Three quarters of Dr. Edna Ross’ students started the semester vaccinated. How does she know this? iClicker. Over the years, instructors have come up with new and interesting ways to use iClicker in their classes. Far from being just Dr. Edna Ross a polling app, iClicker can be used for attendance, asynchronous polls, and low-stakes quizzing -- or for questions you want to surface in your course, like learning whether or not students were vaccinated and why. And it all can be done anonymously. At the start of the Fall semester, the Psychology Professor used iClickers as an 'icebreaker' on the first day of class, asking, among others questions, for students to anonymously self- identify as fully vaccinated, planning to get vaccinated/has at least one dose, or not vaccinated against COVID-19. The 75% vaccination rate in her classes was an accurate reflection of what was taking place on college campuses nationally, with the majority of college students and staff being vaccinated against the virus. The anonymous poll offered insights into her students' thinking and demonstrated an important lesson for the psychology students about consequences.  Students’ reasons for getting the vaccination included reducing their risk of severe COVID-19 and passing the virus as well as wanting to go about their day-to-day activities with less risk. Further, many didn’t want to quarantine for two weeks if they had been exposed to someone they later found out was infected -- something that was required on campus. Students reasons for not getting the vaccination varied from distrust of the government due to the Tuskegee Syphilis study run by the US Public Health Department (read more about that here), mistrust of “Big Pharma”, that the vaccination was too rushed, or the belief that too many FDA approved drugs were recalled because of negative side effects. For these students, the cons had outweighed the pros of being vaccinated. Ultimately, the anonymous iClicker poll about vaccinations wound up encouraging more students to get vaccinated. There were two reasons for this. First, they were able to see that being vaccinated was normalized and something that the majority of students had agreed to. Second, because there were consequences of their choice that impacted their learning experience. “Quarantine meant they missed work in all their classes. My syllabus outlines the allowances I make for missed assignments for all students, but I do not give quarantined students any special considerations,” Dr. Ross noted. While unvaccinated students had to quarantine for two weeks if exposed to anyone with COVID whether or not they had symptoms, fully vaccinated students did not have to quarantine if they weren't experiencing symptoms. Contact tracing forced almost all of the unvaccinated students out of class for quarantine at one time or another. While vaccinated students rarely had to quarantine, some unvaccinated students had to quarantine for two consecutive periods of time.  This meant students missed class work in all their courses for a month!  A daunting situation for any student. This is only one of the many interesting ways that iClicker is being used during the pandemic to support student engagement and success. One instructor is also using it for contact tracing in her large enrollment class; to learn more about that, click here. To learn more about the benefits of iClicker, click here. ... View more

As I begin to see colleagues face-to-face in our offices as they slowly return to normal, I am reminded of a pre-pandemic session with an author who claimed the fidelity of learning and communicating face-to-face was billions of times higher than online. Oh, how that assertion has been both felt, and tested, in the last 18 months as educators scrambled to deal with the abrupt digitalization to connect with learners, and we quickly worked to support their efforts.  The last 18 months has been a period of new stresses, new social change, and profoundly more time to ourselves. With all that time, it is clear that people have not only been reevaluating where they work, but also “why” they work. Throughout my career I have had several different answers to the question of “why” I would enjoy working with one employer and team versus another. What I learned ultimately was -- the mission matters.  Early in my career I worked in finance, but was quickly drawn into a reengineering effort that involved software technology meant to streamline and transform a number of internal processes. I was suddenly excited by how much more effective and efficient we were, and saw firsthand how software could radically change things. With my new passion for technology, my “why” shifted to helping others solve problems with technology and my passion evolved into supporting learning. Over time, I really gained a passion for the outcomes of improving teaching and learning, the “why” was less about me and positions or money and more about doing some good. When I joined Macmillan Learning I was struck by both a sense of fun, and a gentle but deep seriousness about our roles in improving the lives of others, not only in our content and products, but also in how we connect with society and care for each other internally. The company’s mission was exactly what I was passionate about, and it shows in everything we do and how we work. At Macmillan Learning, we methodically learn. There’s a humility we take on every day with our focus of “test and learn”, looking at data from the market, from impact research, from customer feedback..  We sometimes fail, but we hopefully always adapt. We’re transparent about it, we’re brave -- who else publishes product research while in Beta for the scrutiny of customers as well as competitors? Our leaders consciously and intentionally nurture a culture of trust and respect - really we demand it of ourselves and each other. Our leadership team demonstrably shows greater trust in each other than I have seen before. To me, all of that lines up against working toward our mission. Together. Doing better is an encompassing “why” for me now, but I believe “doing better” is only part of the mission at Macmillan Learning. Doing better means supporting our technology team members to be strong owners and customer experience advocates, supporting our customers directly, and partnering with our product and learning science teams to support the development, testing, and validation of hypotheses we have on improving teaching and learning.  So for those of you who may be job seekers that are looking for your next opportunity during this time of great change, I encourage you to think about your own “why”. There are many reasons people work in tech, but for me, finding work in tech that supports a learning mission has been infinitely rewarding. So think about why you work, the impact you want to have on your own lives as well as the lives of others, and how you can do better. It made all the difference for me in my career. And if our mission and values align with your why’s, consider working at a mission-driven company like ours. Come ready to continue to learn!   ... View more

Chris Cardone, Senior Executive Program Manager, reflects on the loss of one of our esteemed authors, Albert Bandura. While he was known for his groundbreaking research in psychology, and is among the most cited in the world, he was also a colleague and a friend. I had the distinct privilege and honor of working with Albert Bandura on his moral disengagement book with Macmillan Learning/Worth. But more than that, I got to know Al as a person – a warm, kind, humble, caring, jovial human being. Here are some of my experiences so that you will know more about him, beyond the Bobo doll.  The first time I met Albert (Al) Bandura was at the Midwestern Psychological Association meeting in 2013. We met for tea before his presentation in the grand ballroom of the Palmer House. My anticipation was overwhelming, palpable, realizing I was about to meet the greatest of all living psychologists. However, Al put me immediately at ease and began talking with me about his ideas for his new book about moral disengagement. Shortly thereafter, he gave the PsiChi Distinguished Lecture to a room packed to capacity and then some -- standing room only and a line out the door.  Dr. Bandura signing a book for a student at MPA, 2013. Afterward, as the publisher of his Self-Efficacy book, Macmillan Learning/Worth hosted a book signing where students and professors lined up for his signature on copies of his books, Bobo dolls, and even translations of his works. The line stretched out the door and around the corridors, as you would imagine. But Al signed every last item with good humor and attention to each person, especially the students. Getting him out of the hotel was like chaperoning a rock star, with people chasing after him all the way to the elevator. A rock star he was! Al would always say, “The Bobo doll follows me wherever I go,” but of course his work goes beyond the Bobo doll and has stretched across many domains, and not just in psychology. His goal was always to apply his theories for human betterment.  When I interviewed him with a film crew at Stanford University for the Macmillan Learning/Worth video series in 2015 (don’t miss it in our LaunchPads!), he was delighted to share how his work has been applied in various ways. For example, he was very proud of his work with the Population Media Center and often spoke of it. The Center created programs and serial dramas showing people acting out scenarios related to family planning, social injustice toward women and girls, climate change, and other issues, all using his research to model positive outcomes in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He was changing people’s lives for the better.  On May 19, 2016, President Obama presented Dr. Bandura with the National Medal of Science In our interview, he also spoke about his early formative years where he sought resources within very limited socioeconomic conditions. He believed it was the actual beginning of developing a sense of personal agency: He said, “In a way my psychological theory is founded on human agency, which means that people have a hand in determining the course their lives take, and in many respects my theory of self-efficacy is really a reflection of my life path.” I greatly appreciated how Al spoke about fortuity and self-efficacy and I’d like to share his words that have always resonated with me: “…in my theorizing I said there are two ways in which you can exercise some influence on the fortuitous character of life.  One, you can make chance happen by leading an active life and exposing yourself to a lot of different ideas, doing a lot of different things, and so on, so you'll be creating a lot of intersects.  And the second, you can make chance work for you by developing your interests, your competencies, and other personal characteristics so when a fortuitous event occurs, you can take advantage of it.” If you asked Dr. Bandura what he was most proud of, he always talked about what he hoped to pass on to students.  Once after we left a restaurant, a mother and her psych-major daughter chased after us to talk with him. Al delighted in this opportunity to speak with a psychology student!  Al’s final words to the student were: “Whatever you do with your psychology major, make sure you apply it to real life.”  Al Bandura and Chris Cardone after the Medal of Science award at the White House Al was extremely passionate about his latest book on moral agency and moral disengagement, which he completed at the age of 90! Truly a magnum opus, this powerful book explains how people can commit horrible acts and still live with themselves. I marvel at how he develops his theories and the mechanisms by which people selectively disengage from moral behavior. It’s a stunning, thought-provoking work that makes you examine some of the most important issues of our time, such as gun control and climate change. It transformed how I think about behaviors and collective disengagement in today’s world. Dr. Bandura knew that collective human agency and collective efficacy are needed to help save our planet and improve lives across the world. At the end of our interview at Stanford, he said: “…if we want to produce a humane society, we have to have a sense of common humanity.   If you have a sense of common humanity, then you see your well-being as connected to the welfare of others.  And therefore, you have empathy, you have compassion, and so on. So, my final message is one promoting a sense of common humanity.” As Dr. Bandura would say, may the efficacy force be with you.  Read more about his legacy at https://news.stanford.edu/2021/07/30/psychology-professor-albert-bandura-dead-95/  ... View more

Student engagement is a term being used more and more often -- but what does it mean, and how can instructors use it to support student success? To find out, we checked in with Michael B. Shapiro, a Clinical Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Georgia State University about how he gets his classes involved with the course materials, mo Professor Mike Shapirotivated to learn and even more curious about criminal justice. Shapiro has been teaching for nearly 20 years and was the recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award for the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies in 2015 at GSU. Here are seven reasons why he likes to use a student response system like iClicker to better support student success.  Use technology. “Our job is not just educators, we also need to be edutainers” Shapiro explained. One way to keep students both informed and engaged is with the technology that students are using both in and out of class on a daily basis. While educators try to encourage focus on the class lecture and activities, “it’s naïve to assume students will disconnect from the technology they use every day, so why not take advantage of that connectivity in class.” They’re using a digital device for non-class purposes more than 20% of the time whether we like it or not, he noted. One of the tools Shapiro uses for his edutainment is iClicker.  Have they or haven’t they read the materials? iClicker helps to gauge just how prepared students are. Shapiro said that using iClicker to ask students questions and gauge their familiarity with important points helps him remove the guesswork and also allows for him to adjust the lecture as it’s happening to better meet that particular class’ needs. For example, understanding what students in each class already knows helps him understand when he has the flexibility that would allow him to get into more nuanced areas of criminal courts, law, procedure and ethics in the courses he teaches. Shapiro explains that in the journey of learning, “knowing where the students' "knowledge gaps" are is the difference between paving the entire road and filling in potholes.” Get students involved! Polls and real-time questions throughout class help encourage students to become more engaged in their learning -- something that’s even more challenging when the class is virtual. To hold students’ attention, Shapiro gives out points for correct answers throughout the class, but noted that he’s seen instructors use them in other ways, including offering points for participation. The polls and questions can range from multiple choice questions to heat maps and can even be short answer questions that can generate a word cloud, which can prompt a continued class discussion around the students' perceptions of what is significant in a lecture. Mitigate students’ fear of getting the “wrong” answer by allowing them to answer anonymously. All of the questions and polls in iClicker can be anonymous, helping students to feel comfortable giving honest answers and feedback -- something especially important for students who don’t feel comfortable raising their hand in class. In his criminal justice class, Shapiro asks “Yes or no, have you ever committed a crime?” in anonymous mode. The question encourages students to think about what a “crime” is and allows for a spirited discussion to follow, while allowing students to safely answer challenging questions anonymously. Use class time. Shapiro adds that iClicker helps him understand just how much students learned in class. He doesn’t just rely on their homework and written assignments to gauge how well students are understanding the various aspects of criminal justice. How does he know? He uses exit polls to get feedback about the day’s class and see if there were any points that need clarification in the next class meeting. Two of his favorite questions are “What was the most significant thing you learned today” and “What surprised you most about today’s class?” Assess often. You can do more than just create polls and questions; Shapiro uses iClicker to create on-the-fly quizzes or check in with students ahead of exams. According to Digital Promise, frequent quizzes and other assessments are one of eight instructional practices identified as contributing to more effective online teaching and learning.  Finally, student response systems make taking attendance easy. Taking attendance can be challenging -- especially in larger classes, but Shapiro said that using an iClicker makes taking attendance easy. Not only that, but automated attendance reminds students when class is about to start by pushing out notifications. Attendance can be run at the beginning of class or throughout the class. It can also be used to take attendance at non-class events, such as a presentation or conference simply by setting a geofence around the location. In sum, there’s no shortage of reasons to use a class response system -- whether it’s for attendance, for “edutainment”, or to gain a better understanding of what topics students need extra help with. To learn more about iClicker, click here. ... View more

Another academic year has ended -- one that was marked by changes to teaching and learning. Instructors relied more and more on edtech for their virtual classrooms, learned new best practices about student engagement and were more cognizant than ever about the numerous factors that together facilitate student success. Instructors like Solina Lindahl used digital learning systems to accompany their instruction.  Solina Lindahl is always on the cutting edge with trying new technology in her classroom, and was among the first instructors to check out Macmillan Learning’s new platform, Achieve. The Achieve platform includes an interactive e-Book as well as expansive learning materials with pre-class, in-class and post-class activities. We asked Solina Lindahl, Senior Lecturer for Economics at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, about digital learning and her switch to Achieve for Essentials for OpenStax Principles of Economics.  Why did you first decide to use online tools in your class? Honestly, my large class sizes and lack of TA support mean that online products have made sense; students get way more real-time feedback than they would otherwise. People are hesitant to embrace change, but what would you say are the benefits of moving to Achieve vs your experience in Sapling? The up-front costs of switching ANY of our class materials is no joke- I get it, especially if you teach large sections like I do. When things go wrong in a new platform it can be overwhelming plus we’ve all been through an exhausting year. But I notice that the user interface in Achieve is so clean, and I have had such good experiences with the tech support that I feel like it’s easier to switch to Achieve than most products. And let’s keep in mind the benefits: great graphing questions, algorithmic problems, well-produced and inclusive video tutorials with forced reasoning questions that students need to answer. Pair those with adaptive quizzes and you have a platform that supports many types of learners and class formats. Also, Achieve’s user interface is cleaner and contains more resources and instructor customization options. One benefit to digital learning is the insights you get about student performance. What kind of feedback do you get and how do you use it? I appreciate the dashboard view of topics where students are missing the most questions, and the question discrimination helps me create better exams. When I have time, I like to look at the student responses to the ‘Bridge’ reasoning questions grouped by the wrong answer to see where the misunderstandings are coming from. What advice would you offer on using technology in the classroom? One piece of advice: Frame (and remind often) WHY you're using technology, especially if you're using it intensively.  Also, make sure to be clear about your policies for late work, tech failures etc. up front. Make sure to walk them through the site in class; I think they know less about tech than we assume. How have students responded to Achieve? They tell me they really appreciate the adaptive quizzes because it helps keep them on top of the material and gives them a sense of how well they are understanding it. This interview is part of a series focusing on how digital learning is being used in college classrooms and, in particular, what the transition to Achieve has been like. About Achieve: Macmillan Learning built its new digital learning platform Achieve to help students of all abilities and backgrounds succeed. It offers the content, tools and insights about student success to do just that. Achieve was designed with active learning in mind, and can be used in traditional, online, hybrid, blended, or a fully “flipped” classroom, with options for both synchronous and asynchronous learning to support engagement. It was co-designed with more than 7,000 students and over 100 leading educators and learning scientists both at our company and on our independent review boards. Learn more about Achieve. ... View more

Teaching and learning have changed tremendously over the past year and a half, with student engagement becoming more important than ever. We’re speaking with college instructors who use edtech like iClicker to support student success, starting with Dr. Edna Ross, a Professor of Psychology at the University of Louisville with specializations in learning and cognitive psychology. Read about how she uses technology to support both synchronous and asynchronous learning, along with tips on how to keep students’ attention throughout class.   Online teaching and learning have changed tremendously during the pandemic. What aspects do you think will stick around for the long term? During the pandemic, the way we use instructional technologies changed -- we used it more than ever to keep students engaged, no matter where they were physically located so that their headspace would always be on the topic at hand. Among the technologies were tools to help students stay focused as well as learn self monitoring and self regulatory behaviors. iClicker is an example of that. Even though students will listen to a lecture, they sometimes think that they can do other things at the same time, such as view Facebook, email, or play online games. But in cognitive psychology we know attention is key to the intellectual system and without paying focused attention, especially to new and or complex information, information processing of the new material is not going to be very good. We know that students need to stay focused and pay attention in order to do well, and iClicker is an important tool to give students and faculty the feedback that allows them to stay focused. I believe that the use of educational technology to keep students engaged and focused will remain an important part of teaching and learning in the years to come.  What are some ways you keep the distractions at bay to help students stay focused? We discussed the focus feature, and that’s a very critical aspect, but that’s not the only way. Just straight lecturing will not work in an online environment -- especially in a synchronous online learning environment.  Active learning exercises keep students attention focused and engaged. So, in my classes, every 5-10 minutes I ask the students questions. They’re either discussion questions or content, memory, or synthesis questions.  What about asynchronous learning -- can iClicker work there as well? Focus is also important for asynchronous classroom discussions. There’s a feature in iClicker where you can set up an iClicker quiz and students can answer that quiz in their own timeframe after viewing a recorded lecture. We also used the quizzing function for students in quarantine, and those that were too ill to even attend a synchronous class remotely. In order to adjust their iClicker points I would create quizzes over my recorded lecture and that would be their iClicker points (15% of the grade) for that particular day.  When did you first start using iClicker, and why? I was one of the original beta users, and I started using it about 15 years ago. I started using it because I taught very large lecture classes and needed a way to engage with a large group of students, and keep me and the students on the same wavelength. People who teach for a long period of time fall into what David Myers calls the “curse of knowledge,” where we understand the content, but because we’ve taught it so long, we’ve lost the ability to achieve the perspective of the novice learner, or the person who has heard the information for the first time.  iClicker allows me to know what the students don’t know, as opposed to assuming that the lectures are so informative and explanatory that everyone understands the concepts. I needed something to give me the feedback for my 350+ student lecture classes. Back then there was no easy way of doing it, and iClicker was a godsend. It required no systemic or enterprise interventions and was something faculty could set them up for individual classrooms that did not need to be hardwired. It was a simple, easy to use, and yet extraordinary functional and effective instructional tech. Also, I gave it a shot because iClicker was created by two faculty members teaching physics at the University of Champagne, Illinois. So they had the mindset of faculty so they understood my concerns and what I needed technology to do. It wound up being seamless to use for faculty, and was also intuitive for students to use.  You recommend starting class with a question. Can you tell me more about what types of questions you recommend asking, and the benefits to asking them? Cognitive psychology has demonstrated time and time again that the more frequently students are required to retrieve information, the more easily and effectively the information is processed in the memory system. Asking a question in the beginning of class that addresses what you covered previously, and allows students to understand what they have remembered. It also offers insight as to what the instructor finds to be particularly relevant. So, the first question should be what you covered in the previous class to make sure students actually understand that information.  Also, you can use it as a springboard of continuity into the current lecture. If students do well on that question, which we hope they will, you don’t need to backtrack; but if a significant number of students don’t do well on the memory retrieval question that means you need to go over some of the information again to make sure students understand it. What kind of insights about student performance do you get from using your iClicker in class? I know what students don’t know. And that allows students themselves to know what they don’t know.  Students email me that they think they understand something, but then see responses to the iClicker question and realize that they may have misread their notes or perhaps misunderstood something. They like it as a way of letting them know what they know and what they don’t know. From my perspective, I understand what students know, what they understand, and what they need more clarification on. Some students are intimidated by raising their hand in class. How does iClicker address that concern? It does happen quite often. But on the other hand, there are students that try to dominate, no matter the size of the lecture. There’s a couple of students that always raise their hands and want to talk, as well, which  skews the conversation in one direction -- their direction. Sometimes students don’t want to say if they disagree with that student or that point, or if they have a different perspective.  iClicker allows every student to have a voice, and students don’t have to be intimidated by expressing their opinion, or by asking questions. If a student doesn’t understand they’re often not going to raise their hand to say they don’t understand. So you as the instructor don’t know that you need to clarify a concept. With iClicker you know how many students according to a histogram how many students had problems with the concept and you know you need to back over that particular topic again and ask a different iClicker question to see if they understood again before you go on -- particularly if its a foundational concept.  Also, the iClicker question can often become a springboard for the rest of my lecture, which also allows me to be more spontaneous in the information I present.  You use exit polls in your class. What are the benefits to them? Yes, I do. Exit polls give students the opportunity to let me know if they need further elaboration on any concepts from the lecture. It covers what’s called the “muddiest point” which allows students to let you know what they didn't understand. You can then clarify those points at the beginning of the next lecture. It’s very helpful in allowing faculty to specifically tailor their content delivery to the needs of the student.  Dr. Edna Ross is Professor of Psychology at the University of Louisville who recently spoke at REMOTE, the connected faculty summit (see the recording here). She has received several awards for teaching and student involvement from university staff and students alike. Dr. Ross has received several awards for teaching and student involvement from the University of Louisville including the College of Arts and Sciences’ peer conferred Distinguished Teaching Award, and the student nominated Faculty Favorite Award. ... View more

More than three quarters of instructors using Macmillan Learning’s new digital learning platform, Achieve, assigned assessments in their courses during the most recent Spring semester. There's a good reason that, on average, 20 assessment activities were assigned during the semester. According to Macmillan Learning Sr. Product Director Jennifer Ferralli (@jennferralli), assessments can provide instructors with critical information on how well students have learned the material as well as highlight where students are Jennifer Ferralli struggling. This is especially true in a post-COVID classroom, where in-person instruction is the exception and self-reliance and feedback are more critical than ever. Just like different kinds of academic lessons have different functions, so do assessments. There’s formative assessments, which offer students multiple attempts to answer questions so that they have productive struggles to come to the right answer, and are meant to give instructors in-process feedback about what students are learning so they can modify how they teach their classes. Most of the assessments being used in Achieve are formative (more than 90%). There’s also summative assessments, which evaluate student learning at the end of a unit, course, semester, or at some other milestone. These, along with diagnostic assessments, pre-assessments and more, are just a few of the ways that instructors can gain a better understanding of their students' academic progress in Achieve. When Macmillan Learning’s new digital learning platform Achieve was being developed, assessments were a critical area of focus, with formative assessments getting extra attention. According to Ferralli, one of their greatest benefits is the ability to provide real time feedback to students that help guide their learning, rather than sending them back to the beginning of a problem.  “Research tells us that feedback has a moderate to large impact on student learning, and is most powerful when correcting faulty interpretations,” Ferralli noted. The feedback in Achieve assessments is written specifically to address such common misconceptions and is triggered based on the student’s individual response. From this way of learning, students are able to quickly correct what they did wrong and learn from those mistakes. And it’s also why the company’s work on perfecting its assessments is ongoing. In fact, a beta of new features supporting assessments in Achieve was released earlier this month that enables instructors to better understand how the class is doing as a whole and which questions are causing problems. Within assessments, instructors can now see all student data for each assessment activity, including time spent and activity time stamps for each student. Also, this summer the company will be launching the ability for instructors to both edit our questions and create their own questions. This will give instructors the opportunity to add in their own feedback that aligns to their course instruction even more or create questions that perhaps target a specific learning misconception. For more information about Achieve, click here. ... View more

We’re now more than midway through the Spring semester, and many instructors are still teaching remotely. Many of them are using digital learning systems to accompany their instruction, enabling students to complete assignments, track their grades, connect with instructors and peers, take quizzes or other use other self-assessment tools, and stay engaged. The launch of Macmillan Learning’s new digital learning platform Achieve, couldn’t have come at a better time to support these learners.  Over the past few semesters, many instructors have already made the switch from Sapling, one of the more popular systems for STEM instructors and students. The Achieve platform includes an interactive e-Book as well as expansive learning materials with pre-class, in-class and post-class activities. We asked Karen Butland, an Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Grossmont College, about digital learning and her switch to Achieve for Foundations of College Chemistry. What have been some challenges with online learning since classes went virtual?  How have you addressed them? One of the challenges since classes went virtual is trying to assess student learning with exams and quizzes. Some instructors choose to address that problem with proctoring services, or with having students sign an honor code. I did not like either of those options.  With fabulous features in Achieve, I was able to “pool” questions so that the computer picks different questions for each student within a certain category. For numerical questions that are the same, Achieve has algorithms that give every student a different number. Achieve has a feature allowing timed tests which has great flexibility. My students have a two-day window to complete an exam or quiz whenever it is convenient for them, but once they open the quiz, the timer counts 45 minutes for them to complete it. People are hesitant to embrace change, but what would you say are the benefits of moving to Achieve vs your experience in Sapling? I am VERY hesitant to embrace change, but I have found Achieve to be well worth the effort. I had already made the shift to using Sapling in HTML5, so migrating to Achieve wasn’t that much different. How do Achieve and Sapling differ? Achieve has many more features than Sapling. I have yet to discover all of them, but there was one thing I was delighted to find. When a disability student needed extra time on an exam or quiz, this was quite difficult to do in Sapling. In Achieve, it is so easy--just select the student and type in how much time they get, and Achieve does the rest. One benefit to digital learning is the insights you get about student performance. What kind of feedback do you get and how do you use it? I love being able to see exactly which questions each student missed. It is extremely helpful to have a student on Zoom and share my screen while we look directly at their homework and compare their answers to the correct answer. I can also easily “reset” a question to give a student the opportunity to try again with a different number, once they feel like they understand the solution. I love the flexibility of being able to edit their score as I see fit. This interview is part of a series focusing on how digital learning is being used in college classrooms and, in particular, what the transition to Achieve has been like. About Achieve: Macmillan Learning built its new digital learning platform Achieve to help students of all abilities and backgrounds succeed. It offers the content, tools and insights about student success to do just that. Achieve was designed with active learning in mind, and can be used in traditional, online, hybrid, blended, or a fully “flipped” classroom, with options for both synchronous and asynchronous learning to support engagement. It was co-designed with more than 7,000 students and over 100 leading educators and learning scientists both at our company and on our independent review boards. Learn more about Achieve. ... View more

Choosing the right digital learning system is an important consideration for instructors as they plan out their courses -- especially when many classes are taking place remotely. More than just a place to read an e-textbook or complete homework, these systems are interactive tools used by students to complete assignments, track grades, connect with instructors, take quizzes or other self-assessment tools, and more.  Susan Hendrickson, Teaching Professor in Chemistry at the University of Colorado With the launch of Macmillan Learning’s new digital learning platform Achieve, instructors have been making the switch from Sapling, one of the more popular systems for STEM instructors and students. We spoke to Susan Hendrickson, Teaching Professor in Chemistry at the University of Colorado, about her experiences teaching students in her virtual classroom. We also asked her about her experience transitioning from Sapling to Macmillan Learning’s new digital learning system Achieve last fall for her Gen Chem 2 class and this spring for her Gen Chem 1 class. What have been some challenges with online learning since classes went virtual?  How have you addressed them? Making meaningful connections- between instructors and students, as well as between students- has been very challenging. I think students are more engaged, responsive and motivated when they connect with their instructor and classmates. I try to share a little bit about myself or something funny from the news at the start of class to lighten the mood. This works with some students but not with others. Another challenge is keeping students organized and able to complete their assignments on-time. They seem to be struggling with their calendars more than usual. Every day and every class must feel the same from their bedroom so they just seem to lose track of what  day it is.  I have had to step up my own calendaring and To-Do list skills too! I feel like I’ve done more coaching about making schedules and sticking to them since going virtual. Why did you first decide to use online tools in your class? Class size!  Although I would love to SEE their work and be able to give them personalized feedback.  With sections of 100 – 400 and whole courses with enrollments of 600 – 1,000, that’s just not possible.  Online homework allows them to practice, get immediate feedback and work according to their own schedules.  Otherwise we couldn’t require homework. People are hesitant to embrace change, but what would you say are the benefits of moving to Achieve vs your experience in Sapling? There are a few things that I love about Achieve. I love that the grades are synced between Achieve and Canvas. This has saved me about an hour every Tuesday and Saturday morning alone. I also love that they can use a link in Canvas to access the Achieve resources – assignments as well as reading.  This might have been possible in Sapling but we didn’t have it set up. Honestly Achieve isn’t that much different than Sapling – same assignments, same questions (mostly).  It wasn’t that much of a change content-wise so the transition has been easy. How have students responded to Achieve? I switched with a group of students last spring (Gen Chem 1) in Sapling to this fall (Gen Chem 2) in Achieve and they transitioned with no issues.  I don’t think they saw  it as a dramatic change since the assignments themselves looked the same.  I know they like how easy it is to access the assignments and readings with two clicks from Canvas. This interview is part of a series focusing on how digital learning is being used in college classrooms and, in particular, what the transition to Achieve has been like. About Achieve: Macmillan Learning built its new digital learning platform Achieve to help students of all abilities and backgrounds succeed. It offers the content, tools and insights about student success to do just that. Achieve was designed with active learning in mind, and can be used in traditional, online, hybrid, blended, or a fully “flipped” classroom, with options for both synchronous and asynchronous learning to support engagement. It was co-designed with more than 7,000 students and over 100 leading educators and learning scientists both at our company and on our independent review boards. Learn more about Achieve. ... View more

Choosing the right digital learning system is an important consideration for instructors as they plan out their courses -- especially when many classes are taking place remotely. More than just a place to read an e-textbook or complete homework, these systems are interactive tools used by students to complete assignments, track grades, connect with instructors, take quizzes or other self-assessment tools, and more. Each system has different strengths and offers different pedagogical approaches.  With the launch of Macmillan Learning’s new digital learning platform Achieve, instructors have been making the switch from Sapling, one of the more popular systems for STEM instructors and students. The Achieve platform includes an interactive e-Book as well as expansive learning materials with pre-class, in-class and post-class activities.  We asked Dr. Tony Hascall, a Chemistry Professor at Northern Arizona University, about digital learning and his switch to Achieve for Interactive General Chemistry. People are hesitant to embrace change, but what would you say are the benefits of moving to Achieve vs your experience in Sapling? The main benefit is that Achieve is better integrated with the textbook and gives you the ability to assign readings from the textbook as well as links to videos, simulations etc. The library of questions is exactly the same, including LearningCurve (adaptive quizzing), but Achieve allows readings etc. to be assigned for credit. Achieve also has a more modern, less cluttered appearance and makes it clear for students to see what assignments have upcoming due dates. You mentioned that you give students pre-class, in-class and post-class work -- how does technology like LMS, Achieve and iClicker fit into that? I have found that students don’t tend to do assignments unless they count for some points in the class. Achieve allows readings from the textbook to be assigned for credit. I also post asynchronous video lectures on YouTube, which can also be assigned on Achieve, as well as links to other resources such as PhEt simulations. These can be assigned pre-class to allow students to come to class prepared for active learning activities. And of course homework can be assigned as post-class work.  The LMS has mainly been useful during removed learning for posting materials that would have been handed out on paper in class. I have also used it for exams One benefit to digital learning is the insights you get about student performance. What kind of feedback do you get and how do you use it? I mainly use this to identify students who are struggling or not doing work early in the semester to try to change their habits before it is too late. Why did you first decide to use online tools in your class? Since my classes have been quite large, I did not want to assign paper homework each week due to the large amount of time needed to grade. But it is important that students practice the material outside of class. Online tools allow students to be given assignments that are graded automatically and provide students with instant feedback and hints. Also I believe that students tend not to read traditional paper textbooks anymore, so having an electronic textbook that is integrated with the online system, as is the case with Achieve is very effective. What have been some challenges with online learning since classes went virtual?  How have you addressed them? I would say the two major challenges have been trying to do active learning in a remote format, and giving exams. I have tried putting students in Zoom breakout rooms, but with large classes, it is really not the same as having students working together in the classroom and being able to walk around the room and look at students’ work and help them As for exams, I have tried as much as possible to write “Google-proof” questions to try to ensure that students are being tested on what they have learned, not just what they can look up. This interview is part of a series focusing on how digital learning is being used in college classrooms and, in particular, what the transition to Achieve has been like. About Achieve: Macmillan Learning built it’s new digital learning platform Achieve to help students of all abilities and backgrounds succeed. It offers the content, tools and insights about student success to do just that. Achieve was designed with active learning in mind, and can be used in traditional, online, hybrid, blended, or a fully “flipped” classroom, with options for both synchronous and asynchronous learning to support engagement. It was co-designed with more than 7,000 students and over 100 leading educators and learning scientists both at our company and on our independent review boards. Learn more about Achieve. ... View more

I am thrilled to announce an important new team member has joined Macmillan Learning; Coltrane Stansbury is now our Vice President, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). In this newly created role, Coltrane will lead our diversity and inclusion strategy and programs as well as amplify the work the company is doing in support of our people, programs and culture. He’ll be reporting directly to our Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Kristin Peikert. Creating an increasingly diverse and inclusive company is a core strategic goal for Macmillan Learning. While there has been much work and progress since we launched our initial grassroots D&I initiative in 2017, we knew we needed an experienced DEI leader with big ideas to help us broaden our efforts and help us come closer to fully realizing our vision. Our employee volunteers helped us to create the foundation for change through increased awareness, education, and engagement, and Coltrane is the leader that will help our initiatives flourish and make a lasting impact. Coltrane approaches inclusion and outreach in a holistic manner, creatively thinking about how programs can affect change in ways that tie closely to the mission of the business. Importantly, he has a passion for equity in education and already has many ideas on how we can foster internal growth and work in the educational community to engage all learners throughout their educational journey. Making impactful change is part of Coltrane’s DNA. He is an experienced DEI leader with an extensive background in business, policy, and community outreach. He comes most recently from Becton Dickinson & Co, PSEG, and Johnson & Johnson, where he was responsible for building DEI programs from the ground up. Coltrane is very active in his community, working with local schools, civic leagues, and the United Way.  Here’s what Coltrane had to say about his new role at Macmillan Learning: “A good education provides the nation’s youth with opportunities that would have not been otherwise available to them; especially underserved students, and students that come from a place of disadvantage. Working at Macmillan Learning allows me to contribute to their education, and in the process help students’ lives flourish.” This is an important moment, with so much momentum building towards a more equal society and culture. Our goal is to help all learners succeed. To that end, we’re proud to further move forward Macmillan Learning’s commitment to DEI in a meaningful way and are excited for Coltrane’s leadership during our journey.    Susan Winslow is President of Macmillan Learning   ... View more

People watching has become my favorite pastime during the pandemic. I watch out my window while a woman does yoga on her rooftop. Down below on the street there are bike riders, street cleaners, essential workers commuting, and morning runners. From my perch, I can make stories for each of them based on what I see. But what about what I can’t see? Does the woman doing yoga have a new heart? Does that runner have Crohn’s Disease? Is that nurse headed to work dyslexic? Too often, when people think about disabilities, they imagine individuals in wheelchairs, or a person with a guide dog … and while some disabilities are visible, many are not. These are invisible disabilities, which the Invisible Disabilities Association defines as “a physical, mental or neurological condition that is not visible from the outside, yet can limit or challenge a person’s movements, senses, or activities.” And if we are not careful, they can limit a person’s educational opportunities. According to the National Service And Inclusion Project, among all people with disabilities of working age (29.4 million), 52% are employed. An accessible education is not the only change needed but it’s one important step in helping to increase that number. Because disabilities are not always visible, it can be a challenge to create assignments and workloads that support all students. It’s an especially challenging time during COVID, where much of learning is taking place remotely. We put together some tips to help instructors support accessibility and all student learning, including those with disabilities they may not be able to see. Tip One: Sometimes, students with invisible disabilities are perceived as lacking in intelligence, not paying attention, or even lazy. While some students will choose to disclose a disability to instructors, many will not. And, even if your student does share that they have a disability, they are not required to give you the details. Assuming that a student that isn’t achieving with the existing course structure is anything but doing their best is a dangerous path to go down. Work with these students to identify the points where they are struggling. It’s possible that being easily distracted or frequent bathroom trips might mean that they need extra time on tests. Chronic pain or fatigue may mean that a student needs extra time to turn over assignments or opportunities to use alternative formats. In Macmillan Learning’s course platform, Achieve, instructors can create student exceptions for assignment deadlines. Tip Two: Find course materials that all students can use. For example, Macmillan Learning produces e-books in EPUB3 format and include accessibility metadata, short and long alt text, clear structure and organization, and a variety of navigation methods including page and heading navigation. The e-books reflow and respond to magnification, so the text is readable at 200% magnification. We also prioritize keyboard navigation and reading order in our e-book development. Macmillan Learning has a policy that allows 10 pages to be printed at a time and the copy/pasting of 2 pages at a time. And of course, beginning in 2019, all our e-books are Global Certified Accessible by Benetech. Bringing products that are already accessible to your class gives students the chance to be successful from the onset and allows them to make the personalizations they need to be successful. Tip Three: If you’re creating materials and documents for your class or sourcing open educational resources, make sure they are accessible before you post them. Here’s a checklist to help you make accessible documents. We also have free checklists for .pdfs and slides on our Accessibility page on our website. Remember that accessibility is about more than passing the automated checkers that you can find in these tools. Try to limit the quantity of information you provide on slides - packing a single slide with information can be overwhelming for students. Could that pdf be a word document? Students can resize text, change the amount of information on each page, and resize images in a word doc in ways they can’t without an expensive editor in pdf. Tip Four: Are your students no longer in your classroom? Consider how Universal Design could help enable teaching and learning. Reading from the text is a helpful learning experience for some students but can you present the information in the textbook in additional, alternative formats? Consider integrating an online lab experience so students can have a more hands on interaction with the materials or integrating interactives that focus on important concepts.  Recently, I was sent the definition of disability used by We Need Diverse Books: “We subscribe to a broad definition of disability, which includes but is not limited to physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, chronic conditions, and mental illnesses (this may also include addiction). Furthermore, we subscribe to a social model of disability, which presents disability as created by barriers in the social environment, due to lack of equal access, stereotyping, and other forms of marginalization.” The reason this definition resonates with me is because it includes not only what disability is but also how we can, unintentionally, create an ableist environment. Building, buying, and implementing accessible environments for students is important to their future whether they are continuing to more schooling or entering the workforce. At Macmillan Learning, we take our commitment to providing accessible materials seriously. If you’d like to learn more about accessibility visit the Accessibility page on our website. We also encourage feedback from students and instructors on what we can do to improve and welcome any feedback about our resources or suggestions about future resources at webaccessibility@macmillan.com. ... View more

Statistics have been used to inform us, change our minds, and even to shock us. From polls telling us who is winning various political races, to commercials telling us about a toothbrush recommended by nine out of ten dentists, to the rise of ocean temperatures over time, facts and figures inform the stories that help us understand the world around us. We spoke to communications instructor and Media and Culture: Mass Communication in a Digital Age author Richard Campbell about how he teaches his students about the stats behind the stories (and the stories behind the stats) and the storytelling at the intersection of journalism and statistics. Marisa Bluestone: A bit of a chicken and egg question, but what do you think comes first -- the stats or the stories? Richard Campbell: You can’t have the story without the data, without the stats.  The jobs of the news narrative is to transform hard data into something an audience can understand.  Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel wrote in their seminal book The Elements of Journalism that the job of the journalist is “to make the significant interesting.” Data by itself is not interesting or understandable to a general audience.  But a good narrative by a reporter who does her homework and asks good questions of the right sources can transform the data into a compelling story.  Too much mediocre news, however, takes “interesting” stuff -- like a celebrity scandal or an outrageous tweet – and makes it seem significant just by the act of reporting it as news. Marisa: This could be an entire course, but what quick tips do you have for students to help them translate statistics into stories, or visa versa? Richard: Funny you should ask this.  The Stat+Stories podcast grew out of a course. At Miami, John Bailer -- chair of the statistics department -- and I had worked together to get a quantitative literacy requirement into our college’s curriculum. As part of that initiative, we team taught an honors class called “News and Numbers” in 2009 and developed the podcast in 2013.  As a one-time reporter and long-time journalism educator (with some math phobia issues), I remember how nervous I was in that first class with John.  But when he put up a data graph culled from a national newspaper and asked the students, “What’s the story here?”, I relaxed.  Storytelling is something I knew about and to realize this renowned statistician expected a good data chart to tell a story put me at ease.  John and I had common ground.  We would start every class with some graph or news story form a news site that relied on statistics and John would lead the students through a critique of what stories did a good job and what stories needed work.  My job was to improve their narratives.  So one tip is to start a data-based report, not with data and numbers, but with a story that illustrates the impact of the data.  For example, do not begin a news story on homelessness with data and percentages.  Start the report by telling about a family impacted by homelessness and then lead your audience to the big picture and what the data tell us about the significance of the problem.  But first you need to make an emotional connection to your audience.  A story does that. It is hard to make such a connection early in a news story by using big numbers. Marisa: How have recent advancements in data visualization changed the way you teach communications courses? Richard: At Miami, the statistics department also started a course, in collaboration with the graphics design department and the journalism program, on data visualization.  Although I am retired now, I would encourage anyone teaching design or statistics to think about how graphic and data illustrations might be accompanied by a good narrative that help people understand the visuals.  A lot of folks are used to making sense of the world through written or video narratives not through a dazzling graphic chart or complex statistical tables.  But in combination, we might have a better chance of reaching more of the general audience. Marisa: It's election season. What role will stats play in how the presidential election is covered? What role should they play? Richard: I assume you mean stats on political polling and not all the other statistics that are truly important --- like data on income disparities, or unemployment related to the Covid-19 crisis, or the higher percentages of Black and brown people mistreated or killed because of systemic racism. Unfortunately, during a national election, most mainstream TV news outlets obsess over polls – who’s ahead and who’s behind.  This is not my area of expertise, but I can report on what experts have told us on our podcast.  Back in 2016, the national polls were within the margin of error.  Clinton won by two percentage points – or 3 million votes.  But some of the state reporting was flawed, since many formerly “unlikely voters” voted, and Trump eked out an electoral victory by narrowly winning Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.  For 2020, statisticians and pollsters again warn of uncertainty. Determining “likely voters” in the age of Covid-19 and mail-in voting may be a crap shoot. Additionally, increases in robo calls in swing states have made many people more wary of answering their phones. Other than suggesting trends over time, we just don’t really know with any certainty how accurate polls are. Marisa: Do you think there's room for opinions in data storytelling, or should it all be fact based?  Richard: Good journalism throughout much of the 20 th  century traditionally tried to separate opinion and analysis from basic news stories, in which reporters learned to keep their opinion out of news reports and attempted to interview multiple sources.  Even today most newspapers relegate opinion essays to the editorial and op-ed pages.  If a newspaper runs an analysis piece on the front page, it is usually labeled as such. Cable TV news began blurring these distinctions, especially with the arrival of Fox News in the mid-1990s.  Still, even on Fox News, there is generally fairer and more complete reporting in the midday hours before the wave of opinion talking heads ascend in the evening.  But this is also true of MSNBC, with its nightly line-up of liberal and progressive talking heads.  Still, the best opinion pieces are informed by good reporting and not just cable hosts spouting whatever comes to mind as they try to fill their allotted hour of time. The tragedy, of course, is that many viewers think what they are getting in the evening is fair and balanced reporting. In fact, cable TV news in the evening -- and nationally syndicate conservative and libertarian talk radio throughout the day -- have filled the void created by the loss of many local newspapers.   In the last 20 years, the U.S. has lost more than half the workforce of daily newspaper reporters -- from 56,000 in 2001 to fewer than 27,000 today. A landmark 2017 University of North Carolina study identified 1,300 U.S. communities as “news deserts” – with no local print or digital reporting. In 2020, that figure has jumped to 1,800.  About 2,100 daily and weekly papers have stopped publishing since 2004. According to a 2019 Brookings Institution study, millions of Americans see only national stories, and many of those “have a strong partisan bent” or “focus heavily on partisan conflict.”  More alarming still, Brookings found the decline in local reporting has been accompanied by “a diminished capacity to hold elected officials and other local leaders accountable and a general disengagement from local politics.”  Evidence that we have gathered in Ohio suggests too that letters and comments to editors at small-town papers are now less likely than in the past to focus on local issues.  Instead, many merely parrot cable TV talking points.  Marisa: Is there anything I didn't ask you about, but should have? Richard: I would like to recommend that every journalism student take statistics or quantitative literacy courses and that every math and stats major take journalism courses (plus, all our high schools should be requiring quantitative literacy classes). The ability for mathematician or scientists to translate the complexities of their work into a story for a general audience is key to challenging the anti-science and anti-evidence strains running through our mediated culture.   Richard Campbell is professor emeritus and founding chair of the Department of Media, Journalism and Film at Miami University and has been teaching for 48 years. For Bedford/St.Martin’s Press, he is the lead author of three textbooks, including Media and Culture: Mass Communication in a Digital Age, now in its 12 th  edition. He is also the author of 60 Minutes and the News: A Mythology for Middle America and co-author of Cracked Coverage: Television News, the Anti-Cocaine Crusade and the Reagan Legacy. He also was a print reporter and broadcast news writer in Milwaukee and was high school English teacher and girls’ basketball coach in the Milwaukee Public School system. ... View more

Student engagement. It’s a struggle that instructors regularly list as their top concern in surveys on teaching during the pandemic. Though maintaining students' attention, curiosity, motivation and passion for learning has been a topic of interest for instructors for some time, these challenges are more pronounced this fall with digital fatigue, distractions at home, lack of one-on-one interaction, and connectivity challenges.  While most instructors now have some experience teaching classes online, having done it once before during the Spring semester, many continue to seek new and innovative ways to support student engagement.  There’s no shortage of ways that instructors can facilitate the joy of learning and connect with their students, and we’ve curated some of the ones that we’ve seen work successfully using the technologies and methodologies that we know best. At the Start of and During Class: Ask the class content-focused opening questions: Retrieval practice is a great way to begin each class, as it allows students to activate knowledge from either pre-class activities or a previous class. There are a few variations of this, including using opening questions on your lecture’s first slide, and removing it from view after a few minutes to encourage students to show up on time. You can also choose to give students credit for answering the opening question orally, in writing, or with a student response solution like iClicker.  Help students to focus by engaging with technology: With a virtual environment, it’s easy for students to get distracted with other content, texts and games on their phones and laptops. The new iClicker Focus feature helps students to self-regulate their behavior to stay engaged solely with the iClicker app for the duration of the class. Chunk out content: Research indicates that students’ attention declines throughout the lecture. This can be compounded in a remote environment, with distractions making concentrating even more difficult. Chunking out information in seven to ten minute increments helps reset attention spans. and beginning each content segment with a polling question, helps activate students’ thinking by requiring them to engage with the content. This can be done using a variety of question types, and with a click of a button using iClicker’s diverse question types (i.e. anonymous, short answer, target, etc). Administer low-stakes, formative assessments: Frequent formative check-ins offer students an indication of their performance, giving them an opportunity to improve their knowledge and grades ahead of exams. You can accomplish this synchronously or asynchronously with  iClicker’s Polling or Quizzing features in class or by using the Assignment feature that students can complete outside of class sessions. The feature can be used to support asynchronous learning or “flip” your in-person class sessions. Create an on-screen action: Whether teaching synchronously or asynchronously, you can move beyond static, text-heavy slides by incorporating illustrations, YouTube videos, 3D modeling software, interactive presentation software, or even memes. You can also add questions in your lecture videos (with iClicker’s Assignment feature) so students can answer questions on their own time. Ending Class and Outside of Class: Pose a reflective closing question: Learning research suggests that awareness of learning enhances it. In addition to demonstrating how well students understand the concepts covered in class, they can also be an opportunity to clarify any points or provide additional resources for students. Have your students set learning goals. By offering a series of sh ort, assignable surveys students can reflect on their learning progress at key points across the semester. You can do this using a survey of your own creation or with Macmillan Learning’s new learning platform, Achieve, which offers an Intro Survey that asks students to consider their goals for the class and to think about how they plan to manage their time and learning strategies. Later, Checkpoint surveys get students to reflect on what's been working and what has not so that they can decide to make changes on their own. Each survey that students complete also generates a report that gives you a bigger picture of how your class is doing beyond their grades. There are a lot of tips here that reference our new digital learning platform, Achieve, and with good reason. During the spring 2020 semester, instructors using Achieve reported their students were more engaged both in and outside of class when they compared to other classes they were teaching without Achieve. More information about Achieve’s performance during the pandemic is being studied now, and you can find our research up to now on our Learning Science page. There's also no shortage of research on the positive impact of iClicker on course outcomes. ... View more