Regular and Substantive Interactions?  What’s that supposed to mean?  It seems every new memo brings a new requirement for online teachers, so when the latest one required that our online courses verify the use of regular and substantive interactions, it was tempting to just shake my fist at a new “mandate” or complain about additional work.  The other option, of course, was to really consider the design of my online writing class.  Was I providing substantive interaction to my students?  How do well-developed online writing courses – or any courses for that matter – naturally provide us with ways to interact with our students in ways that actually make meaningful connections with the content and with each other? At its basis, the federal requirement that online courses provide “regular and substantive interactions” ensures that we aren’t just handing our students a package of material and wishing them good luck as they work through the class materials.  At its best, it provides a menu of effective practices that are already embedded into our writing classes while offering the opportunity to add some new tools to our belt. One characteristic of RSI is that the instructor initiates the interactions, and there are multiple ways we do this. We set up welcome messages, we create discussion boards, and we invite them to come by our office hours, but how can we initiate conversations without adding extra work for ourselves?  Providing personalized feedback on an assignment is considered an instructor-initiated interaction, and how we choose to phrase that feedback can go a long way towards encouraging the students to interact with us.  Instead of writing a comment about WHAT a student did in an essay, why not ask a question about WHY the student made a certain writing decision?  Instead of asking students to write a reflective paragraph about their graded work, why not ask them to write a revision plan based on your feedback and bring it to their next conference? Make feedback an invitation to a conversation rather than the ending point of an assignment. Another characteristic of RSI is that interactions are frequent and consistent.  This can be something as simple as laying out a clear communication schedule letting students know they can expect an email every Monday and Friday or posting weekly announcements.  It can, however, also be providing more frequent feedback on assignments.  No, we can’t grade more essays, but we can add more checkpoints to what we already assign, more scaffolding to larger projects.  We can turn big projects into multi-step projects, especially if we stop defining “drafts” as completed essays and use drafts to check just one part of the project – the thesis, a synthesis of a source, body paragraphs without introductions or conclusions.  These take less time for an instructor to check and present students with more frequent interactions at points where that feedback can still affect change in the final product. Of course, our interactions must also be substantive, which simply means that we need to provide our students with actionable feedback.  Telling them what is right or wrong with their work simply isn’t enough for students.  Our feedback needs to direct students to the tools they need to build their skills.  This can take the form of links to relevant textbook sections, interactive grammar tutorials, or even links to extra mini-lectures designed by the instructor. Sometimes, it’s not enough to lead the horse to water, we really do need to show them how to drink. None of these concepts are new.  They’re already available to us and many of us use them in our online and traditional classes already.  New calls to document RSI shouldn’t be seen as additional work but as a way to highlight what we already do well and to reassess whether the way we offer feedback invites conversation or simply justifies our grades.          ... View more

We have had a bunch of new features release for both Achieve and iClicker and if you want to see them in action, join us for a webinar where you can see how the new stuff works, learn why we added new functionality, and ask questions of our experts.  Sign Up Today Achieve is January 7th at 2pm EST iClicker is January 20th at 2pm EST We will record both, so if you sign up, you'll get the recording emailed to you automatically or you can always return to our recordings page to see what else we have for you.  ... View more

Dr. Amanda Norbutus, a Chemistry professor at Valencia College, has found that student success in her classes can be hindered by limited soft skills. It is not a lack of content knowledge but rather a lack of skills needed to succeed in the classroom. Norbutus has found 4 key strategies that professors can use to help students gain these necessary skills over the course of the semester.   Office Hours and Problem-Solving Sessions It is important to make office hours count. Many students come to office hours unprepared. Instead, request that students attempt a problem before bringing it to office hours to be addressed. In order to help students learn important problem-solving skills, have them practice solving problems ranging from medium to complex to bridge between introductory examples in text and those used to test mastery in homework and exams. Study Modules and In-Class Study Tips Research has shown that stronger neuropathways get built when students take handwritten or typed notes. These neuropathways not only become easier to access but also longer lasting, allowing students to be more successful. Advise and encourage students to write in shorthand or abbreviations instead of writing everything out word for word. Have them practice these skills so that they can work to improve on this style of note taking. Student Goal-Setting and Reflection Surveys The student surveys in Achieve can help students learn new study habits and modify the ones that did not work for them through careful evaluation throughout the semester. Students are then able to reflect on their journey to help them optimize their study habits during the semester as opposed to latent regret or change after the semester. Academic Affirmations Students should be asked to manually write down academic affirmations and why they believed they would help them stay focused and on track during the semester. Academic affirmations can help students stay their path as they face deadlines, outside time conflicts and stressors, and semester fatigue. It also can stimulate a growth mindset, which aids students as they take on the class. To learn more, watch Dr. Norbutus’ presentation on Academic Life Skills here. ... View more

Now that you've figured out the content you want in your course, you need to assign that content in a way that makes sense for you and your course goals.  First, you need to figure out when you want those assignments to be due, and I would recommend a consistent pattern so students aren't caught unaware. Many instructors use the due date and time of 11:59pm on Sunday, but certainly others make sure the readings and adaptive quizzes are done just before each class (so maybe 9:45am for a M/W/F class that starts at 10am) but have homework done the day after class (so maybe 11:59pm on T/R) and quizzes every other week on Sunday night. You need to do what makes sense for you and your teaching style--but again, I would advocate for consistency, wherever possible, that you can outline in your syllabus.  You also need to determine the settings for each assignment. Maybe for a quiz, you let students only take it 1 time, but for a homework, you let a student have 3 attempts. Maybe you drop the lowest 1 grade in the category quiz but the lowest 3 grades for anything in the category of homework, if you assign more homeworks. Maybe the adaptive quizzing is worth 25% of the students' overall grade in Achieve, 25% for homework, and 50% is for summative quizzes or tests. And, of course, you need to determine how much the work in Achieve counts toward the overall course grade. All of this info, of course, should appear in the syllabus as well.  (For more information on the assignment settings and gradebook settings, check out the links to the knowledge base.)  Good luck as you work through the details of creating all your assignments in Achieve!    ... View more

Starting each of your classes with an iClicker entrance ticket helps settle your students into class and frame their brains for learning. An entrance ticket is simply an open-ended iClicker question you ask students at the start of class. We’ve put together a deck of entrance tickets that can be used in any discipline. Simply ask one of these questions using an iClicker short-answer polling question while you and your students get ready for class. Asking questions like, “What was most memorable about our last class meeting?” doesn’t take much effort on your part, but it can have a large impact on your students. These open-ended questions encourage your students to think back and access memories of prior learning experiences, uniquely framing their brains for new learning experiences. Other questions can encourage your students to think about projects outside of class or upcoming exams. The results of these polls will also give you a unique running insight into what your students are learning, remembering and where they may need additional guidance. Habitually using entrance tickets will also help your students check into iClicker and ensure they are counted as present with iClicker Attendance. Lastly, try and end your class with an iClicker Exit Poll to easily bookend your classes with iClicker. With an iClicker Exit Poll, students are asked to rate their understanding of the day’s class. They also are able to ask if there is anything that they would like explained further. And bonus-- adding both of these activities to your lesson plans shouldn’t take away from your time with your students. ... View more

When creating a new course in Achieve, you will often be presented with the option to start with a pre-built course or browse resources. Each of these options has pros and cons, which we will describe below. The help articles listed below will also give you some insight into next steps once you have decided whether to start with a pre-built course. Start with a Pre-built course Add resources to your course   Pre-built courses Pre-built courses: Are a great starting point for beginner instructors who would like a default approach to organizing their course Are organized into units according to the text on which your course is based Have a wide variety of curated resources already added to the course based on what is typically used or recommended Have even more resources available to add from the Content Library if you'd like to supplement what comes with the pre-built course The items in a pre-built course are already added to your course and do not need to be added from the Content Library, but you can always remove them or add more. You can choose from the items added to your course which ones you would like to assign with a due date and points. Bulk assigning may be more difficult in a pre-built course If you would like to assign items in bulk in a pre-built course, you will have to find each of the items in the course and check the box for it. In some cases, it may be easier to find and select resources to assign in bulk when browsing resources in the Content Library because it has a search feature. However, if the item is already added to your course (as many will be when using a pre-built course), you will not be able to assign it in bulk using the Content Library. The checkboxes will be greyed out and not allow you to select the item for bulk assigning.   If you choose to Browse Our Library Of Content rather than Start With A Pre-Built Course, you will no longer have the option to use the pre-built course. Make sure this is the option you want before you select it. (If you choose not to use the pre-built course and later decide you'd like to try it, you can do so only if you create a new course.) Browsing resources rather than using a pre-built course allows you to: Search for and add only specific resources to your course (You can type in a term to search for, or filter items by Chapter/Topic, Resource Type, or Recommended Use) Easily create your own units and course organization as you add items to your course Easily assign items or change their visibility as you add them to your course If you're not sure, start with a pre-built course A pre-built course gives you a starting point to work from when building your course. You can still add resources or remove any you don't like. You can also add or remove units and reorganize resources in the pre-built course. The only drawback of using a pre-built course is that it may be more cumbersome to assign items in bulk or organize items in your course, since you can't do it as part of the process of adding them. ... View more

Now that you've figured out your Achieve course delivery method, you need to determine how you want to manager you sections. A Section Manager with sections is the easiest way to manage the content of multiple sections from one place-- the Section Manager. It’s also the easiest way to manage course sections of the same course taught by multiple different TAs/instructors. However, Section Managers do have certain limitations. In Achieve, you can create course sections under a Section Manager. All of the sections are copies of the Section Manager course, and depending on settings you choose, they may inherit changes from the Section Manager.  How does a Section Manager work? Section Managers do not allow the following actions. These actions would instead be taken in each course section. Enrolling students Viewing assignment scores or completion information in the assignment list, gradebook, and reports Creating due date exceptions or student-specific assignments Creating groups of students Performing LMS integration How do the sections work? The course sections under the Section Manager have two different permission sets: Restricted Access and Full Access. In general, Restricted Access is used when you want changes in the Section Manager to flow down into the sections. Restricted Access instructors have limitations on the changes they can make within the course, while Full Access instructors have complete control over the content. The differences between these section types will be covered in more and more detail throughout this article. Is a Section Manager with sections the right set up for me? A Section Manager with sections is the easiest way to manage the content of multiple sections from one place-- the Section Manager. It’s also the easiest way to manage course sections of the same course taught by multiple different TAs/instructors. However, Section Managers do have certain limitations. You will not be able to integrate your Section Manager with an LMS or enroll students in it. You will only be able to set up integration with the section courses under the Section Manager once those have been created. You will not be able to customize the name, course code, or course start/end dates for each section. This information will be inherited from the Section Manager. You will not be able to edit Diagnostic activities once sections are created. The alternative to creating a Section Manager with sections would be to create copies of a single course (not tied to a Section Manager). Functionally, this is almost exactly the same as creating Full Access sections. The only benefit of creating single course copies is that they can have unique course names and start/end dates, while Full Access sections can only inherit this information from the Section Manager. There are also drawbacks to using single course copies. A course coordinator can quickly add an instructor or TA to a Full Access section, but this is not possible for a single course copy. This would have to be done through Macmillan Learning Customer Support. Also, this setup only allows you to add content items you create to a single course, rather than all of your sections. See the table below for further comparison. Comparison of section/course types Below is a table with a brief comparison of the different section types under a Section Manager (Restricted Access and Full Access) vs. course copies that are not tied to a Section Manager. We'll cover the differences between Restricted and Full Access sections in more detail later in this article.     Restricted Access section Full Access section Course Copy (not tied to a Section Manager) Who controls how content is organized in the section course? Section Manager instructor Full Access section instructor Course Copy instructor Who controls who has instructor access to the section courses? Section Manager instructor Section Manager instructor Macmillan Customer Support Can I customize the course info such as the course name, course code, start and end dates? No, it’s inherited from the Section Manager No, it’s inherited from the Section Manager Yes Newly created Files and Links from the Section Manager are automatically added to the section course Yes Yes No, but you can add these manually Newly created Assessments and Writing assignments from the Section Manager are automatically added to the section course Yes Yes No, you can only add these to one course Receives changes to the content of Assessments from the Section Manager Yes No No Receives changes to the content of Writing Assignments from the Section Manager Yes No No Receives changes to the Target Score and Topics for LearningCurve Adaptive Quizzes and Read & Practice assignments from the Section Manager Yes No* No Receives changes to Diagnostic assignments from the Section Manager No No No Receives changes to the content of the course from the Section Manager Yes No No Section instructor can change the content in the section course or assignments No Yes Yes Section instructor can change assignment settings such as due date and points Yes Yes Yes *Full Access sections will receive changes to LearningCurve Adaptive Quizzes and Read & Practice assignments from the section manager only if the assignment has never been opened in that Full Access section. For more instructions, go here to create a Section Manager and see how to manage those sections as well. (And, as always, talk to your local representative, specialist, or sign up for a training if you want more information about how these choices apply to you and your course goals.)   ... View more

So you’ve decided to use Achieve. Congratulations!  What’s next?  The first step is to figure out how you are going to deliver Achieve to your students. Will you have the bookstore sell codes, or have the students buy access online, or does your school offer an Inclusive Access program that you should join? Does your school require you to use an LMS--and if so, which one? Maybe you want to do what we call “deep integration” so students sign into the school LMS and see all their work for Achieve there. How do you determine this? Your bookstore will know if there is an Inclusive Access course materials discount program on campus. Your local Macmillan representative might know as well. Start there. Your Macmillan representative will ALSO know if other people at your school are doing deep integration (so maybe it’s already set up on your campus) or inclusive access.  Talk to your bookstore and your Macmillan representative to figure out what makes sense for you BEFORE you even start creating your Achieve course.  And if you know already that you want to do LMS integration, here are a series of directions based on your LMS.  Blackboard: https://macmillan.force.com/macmillanlearning/s/article/Instructors-Integrate-Macmillan-courses-with-Blackboard Blackboard Ultra: https://macmillan.force.com/macmillanlearning/s/article/Table-of-Contents-for-Deep-Integration-with-Blackboard-Ultra Canvas: https://macmillan.force.com/macmillanlearning/s/article/Instructors-Integrate-Macmillan-courses-with-Canvas D2L/Brightspace:  https://macmillan.force.com/macmillanlearning/s/article/Instructors-Integrate-Macmillan-courses-with-D2L-Brightspace Moodle: https://macmillan.force.com/macmillanlearning/s/article/Instructors-Integrate-Macmillan-courses-with-Moodle And if you know already that you want to do Inclusive Access, start talking to your Macmillan Learning representative now so we can make sure you’re all set up for the next semester. ... View more

Now that you've decided to use Achieve, you need to determine how to set up your Achieve course to align with your course goals. Some topics that you need to think about, for instance, might be: Does your school offer a First Day or Inclusive Access program that you should participate in? Are you required to use your LMS? If so, should you offer Achieve through your LMS (be that Canvas, Blackboard, D2L/Brightspace or Moodle)?  If you are teaching more than one section of the same course, or managing a course with multiple sections and instructors, should you use the Section Manager feature where you create a course and have all sections use a copy or branch of that course?  Once you get into the content of Achieve, do you want to use a pre-built course or start from scratch with our resources to design your own course? Which resources make the most sense to use and assign?  How do you want to set up your assignments and grading policies? Will you give students multiple attempts or a grace period to get work done? How much is the work in Achieve going to count toward the overall course grade?  I wish I could tell you that deciding to use Achieve was the LAST step in the process, but really, you're only just getting started. A series of articles will follow on some of these topics to help you figure out what course design makes the most sense for you, your course goals, and your students. Stay tuned!    ... View more

When we were doing research to develop Achieve, both students and instructors told us that they needed more than just discipline content; they needed tools to help students be great students, regardless of the course content. A student’s ability to adapt problem-solving behaviors to different academic tasks and feedback is critical for successful learning. This ability, also referred to as self-regulated learning, has been defined as a set of interrelated skills and motivations that control learning [1, 2]. In order to better support students’ self-regulated learning, we’ve created the Goal-setting and Reflection Surveys in Achieve.    If the surveys are in your course, you will find them under the Resources tab. Instructors report that they are easy to assign and easy for students to complete and, most shockingly, students LIKE the surveys!    When asked how they felt about the Goal-setting and Reflection Surveys, students said….   “It shows that there is a lot more room for improvement not just in psych, but also other classes.” “The questions in the survey helped me to reflect on what I did to better myself and encouraged me to improve further.” “The surveys helped me to reevaluate my goals and ensure I was on the right track for this class to get the grade I desire.” “The surveys helped me better look at how I studied and participated in class. It gave me better study habit ideas.”   Not only do students like the surveys, but our data suggests that using Goal-setting and Reflection Surveys impacts student course performance.   Students that complete their surveys experience higher final course grades Students completing up to 2 surveys perform 2 - 3% better on their course grade than their peers not completing surveys.  Students completing 3 - 5 surveys perform up to 5.5% better on their course grade than their peers not completing surveys.   Students that complete their surveys also perform better on internal Achieve assignments like practice quizzes and homework (Ranking 8% - 12% higher in their classes than their peers not completing surveys)       AND….  Students completing their surveys also complete up to 36% more of their assigned Achieve activities.      But it’s not just about the students. What do instructors say they learn from the surveys and the reports?   “It helped me understand how each student is doing and where we need more work.”    “The report was valuable to me as it revealed students' level of interest in the course, what they seek from the course and how they will apply the outcomes of the course to their lives. I truly used all parts of the information included in the report.”    “It's interesting and helpful to see the number of students who report being off track. It's also helpful to see what obstacles they report facing to staying on track and the strategies they intend on using moving forward.”   “It provided good insight about where many of the students can use some additional instruction and resources to boost learning.”   How many of the surveys are instructors assigning? For courses that assign only 1 survey, only 38% of students complete the survey. Courses that assign 2 - 3 surveys experience more than twice the number of students completing the surveys (77 - 82%). Courses that assign 4 or more surveys experience a significant drop in student survey completion rates (47% or less)   What does this mean for us? There is a sweet spot of using/assigning the Goal-setting & Reflection Surveys.  We recommend instructors assign 2 - 3 surveys per semester for maximum student engagement.   If you want to learn more about the surveys, check out our introduction to surveys article.  [1] Zimmerman, B. J., & Schunk, D. H. (Eds.). (2001). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical Perspectives. Routledge.    [2] Broadbent, J., & Poon, W. L. (2015). Self-regulated learning strategies & academic achievement in online higher education learning environments: A systematic review. The Internet and Higher Education, 27, 1-13. ... View more

What’s New? We have a few new features that just released that will be, we hope, inordinately helpful for your 2022 classes.  You can learn more in our Community.    The instructor can pick the day of the week that the assignment view begins for all of their students in that class.   Achieve will remember the last My Course view any user was on and show that view when you return to My Course.   Instructors will be able to delete their unwanted custom assessment grade settings policies.   Instructors will have new options to control solution visibility.   Password protected assessments are now available.     Learning Objectives will now be visible to instructors when building or editing their assessments, as well as when reviewing students' responses. (Not in Essentials or Read & Practice courses)     Goal Setting and Reflection Responses will now be automated and available in the Reports / Insights tab.   A simple calendar view is available now with enhancements expected throughout the spring.      What came out earlier this fall?  Multi-take Assessments (as a new option as a Grade Settings Policy) allow students to take an assessment up to five times and keep the highest score.  Group Exceptions allow you to create a group of students to use for exceptions (like time extensions) repeatedly.  Course Start and End Time and Institution Name are part of the Course Details and give you the power over exactly when your course starts and ends, and what students see about your course.        ... View more

Just a reminder that we will be doing maintenance on LaunchPad and our catalogs on Sunday, November 14th from 12:01am (just after midnight) until 7am EST (7 hours). During that time, no one (students or instructors) will be able to access LaunchPad or the catalogs, so please make any adjustments to your syllabus now. A notice will appear in LaunchPad as well, but please be sure to remind your students about this downtime just in case they skip that notice and plan on doing work at 4am on a Sunday morning. 🙂  Thanks for your patience with us!  ... View more

We have officially released "multi-take" as a grading setting in Achieve. Check it out!  (And yes, the team has already updated the KB with info on multi-take, if you're interested.)  Multi-Take Quiz Grading Setting Details on Multi-Take Quizzes                ... View more

I use Achieve in two of my classes at North Shore Community College: an ALP (Accelerated Learning Program) course and a 6-credit integrated reading and writing course.  When I was first new to the product, I went with the pre-built course and it made my life much easier!  I had to tweak it slightly to fit my courses, but I felt like it was much less stressful than starting from scratch. In subsequent semesters, I’ve experimented with building out the course on my own, but my course tends to mimic the pre-built one! I choose to use the diagnostic tests with both courses, as well as the low-stakes short writing assignments. And in Composition/Seminar (our ALP), I use the writing projects connected to The Hub textbook. One of the most important things I learned with Achieve is that I don’t have to use every tool and option. I got very excited—and stressed out—at first when I saw what is available to instructors and I wanted to use it all! I quickly realized that I should have scaled it back for the first semester because I simply could not keep up with it all. Within writing projects, having three drafts for every essay meant I was constantly reading and grading. Instead, I cut back on the drafts and issued only one or two draft goals so that I wasn’t reading an entire essay each time. I also spread the diagnostic tests out over five weeks, so students don’t just feel like Achieve is one big test!  I also give my students the entire semester to compete any study plans associated with those diagnostics. I use a labor-based grading system in both classes so the Achieve assignments are graded according to whether they are complete, incomplete, late or missing. The gradebook in Achieve helps a lot with that—I can quickly see which students are completing things and which are not…and then I can take a deeper dive into their individual assignments.  Achieve assignments comprise about 50% of the work in my Integrated Reading and Writing course, whereas in my Composition/Seminar (our version of ALP), I use Achieve and The Hub to make up 100% of the assignments. I do a soft integration with my LMS Blackboard.  Since I use labor-based grading, I don’t weight my grades.  I don’t do a full integration with a linked gradebook because of this.   ... View more

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