria Montessori. “They were so inspiring,” Dr. Jones said. “Montessori wrote about designing an environment in which a child learns best, and I thought to myself ‘We should be doing something similar when teaching chemistry!’” Dr. Jones was also motivated to teach because of conversations she had with many people in her life who said to her things like “Why would you want to study chemistry? I failed chemistry; it’s so hard!” Dr. Jones wanted to prove that learning chemistry–albeit challenging–could be fun and rewarding. Before completing her graduate studies, Dr. Jones gained work experience at Argonne National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy science and engineering research center. “It was an interesting place to work,” Dr. Jones recalled. “We were doing a lot of work with coolants in breeder reactors, a type of nuclear reactor that uses large amounts of neutron energy. Dr. Jones then transitioned to work for her husband’s company as secretary and treasurer before returning to school to finish her graduate degree and carve out her own career path.  “My advisor at the University of Chicago told me about a program called Doctorate of Arts in Chemistry at the University of Illinois, a new program designed for people with specific interest in teaching chemistry,” Dr. Jones said. It was the early days of computing when Dr. Jones completed her graduate studies at the University of Illinois and it was difficult to program animations. “The university had computers that performed vector graphics to make interesting animations, something not available even in Hollywood, so Hollywood had to come to the university,” she said. “I was in the room when they were working on animations for the original Star Wars movies–scenes for getting into the Death Star and animations for its flight path.”  Her exposure to early computing encouraged Dr. Jones to think further about how to improve the teaching of chemistry. “Lectures are boring,” she said. “I loved anything that brought pictures of atoms and molecules to the minds of students. They could solve all of the equations, but they didn’t really understand what that meant in terms of atoms and molecules, and that’s where all the excitement takes place.”  After completing her Ph.D. and D.A. at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Dr. Jones had a great opportunity to teach using multimedia at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. There she met Stan Smith, an organic chemist who was really pushing the envelope of what could be done with a computer in his classroom teaching. “I was amazed by his lessons and by his grasp of how his students thought,” Dr. Jones said. She and Dr. Smith started working together to incorporate interactive, multimedia video in their teaching. “This was the early days,” Dr. Jones said. “We needed to have a computer with the lesson on it and a TV set hooked to a videotape player. The computer would ask students a question–something along the lines of which two chemicals they wanted to mix together–and then they would see a video of that reaction occurring.”  With quickly advancing technology, Dr. Jones and her colleagues were then able to lessen the number of devices needed for their multimedia teaching. “IBM visited our campus with their newly developed InfoWindow, which could play the video on the same screen as the computer,” Dr. Jones said. “We received a few of their computers, which also had touchscreens, so students could more easily choose the chemicals they wanted to mix.” IBM also asked Dr. Jones to become a consulting scholar, full-time for one year and part-time for another five years. She was part of a class of twelve that eventually grew to 22, who visited campuses to talk to faculty members about using technology in their teaching.  While serving as a consulting scholar for IBM, Dr. Jones presented her multimedia lessons at conferences, including EduCom where she had a brief encounter with Steve Jobs. “Jobs had recently left Apple and started his company, NeXT Computer,” Dr. Jones said, “which was a classy looking product, but only displayed in black and white.” IBM asked Dr. Jones if they could invite Jobs over to see her presentation of using multimedia in her chemistry lessons. They brought him over, and Dr. Jones went through her lesson, demonstrating how students could use the computer interactively. At the end of her lesson demonstration, she expected Jobs to ask a question about the video or the lesson. “Instead,” she recalled, “he just stood there silently the whole time and at the very end said only: ‘Tell me about this touch screen.’”  The touchscreen computer may have been the biggest takeaway for Steve Jobs, but it’s Dr. Jones’s innovative lessons that had the greatest impact on her students. “Teaching was always such a priority for me,” she said. “So much so that my main research area was the teaching of chemistry.” When a position opened up at the University of Northern Colorado, Dr. Jones applied and moved to Colorado once she got the job. It was the perfect opportunity for someone with that area of interest.  Specializing in teaching and pedagogy also uniquely positioned Dr. Jones as an ideal candidate to author a chemistry textbook. She was first approached by an editor from W. H. Freeman in 1995 with the request to edit a few chapters from the second edition of Chemistry: Molecules, Matter, and Change. “It felt like they were holding auditions,” Dr. Jones joked. “I thought to myself: ‘There’s no way I could possibly have time in my life for a textbook project.’” Nevertheless, the editor was persistent in her requests. She invited Dr. Jones to dinner and left her with the three chapters, which Dr. Jones remembers leaving lying untouched on her dining room table for nearly one month.  “The editor gave me a call and told me that she needed something from me soon,” Dr. Jones said. “I realized that if I didn’t send her anything, I might never have the opportunity–and I could still say ‘no’.” Dr. Jones sent in edits for half of one chapter and will never forget her editor’s excitement. Dr. Jones was invited to New York, where she had her first working meeting with Peter Atkins, her future co-author and long-term colleague.  More than 25 years later, Peter and Dr. Jones are still working together on another title, the eighth edition of Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight. Together with co-author Leroy Laverman, they’ve now grown their author team to five, bringing on both James Patterson and Kelley Young, who will be featured in a future Author Spotlight. “Kelley and James introduced some interesting new applications,” Dr. Jones said. “We’ve also completely revised how we deal with some of the bonding topics in this new edition.” Like the seventh edition, the eighth edition also has an improved structure, which features focuses and topics rather than chapters.  Dr. Jones is now retired from teaching, but the textbook project continues to keep her busy. When she’s not writing, she loves to read and to hike. She moved to Michigan after she retired to be closer to her daughter. “There are so many great places to hike in Michigan,” Dr. Jones said, “and there are lakes everywhere.”  Loretta L. Jones is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of Northern Colorado. She taught general chemistry there for 16 years and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for 13 years. She earned a BS in honors chemistry from Loyola University, an MS in organic chemistry from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry as well as a D.A. in chemical education from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her physical chemistry research used electron paramagnetic resonance to investigate motion in liquids. Her chemical education research focuses on helping students to understand the molecular basis of chemistry through visualization. In 2001, she chaired the Gordon Research Conference on Visualization in Science and Education. In 2006 she chaired the Chemical Education Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS). She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the coauthor of award-winning multimedia courseware. In 2012 she received the ACS Award for Achievement in Research in the Teaching and Learning of Chemistry. ... View more

By habit, I woke up early on March 21st ready to start my morning routine from my bed to the bathroom and then to my home office to start work. As I sat up, I realized that today was a company-recognized holiday and my morning ritual was to be suspended for one more day. But this holiday morning was different from the others.  On the 4th of July mornings, I’m thinking about my invite list for an intimate cookout at home with friends. On the morning of December 25th, these days at least, I’m grateful to have all of my adult kids home for a holiday filled with gift-giving, sweet potato pie, and nostalgic laughter.  This holiday morning was different. As an odd silence passed over me in my bed, I realized that this was a day of remembrance, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. On March 21st, as had been done internationally since 1966, the world was called to recognize and remember the 1960 massacre in Sharpeville, South Africa, where 69 Black South Africans were killed and 180 were injured by a racially charged police force as they peacefully protested against the apartheid pass laws.  Pass laws were an internal passport system that the Afrikaner government used during apartheid to segregate the population along racial and economic lines. Pass laws severely limited the movements of black African citizens, and other people as well by restricting them to designated areas.  Sitting there in my bed, I thought about the segregation that my mother and my grandparents had escaped in the American south just five years prior to the Sharpeville massacre. I thought about how much courage it takes to stand in defiance of a racist régime, knowing that your life is in imminent danger the moment you choose to stand in principle in the light of justice.  My grandparents chose to save every nickel, dime and quarter they had in jars over the course of two years, pick a spot on the map in a northern state, and escape the flaming horror of the south by night in 1955 with their then four children and all they could pack into a borrowed Buick.  I thought about the real choice that Black people had during that time, whether you lived in Beauford, North Carolina like my mother and grandparents or Sharpeville, South Africa, the courage to stay and fight and the courage to escape to in search of a better life elsewhere were both heartbreaking alternatives to the idea of a system of government and a society at large deciding by its own moral conscience to accept you as an valued human being with the equal rights of a full citizen. I realized that the choice to stand up peacefully and resist apartheid in racist South Africa and the choice to flee Jim Crow in the racist American South was really not a choice at all, as much as it was an ultimatum presented by authorities who felt compelled to stratify Blacks at the very bottom of a constructed social order that refused to recognize their humanity and right to life under the protection of freedom and justice. I realized that morning that racism, at its core, is not really about casting feelings of shame. It’s not merely about microaggressions, and minor indignations in office places and in social settings. Racism is a disease resident in power structures and systems of authority that is used as justification to eliminate the rights of a people and subjugate them in the pursuit of social, political and economic dominance. And in the middle of that dynamic, power and dominance is enforced with a constant campaign of fear, intimidation, and violence towards people whose backs are constantly against a burning wall. I sat up in my bed that morning on March 21st , after all of this reflection and deep realization, and could hear my two sons moving about in the hallway outside of my room. Neither of them was given time off to observe the holiday, as one was fumbling through the kitchen to pack his lunch for school and the oldest was  scrambling to get dressed for work.  I realized that they had both grown up in a world where racism, although banished from the written laws of the free world, does still rear its ugly head in an attempt to threaten their young and hopeful lives as they navigate the fragile social environment of our country and our world. I am hopeful that each day, on March 21st, as we observe the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we can recognize that we must all fight to eliminate the bigotry, racism, and discrimination that exists in our institutions and in our communities so that no one will have to endure the ultimatum to either stand in resistance to, or flee in terror of, racist authorities that threatens to divide our society and a world ailing from the legacy of division and strife.    ... View more

In Celebration of International Women’s Day, Macmillan Learning’s co-leads from our WOMEN@ML Employee Resource Group, Susan McLaughlin (Executive Development Manager, Humanities) and Heather Halter Kimball (Digital Solutions Team Lead), share their thoughts about the digital gender gap.   Did you know?  Thirty-seven percent of women worldwide do not use the Internet 259 million fewer women have access to the Internet than men, even though they account for nearly half the world's population A global analysis of 133 AI systems across industries found that 44.2% demonstrate gender bias A survey of women journalists from 125 countries found that 73% had suffered online violence in the course of their work For International Women’s Day 2023, the United Nations is recognizing and celebrating women and girls “who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education.” The theme “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality” focuses on “the impact of the digital gender gap on widening economic and social inequalities,” while shining a light on the importance of protecting the rights of women and girls in digital spaces, and addressing online and information and communications technology (ICT) gender-based violence. Now, more than ever before, women depend on technology to communicate with family and friends, to work, learn, shop, make a doctor’s appointment, pay a bill, buy a train ticket, and so much more. If women can’t access the Internet or don’t feel safe online, they can’t develop the necessary skills to engage in digital spaces. This affects all aspects of their lives, especially educational and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. According to the UN, 75% of jobs will be related to STEM areas by 2050, highlighting the need to bring women into technology as a major priority. This will result in creative solutions and innovations that meet women’s needs and promote gender equality.  The UN reports that the gender gap in digital access keeps women from unlocking their potential as well as technology’s potential. Underrepresentation of women in STEM education and careers continues to be a major barrier to participation in tech design and governance. Additionally, the threat of online gender-based violence without legal protection can force women out of the digital spaces they do occupy.   The good news is that technology is providing opportunities for the empowerment of women and girls worldwide. From “gender-responsive digital learning to tech-facilitated sexual and reproductive healthcare, the digital age represents an unprecedented opportunity to eliminate all forms of disparity and inequality,” according to the UN. It’s a topic that’s important to WOMEN@ML, Macmillan Learning’s employee resource group for women, as their mission includes offering educational and volunteer opportunities for all women at the company and their allies to help them determine and reach their personal and professional goals. On International Women’s Day, the UN is calling on governments, activists and the private sector to “power on” in their efforts to make the digital world safer, more inclusive and more equitable.    ... View more

Technology is an essential part of our lives today. This is as true for us as an educational technology and publishing company as it is for the students who are using our tools to learn. And it’s just as true at work or college as it is at home, where the need to push a few buttons to get your electronics up and running has been replaced with the need to connect your crockpot to the WiFi, or program your phone to talk to the washer and dryer. It’s no longer enough to know what buttons to push -- now you need to know why you pushed them and what happens when you do … and even how to create new buttons that correspond to the latest discovery.  It can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Today’s technology offers access to a set of experiences not available to prior generations. It spurs innovation, offering us new ways to think and learn. And just as students need to continue learning, so must the people who develop the technology. That’s one reason we developed Macmillan Learning’s “Technology Education Program” (TEP).  We use this program to help upskill our employees in specific areas, building on what they know or what they can imagine. But upskilling isn’t necessarily limited to technology. About Upskilling Upskilling is the process of learning new skills to enhance and expand your current knowledge and abilities, and it's one of the most important activities you can do for your career. Many confuse it with “cross skills training”, believing upskilling is about getting a different job or advancing in a current career path. But it’s so much more than that. Learning a new skill can help prepare you for a next level (or even side step) in your career. We’re even seeing technology and technical skills beginning to trump experience. Upskilling is good for both employee and employer, helping bridge the skills gap and enable individuals to create new opportunities for themselves and their organizations. While upskilling is often associated with the technology industry, or technology specific roles, it is applicable to just about anyone interested in expanding their opportunities.  The demand for highly skilled people continues to grow and, in some industries, is growing exponentially in terms of both the number of workers that will be needed and the skills those workers will need. Further, the line between the expectations of a programmer and an office worker, accountant or media director is becoming blurred and, in some cases, even broken. In the past, our world was about your ability to work within it. Today, it is more about creating new realities and helping yourself or your organization to reach desired outcomes faster and more effectively. At the heart of upskilling, you are building new ways that you can participate, developing new forms of communication and forming new pathways to problem-solve across the business. By broadening your knowledge and skill set, you become more versatile and adaptable, which makes you a more valuable contributor to your team and organization.  Upskilling at Macmillan Learning Macmillan Learning and innovative companies like ours progress and evolve over time. In doing so, new challenges emerge that must be addressed by the people that show up every day to do their job. Because the industry is constantly changing to support new technologies, new market challenges, and new opportunities, employees want to be prepared to adapt. And, in many cases, that means learning new skills.  That’s one reason why our TEP works so well. It’s one of many examples of upskilling taking place at the company, and one that I’m particularly proud of since I partnered with teams across the company to develop it. We can gently introduce individuals to software development concepts, which can improve problem-solving and critical thinking skills. At Macmillan Learning, we have seen team members move from non-technical departments to roles where technology skills are leveraged for data science, operations, software development, and PMO.  The TEP was created jointly with HR, Learning & Development, and technology teams to help raise the collective “digital” tide of all roles at Macmillan Learning. It is a derivative of a 2018 program inside the technology group to expand the AWS cloud technologies experience for our application engineering team. This program, in partnership with AWS, awarded over 100 AWS certifications. From the learnings of those two programs, the TEP was developed to allow others outside of technology, to not only learn new skills but also to be part of a growing community of technologist that leverage AWS, Google Workspace, and software development to improve workflows and develop new value in the support of students and instructors.  I’ve witnessed the benefits of upskilling within Macmillan Learning, and believe it has the potential to generate so much opportunity. With Tech Bootcamps, Tech Talks, and Hackathons, it’s not the tech team's first take at upskilling and it won’t (nor should it) be our last. The Opportunities Ahead I asked a colleague of mine who knows me well to give insight into how they believe skills building and education has enabled me in my career. David always strived for self-improvement. He sought knowledge from a variety of fields, constantly expanding his perspective. Through connecting dots between different subjects, David's thinking became more creative and holistic. He found innovative solutions to work problems and rose through the ranks at his company. David's cross-domain thinking didn't stop there. He applied it to his personal life, improving relationships and overall well-being. He embraced a lifelong learning mindset and encouraged others to do the same. David's success and wisdom inspires many. He is living proof that expanding one's perspective can lead to great things. –Chat Generative Pre-trained Transform, 2023 While using ChatGPT to write part of my blog may be a bit unusual, my goal was to highlight a point about AI systems. The more information, the more perspectives and the more skills they have, the more human-like they become. For you, already human-like, upskilling is your vehicle to building choices and opportunities for the future story of your life and career. Upskilling ensures you are able to keep pace with your dreams and aspirations. Not everyone has the same kind of exposure to technology. There’s a systemic problem in both K12 and universities, where having access to the best technology is not universal. Technology is often seen as the great equalizer, but that is only true when everyone has an opportunity to access and use it. Upskilling programs can help close the digital divide by helping to develop skills and confidence in using technology. This not only enhances their own job prospects and advancement opportunities, but also allows them to bring new ideas and perspectives to the table. By providing opportunities like the The Technology Education Program (TEP) we are empowering employees to succeed in their careers, regardless of their background. ... View more

Picture a university college campus. Are you imagining majestic buildings standing tall, perhaps of Gothic architecture? How about the intricate stone carvings and pointed arches exuding academic excellence and tradition? What about the steep steps that take you inside that building? Those stairs are a key architectural feature and they are everywhere on college campuses. They’re also, both literally and symbolically, a barrier for many college students. We spoke with Macmillan Learning Author Dr. Jay Dolmage to discuss this and more as part of our ongoing Author Spotlight series. We recognize that the success of our content and courseware is in large part due to our outstanding authors, many of whom have years of experience in research and higher education. The series explores each author’s educational background, teaching interests, and the life experiences that impact their writing and teaching. A co-author of How to Write Anything 5e with John Ruszkiewicz, Dr. Dolmage is Professor of English at University of Waterloo.  He has a passion for both writing and teaching (and in particular, teaching writing to first-year students.) And there’s a special reason he’s so passionate -- he wants to change the way we think about education. Dr. Dolmage argues that education is not always inclusive, and therefore for far too many people, not receiving the best education is an unfortunate reality.   Early Influences “Can I teach more?…” “Can I teach writing more?…” Those were the questions Dr. Dolmage asked himself as he made decisions about his career path. And the answer each time was “Yes.” He taught his first writing course about 20 years ago to incoming freshmen -- something that quickly became his favorite thing to do. He’s passionate about continuing to teach writing to new students year after year because of the oversized impact he believes it has.  It made an impact on him. Dr. Dolmage went from a small town to a large university -- an experience that he said helps him relate to his students. “I like that I can connect with students in their first year, and that I'm a professor who knows their names, and can help them learn one another's names.” He believes that the skills he teaches his students in first-year writing will not only provide them with the confidence to succeed, but will act as the critical building blocks that they’ll use for the remainder of their college experience.  His small town upbringing isn’t the only aspect of his youth to have had an impact on him. When Dr. Dolmage thinks of the things that prepared him for becoming a top teacher and prolific author, being a camp counselor is one of the surprising things that comes to mind. He also credits his parents, who were both “teachers.” While his dad was a high school physical education teacher, his mom was a social worker by trade. “You might not think of a social worker as being a teacher, but in fact, I really think she is, and continues to be, a powerful teacher.” Teaching wasn’t his first dream. Writing was. “I really wanted to be a writer, and I loved writing. I loved the challenge of it; the feeling of creativity..” It was that very experience and struggle that made him want to pursue writing, a desire that followed him throughout his undergraduate degree into his master's degree where he was thrown into teaching writing. “I was excited about it, but I didn't know what it was going to look like.” He ultimately discovered that teaching was a fantastic way to support his goal of being a writer.  Education is Worth Fighting For “You don't realize the cost of exclusion in education unless you've lived through it.” Dr. Dolmage knows all about that cost, because he’s seen the impact firsthand as the sibling of a brother with disabilities. It’s just one of the many reasons why he’s so passionate about supporting inclusivity in education. As an individual with disabilities, Dr. Dolmage’s older brother, Matthew, was not allowed to go to the same school as him and his sister. In a practice known as "segregation," children with disabilities were sent to schools with “specialized education.”  He and his family fought to have his brother attend the same school all the way up to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Ontario, in Canada. When that didn’t go as they hoped, they switched neighborhoods and schools. After that move, Dr. Dolmage and his brother started going to school together and everything changed. The world opened up to his brother, who was finally included in the same activities and classes as him, and was welcomed into the neighborhood. It was then that Dr. Dolmage realized the power of inclusion and the impact it could have on someone's life. It emphasized for him that education is not something he would ever take for granted and it inspired him to help others in the same way. “There always was an understanding that education was something worth fighting for. And that has been the thing that motivates my research and scholarship, and also my teaching. It's one of those things where you don't realize the cost unless you've lived through that kind of exclusion.” He added that it’s an unfortunate reality for lots of people, which is why he continues fighting for more inclusive education. In his career, he has worked to buck the ableist attitudes, policies, and practices that he feels are currently built into higher education. Or as he refers to them -- the “steep steps.” The Steep Steps Remember those steep steps? Now imagine, if just for a day, you decided you weren't going to go up any stairs, but you'd only use elevators. You'd only use doors that had push-button entrances, or other accessible features on your campus. The steep steps make it nearly impossible for some students to access various areas of the buildings. Even when there is an accessible entrance, it may be located in a less convenient or less prominent location. That doesn’t even include considerations of the uneven terrain, bumpy sidewalks, narrow doors and steep ramps, which also make the campus difficult to navigate. More than just an inconvenience, having to locate accessible features of a campus could add about an hour each day -- time that could be used in class, or to study, work, or spend time with family and friends. The steep steps are a powerful metaphor for the barriers that some students face. “They are physical features on campus that we keep reproducing. We associate them with upward mobility and say things like ‘pull yourself up by the bootstraps’ and ‘step up.’” The steep steps determine who has access to privilege and knowledge, he added. “If we see it physically, then we can understand that it happens in other ways. It happens across the curriculum. It happens in the ways that we teach. There are so many barriers just built in because it's the way that we've always done things.” He added, “The messages that are conveyed to disabled students that their access is at the back door and at the end of the syllabus are also forms of ableism.” Dr. Dolmage believes those steep steps represent a key reason why colleges lose so many disabled students. “The graduation rates are much, much lower. The amount of time it takes students to get a degree is much, much higher. The retention rates are really poor.” The cost of the steep steps is that colleges are losing a lot of students.  Dr. Dolmage believes that the writing classroom can be a powerful place to change that dynamic. There, he said, we get to see a diverse group of students early in their college experience; bringing us full circle to explain why teaching first-year students in the fall semester is his favorite thing to do. “Since writing is a required class, there’s a good cross-section of the students who are coming into the university. We get to deliver our courses differently. That’s the reason why I like teaching in the first term.”  It’s a dynamic that wasn’t present during Dr. Dolmage’s schooling.  The Version of History We Choose When Dr. Dolmage was in grad school, he noticed the absence of disability and persons with disabilities in the courses he took. That didn’t track with his own experiences. “I was learning all of these things as part of my grad program, these kinds of histories and theories of rhetoric, and disability was nowhere to be seen.” This was a version of history that he didn’t believe or trust. He likens it to professors he had who had seen a version of the history of rhetoric that only included white men and knew there was more to the story. Just like those who saw the injustice set out to tell the fuller story, so did he -- but with a disability angle. “We've chosen a version of history here where we've cut out all of the rich evidence of the power of disabled people and rhetoricians, and we could have told it differently. And so we did.” This experience has ultimately helped Dr. Dolmage’s role as a teacher and as a writer. He wanted to ensure that all students, regardless of ability, have the chance to learn, develop, and thrive in an inclusive environment. He wanted to challenge the version of history that excluded people with disabilities and to show the power of disabled people and rhetoricians.  His first book, Disability Rhetoric, was the first of many titles about academic ableism that Dr. Dolmage would write. In the following years, he continued writing with titles that included: Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education (Michigan University Press), Disabled Upon Arrival: Eugenics, Immigration, and the Construction of Race and Disability (Ohio State University Press), How to Write Anything (Bedford/St. Martin’s) and Disability and the Teaching of Writing (Bedford/St. Martin’s). Even with the focus on inclusivity, Dr. Dolmage recognizes that not all students want to be in class. To counter that, he seeks out creative and inventive ways to support students who have different levels of preparedness with the goal of using the 16 weeks an instructor has with them to change their mind, and help them feel connected to each other and their instructor. He focuses on classroom collaboration, helping students build confidence, and safely try new things and get out of their comfort zone. He noted that writing books is a test of flexibility and inclusion. How to Write Anything, he said, can sound disingenuous, “as if we could teach people how to write anything.” But it’s not about teaching every single form of writing that a student will ever need. Rather, it’s teaching a student that no matter what gets thrown at them, they can figure it out because they have learned the basics and built in flexibility and confidence. Building those skills are what he thinks about every time he sets down to write. He knows that students from all walks of life, taking a variety of different programs, will be using his text. “How can I support those students .... whoever walks in the room? Any kind of student, no matter where they're from, what they want to do, what zip code they live in, what background they're from, whether or not they're working a full time job in addition to being a student. Because those are the realities, aren't they?” ... View more

Last year, Macmillan Learning and instructors from 13 colleges that primarily serve Black, Latin, and Indigenous students set out to learn more about the impact of evidence-based teaching practices. These are practices that are shown to be effective and help to meaningfully improve student outcomes; many also support student motivation and engagement as well as increase accountability and perseverance. As part of that journey to learn more, Macmillan Learning partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and instructors from institutions with an all too often marginalized student population. While there’s no shortage of research that demonstrates evidence-based teaching practices support students’ deeper learning of concepts and better development of problem-solving skills, there's still a lot more to learn, particularly to learn how to best use educational technology and courseware to support the most impactful implementation of evidence-based teaching practices..  “The research that we’re undertaking will help us better understand which practices are the most effective, how instructors are actually using them with the support of digital courseware, and the impact of those actions on the outcomes of marginalized students,” said Marcy Baughman, Executive Director of Learning Science & Insights. “There’s always room for new ideas and opportunities to do more, and we plan to use what we learn to develop even better solutions.” Baughman added, “We know that student success depends on what happens both in and out of the classroom, and we believe evidence-based teaching practices can make a difference. These practices can help students be better prepared for class, provide more opportunities to interact with course materials and to work on class assignments, and get better feedback from their instructors to prepare themselves for assessments. All of these activities contribute to student success. If courseware can help create opportunities to create an equal playing field for all students and improve student outcomes, we want to learn how.” About the Research Instructors from two- and four-year colleges were part of a study to learn whether (and how) a courseware platform such as Achieve can help to close equity gaps in course completion for historically and presently underserved students. The research, which was conducted by Macmillan Learning in partnership with instructors from 13 colleges, aimed to learn more about the impact of four evidence-based teaching practices through observation, a range of student surveys, weekly check-ins, implementation logs, use of specific tools within digital courseware, and an analysis of student course performance. The four practices include:  Outcome-driven instruction: The study measured the impact of tools within Achieve -- such as goal-setting and reflection surveys, learning objectives, and insights and reports -- on student success. Formative assessment with feedback: The study measured how use of formative assessments like mid-stakes testing, homework with adaptive quizzing (offering hints and targeted feedback) and interactive and low-stakes homework where students are given feedback, video hints, and opportunities to troubleshoot impacts student success. Active learning: The study measured how using iClicker (for attendance, polling, and/or in-class participation), Instructor Activity Guides, and other tactics impact student success. Metacognition: The study reviewed how activities that enhance metacognition and reinforce critical thinking skills -- like assignments that prompt explanations, opportunities to set and reflect on goals, and self assessment/confidence ratings with iClicker -- impact student success. “These best practices teach students soft skills like goal-setting, time management, and metacognition. We plan to quantify the impact of each of the four practices and learn more about the role Achieve and other courseware like it can play,” Baughman said. Introduction to Psychology and Sociology courses were selected for research because they are considered “gateway courses” -- foundational, credit-bearing, lower-division courses that act as gatekeepers to degree completion. Research for Introduction to Psychology will be done using Macmillan Learning’s digital learning platform Achieve featuring the best-selling Achieve for Psychology in Everyday Life, 6e, written by David G. Myers and Nathan C. DeWall. Research for the Introduction to Sociology courses will be done using Achieve for OpenStax Sociology, 3e.  Achieve was developed using learning science and in partnership with students and instructors. One of the key goals of the platform is to support students of all levels of readiness and to engage them in and out of class to improve their outcomes. Forthcoming opportunities to participate  Instructors teaching Psychology or Sociology at colleges that primarily serve Black, Latino and Indigenous students are encouraged to apply to participate in forthcoming studies. Research in the 2023 Spring semester will focus on students' sense of belonging and metacognition. The research seeks to understand the impact of using resources embedded within a digital courseware platform to improve students’ sense of belonging and metacognition skills alongside their relation to other outcomes of student success, like course retention, content knowledge and exam scores. Participation in either of these studies provides educators and their students an opportunity to contribute to the emerging research literature on the use of digital courseware to improve equity for traditionally underserved populations. Each instructor will receive a summary of research findings from their classes as well as the opportunity to be acknowledged for their contribution to the research.  Participating in the research also benefits students. In addition to receiving several gift cards, students that participate will have free access to their online courseware. Analysis of the research, which took place during the Fall 2022 semester and had more than 1,000 students opt-in, is currently underway by the company’s Learning Science & Insights team. Once completed, Macmillan Learning will make its findings publicly available and create an implementation guide with examples of evidence-based practices that can be used by any organization developing digital learning systems or other educational technology.  This spring, Macmillan is researching students’ sense of belonging and metacognition. This study, also done in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, seeks to understand the impact of using resources embedded within a digital courseware platform to improve students’ sense of belonging and metacognition skills. The study will also examine whether improved sense of belonging and metacognition skills are related to other student outcomes such as course retention, content knowledge and exam scores. Instructors interested in participating in upcoming semesters for the evidence-based teaching practice or sense of belonging research can get additional details and learn how to apply here.   ... View more

Whether you’re a seasoned instructor or it’s your first time teaching, connecting with students can pose a significant challenge. Maybe it’s been years (or even decades) since you were a student yourself. You may feel disconnected from the current generation of students and struggle to find ways to build rapport with them. On the other hand, you could be a new instructor with the opposite problem: worrying that you need to keep some distance from your students to maintain classroom authority. When I first started teaching, I certainly struggled with the latter of those two scenarios. I learned quickly that building meaningful connections with my students not only helped my students succeed, but it also made me a better instructor. Through conversations with more experienced colleagues, I learned that connecting with my students would mean more than just focusing on the start of the semester; it would require consistent effort. Often students think of instructors as gatekeepers of their grades, not people with whom they can partner to achieve their own learning goals. However, this shift from being perceived as a gatekeeper to a partner can have a lasting impact. A handful of my own instructors understood the importance of building and maintaining connections with their students. Those are the courses–and instructors–that I remember most fondly. Those are also the experiences that I sought to replicate with my own teaching. Building rapport with students fosters engagement in course content among students and it shows them that they are valued. It also provides instructors with insights for improving their students’ success. Here are 10 steps to building meaningful connections with students not only on day one of class but also throughout the semester. Connecting With Students at the Beginning of a New Term 1. Introduce yourself (honestly). Remember that feeling of running into one of your elementary school teachers outside of school—at the grocery store, in the park, or at the movies—and being stunned to find out that they were a real person outside of the classroom? While high school and college students have no doubt that you’re a real person, that same sense of disconnection can still exist. Let your students know who you are as an instructor, but also as a person. You could also share with your students an anecdote about when you took a similar class to the one they’re now in. Showing your students that you’re a real person may make them realize that they share similar interests. Possibly, they’ll even look at your experiences as a student in their shoes as inspiration to aspire to become an instructor like you someday. 2. Break the ice. It’s safe to say that there can be a lot of nerves on that first day. There certainly were for me as a first-time instructor, and there were for my students as well. An icebreaker is a great way to ease the tension and encourage participation and there are endless possibilities for icebreaker activities. You can keep it related to course content, such as asking students to think about previous knowledge they’ve gained in past courses, or you can ask students questions that are unrelated, such as sharing a fun fact about themselves or their favorite part of their summer or winter break. Get several sample icebreaker activities to use with iClicker. 3. Make yourself available (within reason). It’s important that your students know that you are a resource both during and outside of class. Arrive to class early or stay a little late, plan to hold regular office hours, either in-person or virtually, and set clear boundaries. For example, let your students know that you check your email between certain hours during the day, and if they reach out late in the evening, you may not respond until the next morning. Connecting With Students at Mid Term 4. Create assignments and activities that let students draw on their experiences. As the term progresses, you may find that you’ll need to find new ways to capture and maintain your students’ attention. This is a good time to remind them of the applications of what they are learning in the world outside of the classroom. Ask your students to think about examples of class concepts in their daily lives. 5. Ask students about their goals for the course and follow up with them. Students appreciate regular updates on their progress and performance in class. In a large course, this can be a difficult task for an instructor, but Achieve’s Goal-setting and Reflection Surveys help make this a little easier. Students can establish their own goals and reflect on their progress throughout the term. They can share with you how they feel about their performance, which can offer a good opportunity to check in with them. 6. Use iClicker to facilitate active learning. You can use iClicker to create quizzes and polls that students can respond to during class. What are your students’ muddiest points? Find out with a poll before or during class. How confident are students in their knowledge of the day’s topic? There’s an exit poll for that. Do students truly understand the material? Create a team-based learning activity where students can work in small groups to answer questions. There’s an endless amount of ways to engage and connect with students. 7. Let your students know you’re there for them. Everyone faces unique challenges both in and out of the classroom. You can play an important role in supporting students who are facing challenges by creating a supportive learning environment, being flexible and understanding, and connecting students with resources. Be sure to emphasize the importance of asking for help and let them know when you’re available to them outside of class and how to best get in touch with you. These simple steps will show your students that you’re committed to supporting them and to their success. Connecting With Students at the End of Term 8. Show them you’ve been listening. Your students have learned a lot this term, and so have you. Put what you’ve learned about your students to use as you prepare for the final exam or assignment. At this point in the term, you should be able to recognize your students’ strengths and weaknesses, and you can adjust your teaching during the last few class periods to focus on those weaknesses. 9. Talk to them about campus resources. At the beginning of the term, you committed to making yourself available to your students; but as more and more students need your help prepping for the end of the semester, you might realize you can’t accommodate everyone. The end of term means exams, final papers, and extracurricular commitments, which can be stressful. Make your students aware of the many additional resources your school offers, such as the writing center or tutoring. 10. Consider using the last class for review and discussion. One of the last things I wanted as a student was for my instructor to introduce new material during the penultimate or last class period. My peers and I always appreciated when an instructor would use the final class as an opportunity for students to ask anything they want about class material. If you do need to use every class to finish teaching all of the material on the syllabus, then consider offering an additional review session. Connecting with your students isn’t easy, but it is rewarding–for both you and your students. And, it’s important to build and foster connections throughout the entire term, not only at the beginning. Do you have other steps that you use as an instructor to build and maintain connections with your students? We would like to learn from you! ... View more

A Bainbridge Island Story, 1942-2022 Bainbridge Island lies ten miles across Elliott Bay from downtown Seattle, accessed by ferry from Colman Dock at the Seattle Ferry Terminal. On a March morning last year, my wife (Kimberly), her close friend (Carina), and I boarded the Tacoma for the short ride, taking in the scenery from its foredeck. We were visiting Bainbridge Island at the invitation of Dave Myers, best-selling textbook author of Psychology and Psychology for the AP Course among several others, as well as books for the general public; his most recent, How We Know Ourselves, having been published last year. For the three travelers, two life-long friends with me tagging along, it was an opportunity to spend a few days on the coastal waters of Puget Sound away from our daily obligations. The invitation to the island from Dave and his wife, Carol, came with one request: Please visit the Japanese American internment memorial on Bainbridge Island.  Formally known as the Japanese American Exclusion Memorial and built on the land where the first internees were taken from their homes, the site preserves the memory of the tragic period in our nation’s history when Japanese immigrants and American citizens of Japanese descent were ordered and removed from their land, their homes, their communities, and their livelihoods and crudely transported to internment camps hundreds of miles away. Issued on February 19, 1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Executive Order 9066 authorized the forced removal of all persons on the West Coast deemed a threat to national security to “relocation centers” in remote areas in six western states and Arkansas. The order resulted in the incarceration of 122,000 Japanese Americans, nearly two-thirds of whom were American citizens. The first removal, enforced by Civilian Exclusion Order #1, began with Japanese Americans living on Bainbridge Island.    The memorial is located on a budding landscape on the south end of Eagle Harbor, the cityscape of Seattle not far from view. On this March day the skies are clear and the temperatures a bit brisk as we make our way down the path: its first marker the sinking but orienting words: “Nidoto Nai Yoni” (Let it Not Happen Again). Designed as a “story wall,” and built out of old-growth red cedar, the memorial weaves into the natural landscape, guiding its visitors through wooded acreage recounting the experience of Japanese American families forced from their homes on Bainbridge Island for the duration of World War II. Remarkably, after four long years of internment, most of them would return to reclaim their land and practice the trades that they had hastily handed over to fellow residents under a community promise that their houses, farms, and property would once again be their own. This promise by their fellow residents rejected their government’s racist and xenophobic judgment that if any Japanese American may be a threat then all must be deemed worthy of relocation and imprisonment.  Placards line the exhibit, simply yet artfully designed, each one devoted to an individual or family removed from the island. Each person’s name is paired with their age at time of their forced relocation and recognizes the intergenerational impact on those taken from their homes: Hayano Moritani, 54; Nobuichi Moritani, 27; Tatsukichi Moritani, 24; Shigeru Moritani, 20… Otokichi Nagatani, 61; Kiwa Nagatani, 46; Ichiro Nagatani, 25; Kimiko Nagatani, 23; Kiyotaka Nagatani, 21; Miyoko Nagatani, 15. The placards appear to have no end, broken only by friezes etched into native wood depicting scenes of the families being herded away, children in the arms of their parents, the images ornamented by strings of origami left behind by visitors before us. Pinkish-red leaves of spring accent native growth of mahonia, salal, and shore pine bordering the walkway, steps from where two hundred and seventy-six residents of Bainbridge Island were shuttled to the Eagledale Ferry Landing over the course of the morning on March 30, 1942, federal troops at guard, rifles fixed with bayonets.  Nearly three thousand miles east, the grounds of Hyde Park in the Hudson Valley of New York are a long way from Bainbridge Island but a short drive from my home; stunning and beautiful, they overlook the Hudson River as it winds its way north of West Point. It is now autumn and my parents, Richard and Susan, are visiting. Both of them earned their graduate degrees in political science (inspiring their son to do the same many years later) and each remains a student of history. We are visiting Hyde Park to take in Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Presidential Library and Museum located on his family’s expansive estate. It's easy to find parallels in the beauty of the grounds at Hyde Park to what I remember from walking the coast of Bainbridge Island, but I’m on the lookout for something less panoramic: how the inspiration to bear record to one of our great presidents recounts his most grievous act. We make our way through the many exhibits, losing sight of each other as we are distracted by scenes of interest: recordings of FDR’s fireside talks intended to unite a nation, hallways devoted to legislation promising a New Deal, even his statements marking the end of Prohibition. I’m standing in front of a small piece dedicated to the events that followed the signing of Executive Order 9066, a brief mention of Eleanor Roosevelt’s opposition to the act (and her advocacy that followed), a short acknowledgement of its folly, a blight on his presidency it will say. No mention of Hayano or Nobuichi or Kimiko.  Allyship has been on my mind lately, in some ways because it is a newer term to my vocabulary; in other ways, because you come to learn it has always been present in our lives. On that day in March 2022, off the coast of Seattle and on a walkway as American as any other, I was left with gratitude for the allyship expressed by people in our lives like our friend, Carina, and our friends, David and Carol Myers. My wife and I would not have known about the memorial on Bainbridge Island without their insistence or understood their advocacy for it without the stories Dave had written; and the events and memories of that day would not have been as meaningful if we had not shared them with our dear friend, Carina. I’m grateful to the artists that dedicated their time to create a space worthy of the lives and events of the Japanese Americans on Bainbridge Island interned and wrongfully imprisoned during WWII. I’m also left thinking about the role of our communities and the manner in which the people of Bainbridge Island, no matter their ethnic background, took up the cause of their fellow residents’ well-being to ensure that they had homes to return to, land to farm, and trades to pursue. Each story, deserving of memorial, educates us and inspires us, and connects us with a history of allyship. It is one of the reasons why I’m grateful for colleagues that have come together to make Macmillan Learning the community it is today, and with special thanks to those colleagues who form our Pan Asian Alliance Network (PAAN) Employee Resource Group (ERG) and the way they encourage more of these stories to be lived and told.  The March day that I’m revisiting in memory and sharing with all of you ends with Kimberly, Carina, and I watching ships pass through Elliott Bay, many bound for East Asian ports, a few of them perhaps a signal light of how far Japanese and American relations have come. But today, February 19th, on the “Day of Remembrance of Japanese American Incarceration During World War II,” we remember the individuals, the families, their stories and their communities, like the ones on Bainbridge Island, that saw events unfold earning  their place in our nation’s history.  ... View more

As a child, we learn our ABCs before we learn how to write. In high school, Algebra I precedes Algebra II. But the connections students need to make in college, or as they transition to work, aren't always as obvious. For example, it’s not as clear that the techniques and rules for writing that a student learns in their composition class will help them with writing assignments in their upper-level courses (or even to get their first post-college job). Knowledge transfer, or the ability to apply knowledge and skills to new situations, is not always automatic or easy. It requires students to learn how to learn—how to both acquire new information and skills effectively and how to apply them in different contexts. While college education is a journey that builds upon what students have learned throughout their lives, research consistently finds that students have difficulty applying acquired knowledge and skills to new or different situations.  Several learning strategies can equip students to transfer their knowledge to new situations, understand complex ideas, and continue learning throughout their lives. There are things that can be done to help nurture that transition and build a bridge between educational experiences. But to do that, there needs to be a greater understanding of why that critical knowledge transfer is not happening. The Transfer of Learning Theory, proposed by Robert Gagne, suggests that transfer of learning is most likely to occur when the new task is similar to the task on which the student was originally trained, and when the student has been explicitly taught how to transfer their knowledge and skills to new situations. Drawing inspiration from and building upon Gange’s research, here are 13 practical suggestions to help instructors support the transfer of knowledge: Have a sense of what students already know: Whether it is from their high school or college experience, or through their own personal exploration, students often come to college with a wealth of knowledge and skills that can be built upon. Low-stakes assessments can help offer both students and instructors a sense of what they already know, as well as what should be an area of focus. Also, validating knowledge can help ease the transition between academic environments and make the student feel more confident in their knowledge. Gain students’ attention: To capture attention, share a surprising fact, use humor, reveal a relevant personal anecdote, or ask a thought-provoking question using iClicker. When students are focused and engaged, they are more likely to understand, retain, and apply what is being taught. Additionally, a positive and engaging classroom environment can foster motivation and enthusiasm for learning, leading to better academic performance. Inform students of the learning objective: Clearly state the goals of the lesson, what learners will be able to do after the session, and why that lesson is important to not only the class, but to their overall learning path. Instructors can also ask students to set their own goals. One way to do this is by reflecting on class objectives with Goal-setting and Reflection Surveys found within Achieve. By setting goals, students can identify what they want to accomplish and prioritize their study plans, monitor their progress and improve their metacognition. Stimulate recall of prior learning: Recall exercises such as asking learners to share what they already know about the topic, or conducting a pre-assessment can help activate prior knowledge. Spellman College Senior Instructor Kiandra Johnson recommends starting a new topic by asking students if they are familiar with a concept, what they know about it, and what they think it might mean. This can help instructors gauge student understanding and build upon it, rather than start from scratch. Fill in learning gaps: Not all students come to class with the same level of understanding. This is increasingly common with learning loss incurred during the pandemic. Macmillan Learning's Achieve platform offers diagnostic tools like General Chemistry Readiness which covers basic math, algebra and chemical concepts to assess students' understanding; based on the assessment results, it also offers recommendations on how to improve readiness for the course. Promote equity and inclusivity in the classroom: Instructors can use methods like culturally responsive instruction to help make all students feel valued and respected, regardless of their background, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or any other personal characteristic. This can help lead to better academic outcomes and personal growth, as well as foster a sense of community and empathy among students, and prepare students for success in a diverse and interconnected world. Present the information effectively: Information should be presented in an engaging, organized and clear manner. This works best when there are examples, images, and visual aids. By engaging multiple senses, tools like animations, videos, or our interactive graphs in Principles of Economics, and other multimedia can help increase student attention, facilitate the understanding of abstract concepts, and provide opportunities for practicing skills and knowledge. Provide learning guidance: Techniques such as summarizing key points, using analogies or comparisons, and asking learners to restate information in their own words can help provide guidance for learning. Tools such as iClicker’s confidence rating can be helpful in this, as they allow students to indicate their confidence level in the answer they have given by selecting a rating, such as "very confident," "somewhat confident," or "not confident." This can help instructors gauge students' understanding of the material, and give instructors information that empowers them to adjust their teaching accordingly. Encourage active learning: Ask questions, conduct group discussions, or have learners perform a task or complete a small project. Incorporating peer learning and other soft skills development opportunities can not only help students engage with the material, but can also help students develop communication and teamwork skills that will serve them well in the future. Student response systems like iClicker encourage participation and interaction with the material. Just as important, they allow instructors to ask questions during lectures and gauge student understanding in real time. Nurture critical thinking and self-directed learning: Encourage students to use the resources available to them, such as research and library databases, to explore and develop their own interests. This will help them to develop a greater understanding of the subject matter and build on the knowledge they have already acquired. This is also where goal setting and reflection shine, as it encourages students to take ownership of their learning by setting their own goals, seeking out resources, and reflecting on their progress. Provide feedback: Feedback goes two ways. To reinforce learning, instructors can provide immediate feedback on a task or quiz, and also offer constructive criticism to help learners improve.  Spellman College Senior Instructor Kiandra Johnson noted that tools like LearningCurve Adaptive quizzing are helpful because they provide immediate feedback to students; this helps them understand why they got the wrong answer rather than creating frustration over missing a question and not understanding why they got it wrong. Instructors may also want to use exit polling to quickly gather feedback from students at the end of a class or lecture. Using iClicker, students can anonymously respond to questions about the session, providing insights into what was learned and areas for improvement. Assess performance: Exams, quizzes, or other forms of assessments can help evaluate how well the learners have retained the information and apply it to new situations. Tools like LearningCurve Adaptive Quizzing use machine learning algorithms to analyze students' performance on quizzes and adapt to their individual learning needs. The system provides immediate feedback, target areas for improvement, and adjusts the difficulty of future quizzes based on students' performance. Also, having learners complete a final project or presentation that requires them to apply the information in a new context can also help assess retrieval. Make information relatable: To enhance retention and transfer of learning, instructors can encourage learners to relate new information to their prior knowledge, and also provide opportunities for learners to apply the information in new and different situations. By drawing on what students have learned and experienced in their lives, instructors can help students see the relevance of the course content to their interests and perspectives. One way to do this is by incorporating real-world examples or case studies to help learners see the relevance and applications of the information. The New York Times offers a lesson plan with four different ways to help students connect with their studies. Learning is a journey that takes place not only in the classroom, but also in the wider world. Building a bridge between students’ different educational experiences is critical because it allows them to connect their previous knowledge and experiences to new material and to better understand and retain knowledge. This helps lay the foundation for students' future success both in and out of the classroom. ... View more

On the red carpet for the 2017 Emmys, Issa Rae iconically declared that she was “rooting for everybody Black”. I cannot begin to describe how much I relate to that sentiment.  Some of my clearest memories involve my grandmother, Olivia, refusing to run any errands, schedule any appointments, or otherwise leave the living room of our home, when normally her attention was rarely glued to the television. Her excitement was visceral in 1996 when Dominique Dawes was the only Black member of the Magnificent Seven. I can recall not a single instance prior to that year when anyone in my household - in my life - had ever cared about gymnastics. My grandmother didn’t understand what we were watching; she didn’t know how the judges were scoring or what they were looking for. Grandma only cared about supporting Dominique.  But this was nothing compared to the feverish energy that came upon my grandmother whenever she heard the names Venus and Serena. She watched more than just the Olympics to get glimpses of these two phenoms, consuming the sport of tennis as if it had always been a passion in her life. She cheered with a rowdy tone that one generally hears coming from hockey fans. She cried when they won and cried when they lost. Her eyes would twinkle in anticipation when she realized one or both of them would be on television later that day. “I’ve got to watch Serena play,” Grandma would declare softly, and authoritatively, a reminder to all of us that whatever we were watching would come to a swift and necessary end.  Her enthusiasm wasn’t just limited to women, either. I was shocked by how much Grandma seemed to love golf as soon as she was introduced to Tiger Woods. Out of nowhere she began to follow the PGA Tour, and cereal boxes with his face found themselves in our kitchen cabinets. Not a single one of us had ever before eaten Wheaties.  She fell ill in the fall of 2007, suffering from a stroke that left her mostly paralyzed and unable to speak. But in the months before, she’d known about Barack Obama. She’d heard about him before I did, having started following him almost the exact moment he’d announced that he was running for president. I don’t think my grandmother knew anything about his politics, his platform, or his plans. I kept reminding her that he had to clinch the party’s nomination first. Yet she was so certain that he really could win - or, perhaps, she just wished for it so strongly that every other option fell away from sight.  Olivia passed away in August of 2008, before Obama’s historic victory. I thought of her when I heard the news, saddened by the fact that I wouldn’t get to see her dance or shed tears of joy for a man who had achieved what she, and many others, believed to be the greatest demonstration of Black excellence of all time. I cut clips from newspapers, just as she would have done, and tucked them into the photo album that she’d gifted me as part of my freshman starter package.  As a woman born in 1924, seeing Black people succeed in areas where very few people of color had been allowed access was everything to Olivia. She’d been raised in North Carolina, where her father’s hold on our family land was never secure, the system bent on taking the meager prosperity that belonged to him the moment that justification became available. She married my grandfather, and together they moved up north to Queens, NYC, hoping to create a better life for their family. Their children had a lighter complexion than Olivia, and she was harassed by strangers who accused her of kidnapping the children from white families. My mother remembers hands grabbing her chin, closely examining her features to confirm that she really was a colored child. They would demand Olivia prove that her babies belonged to her, that she had the right to have them in her care.  After growing accustomed to the treatment, my grandmother buried her dissatisfaction when my grandfather’s job forced them to leave the neighborhood and relocate to New Jersey, where they’d yet again be outsiders, to be scrutinized by a new set of unfamiliar people.   I knew enough about my grandmother’s challenges to know why it was so important to her to root for everybody Black. My grandmother, and many in her generation, believed that the success of any of us was a triumph for all of us. Anything positive that I accomplished, anything positive that any Black person accomplished, moved the needle towards equality and understanding, made us more human in the eyes of others, helped society to realize that we deserved rights and respect. My success, and my excellence, was never just for me - it was for the culture. I carried this pressure well into my adult life, and have come to recognize how it showed up in my career. Some of you have heard me share the story that publishing as an industry had been almost invisible to me, as a young Black woman in college. No one I knew worked in publishing, and only one person ever suggested that I consider it as an option. I was the only Black person in my internship group at a small not-for-profit publisher, and the only Black person in my office at my first full-time job publishing scientific journals. When I left there almost sixteen years ago, I started working at Macmillan Learning, and became one of few Black people in the 41 Madison office in New York City. We were all in different departments, and rarely interacted for work purposes, which meant I was often the only Black person in meetings and on conference calls. Back then I never explicitly acknowledged the weight that I assumed in response. But deep down I wanted - needed - to work hard, to succeed, to prove that I belonged, not just for myself and my love for the work that we do, but for the culture. For all Black people everywhere.  In recent years we have come closer to accepting that it is not the responsibility of Black people to prove their humanity to others. Those who do not see us as equals, as people, will not be convinced due to our athleticism, or scientific achievements, or artistic talents. Black Americans have managed to rise to astounding levels of success in diverse fields of interest, achieving firsts and setting records throughout, striving to make the dream come true. We also continue to endure traumas and indignities due to racial prejudices and harmful stereotypes. As I finish editing this essay, my heart is broken over the murder of Tyre Nichols, an act of police brutality that reminds us of the history of slave patrols and the horrific treatment of enslaved Africans in this country. No number of gold medals will stop racism in its tracks.  Our first employee resource group, BLACC (Black Leaders Actively Changing Culture), has given me a space to support Black colleagues and find community among them in a way that I was lacking, and desperately needed. BLACC came together to sponsor an externship program for young BIPOC students, offering three weeks of engagement where they would be exposed to various departments and positions throughout the organization, and would complete a project that highlighted their chosen interest. Being a member of the committee that brought this to life felt like a dream come true and is one of the most incredible things that I’ve ever been a part of. The BLACC Voices series is yet another way that we get to impact how colleagues think about the world, by bringing in guest lecturers to discuss topics of social importance, which in turn impacts the contributions that we make through our work. We must continue to have these conversations, as difficult as it might sometimes be, to ensure that Macmillan Learning is truly inclusive and equitable, to be both appreciative of the value of our team members as they bring unique perspectives and identities to their work, and intentionally acknowledge the vast diversity reflected in the students and instructors who interact with our products.  Today, I can’t help but to think of Olivia, cheering as loudly for me as she once did for Serena, and I’m motivated by the possibility that she would see my contributions as beneficial for the culture. I choose to keep doing that work, keeping the bigger picture in mind, doing what I can to move the needle forward in any way possible. I’m also relieved to know that my personal development and our social evolution allow me to be a fallible, honest, dedicated human being. That I can put down that pressure and just be myself. That even when I make mistakes, I am still succeeding, and somebody, somewhere, is rooting for me. ... View more