Minneapolis & New York, November 13, 2019 -- Macmillan Learning, a privately-held, family-owned education publishing company, announced today during the American Evaluation Association (AEA) Annual Conference that student final exam scores were more than half-letter grade higher when instructors assigned pre-class activities in Achieve, the company’s new digital learning platform. The company partnered with instructors at 38 two- and four-year institutions to research the efficacy of Achieve, evaluating 2,251 students during the spring 2019 semester. The results revealed today represent one finding from a multi-year efficacy study; other efficacy results are expected to be published later this year. The Achieve platform launches in January 2020 and will be widely available in Fall. “Macmillan Learning is deeply committed to using evidence-based research to build products that help more students to succeed. To best accomplish this, the company took the unusual step of embedding efficacy research for Achieve into the process of designing, developing and improving the new platform,” said Adam Black, PhD, Macmillan Learning’s Chief Learning Officer. Key Findings Use of pre-class activities in Achieve positively influenced summative assessment scores in Achieve and also final exam scores—even when controlling for students’ prior academic performance, baseline level of motivation to succeed in the course, and instructor characteristics. Among the findings: Students who completed  pre-class activities earned, on average, 8.7 percentage points higher on assessments. There were statistically significant differences (p<0.001) in the average assessment scores for students using pre-class assignments in Achieve compared to those who did not.  Students who completed pre-class activities had final exam scores that were 6.8 percentage points higher than students who didn’t. These values were also statistically significant (p<0.001) The more pre-class activities that a student engaged in, the higher their assessment scores and final exam scores were. These values were also statistically significant (correlation = 0.71, p<0.001) The study found that instructors also had strong perceptions of how pre-class activities in Achieve supported their students. They reported that pre-class activities helped their students to stay on track with assigned reading, understand the concepts that would be covered in class, and gain a basic understanding of concepts. Students reported high perceptions of pre-class activities in Achieve as well.  Like their instructors, students agreed that the pre-class work helped them keep up with their reading, come to class prepared to participate, and support their comprehension.   “We’re particularly excited to provide instructors with deeper insights into how particular student subgroups benefit from using it – for example, those less motivated or academically prepared to succeed. These kinds of insights are only possible because of our partnerships with instructors and students and the rigorous research practices we employ, which include two levels of Institutional Review Board approval for every study of Achieve,” said Kara McWilliams PhD., Macmillan Learning’s VP of Impact Research and the study’s Primary Investigator.  About The Research Because the study was conducted with students, Macmillan Learning's processes, data handling, and researcher credentials were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Boards (IRB) at each institution and a third party. IRB review ensures that the study is rigorous and ethical. Forty instructors elected to participate in the study and their students were offered the opportunity to opt-in, and 74% of students chose to participate.  Groups were compared on three dependent variables: scores on assessments in Achieve, scores on final exams given in the course where Achieve was used, and student’s likelihood to recommend a course using Achieve to a friend. The effect of using pre-class activities in Achieve on the dependent variables was also evaluated. Analyses indicated that students’ high school grade point average and that their baseline levels of motivation were related to the dependent variables, so they were controlled for as covariates.  And, students were grouped within instructors so hierarchical linear regression was used to investigate the within and between group differences, where required.  This research has been reviewed by Macmillan Learning’s Impact Research Advisory Council (IRAC), which is comprised of experts in educational technology, methodology, and psychometrics.  “Having had the privilege of participating in Macmillan’s peer review process for The Flipped Effect, I have had a chance to see first-hand how seriously they are taking this critical part of their process. This company is collaborating with serious academics to make sure that the claims they make about their product are true. Their commitment is a model for the sector," said Michael Feldstein, IRAC member and Executive Director, Empirical Educator Project. The research presented today is part of a larger body of research conducted by Macmillan Learning’s Learning Science team that began in 2017 and helped guide development of the Achieve platform.  The team has been studying its efficacy overall, and among subgroups of students to evaluate whether the tool supports all students - like those more and less academically prepared to succeed, more and less motivated to succeed, first generation students, and those with competing demands like jobs and families, among other important cohorts.  Macmillan Learning also presented during the conference “The formative evaluation of Achieve: a novel approach to rapid-cycle evaluation of digital learning tools early in development.” They shared an entirely new research process to test and improve learning products outside of live courses during early development. These methods can be used by other organizations to improve products, to begin to understand chosen implementation patterns, and to glean exploratory evidence of learner effectiveness. About Achieve Achieve is an evolutionary digital learning platform that includes learning materials with a comprehensive set of interconnected teaching and assessment tools. It offers the best features of each of Macmillan Learning’s digital solutions in one platform that is intuitive to use, accessible for students of all abilities, and is flexible for students and instructors. Achieve was developed in partnership with students and instructors with the goal of supporting students of all levels motivation and preparedness and helping to engage students in and out of class so that they have better outcomes. To that end, instructors facilitate can learn in the way that best suits their class, whether it’s traditional, online, blended, or fully “flipped” classrooms.   About Macmillan Learning Macmillan Learning is a privately-held, family owned company that improves lives through learning. By linking research to learning practice, we develop pioneering products and learning materials for students that are highly effective and drive improved outcomes. Our engaging content is developed in partnership with the world's best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers. To learn more, please visit macmillanlearning.com or see us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or join our Macmillan Community. ... View more

New York, October 17, 2019 -- Macmillan Learning, a privately-held, family-owned educational publisher, announced textbooks written by acclaimed economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers will be available for the Fall 2020 semester. The Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics titles treat every decision a person makes as an economic decision, replacing hypothetical “widgets” in economics textbooks with true-to-life examples of decisions students make so that every student can recognize situations they themselves have been in (like why they can’t find parking or how to negotiate for a better raise) and situations they will encounter (like how economic forces impact their wages and rent.)  “Economics doesn’t have to be as complicated as many textbooks make it out to be, and many of us are making economic decisions every day whether we know it or not. In writing Principles of Economics, we focused on honing students intuition so that they see themselves as economic actors, and can apply the lessons they’re learning throughout their lives,” said Betsey Setevson. “Our goal is to reach every student.” “If you’ve ever had the pleasure of reading one of those popular economics books that takes readers on a joyous romp through our field, you quickly understand why millions of people spend their weekends reading them. Podcast rankings and best-seller lists reveal a latent demand for an approach that supplies some of the same magic. We aim to bring that sense of delight and discovery to your introductory economics class,” said Justin Wolfers. Beginning with the first chapter, students will use four economic principles (cost-benefit, opportunity cost, marginal and interdependence principles) to frame how they make decisions. The tangible, practical examples span from household dynamics to local or national policy to demonstrate how economic concepts play out in real life. Some examples of economic decisions they will explore are: Should you stream one more episode? How can a nonprofit use market forces to better feed America’s hungry? What city should you move to after graduation? How can the Federal Reserve Board’s decision to raise interest rates lead a mother in China to feed her children chicken instead of pork?   “This is one of the most important titles that Macmillan Learning has published. The fundamentals and practical examples that Stevenson & Wolfers deliver make economics more accessible to a wider range of students, whether or not they’re majoring in Economics. We’re also very proud to support Betsey Stevenson’s voice in what’s historically been a male-dominated field,” said Susan Winslow, General Manager of Macmillan Learning.   Economists in recent years have transformed the field so that it has greater relevance and a closer relationship to actual human behavior, with a focus on practical problems. The new Principles of Economics titles by Stevenson & Wolfers reflect that changing landscape and were created to highlight for students how economics can be useful in the ordinary business of life.   The books also offer a deeper and more intuitive treatment of traditional topics (demand, supply, and equilibrium) that provide a solid foundation for economic thinking that students can apply right away as they learn to analyze markets, examine policies, strategize about pricing and other decisions, and interpret economic indicators. Students will also learn how businesses, workers, and ideas compete across a range of market structures, how microfoundations underpin macroeconomic theory, how modern economists use models to understand the business cycle, and the implications for macroeconomic policy decisions. About the Authors  Betsey Stevenson advised President Obama on social policy, labor market, and trade issues as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers from 2013 to 2015. She is currently a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan and she serves on the Executive Committee of the American Economic Association and other boards. She is an expert on the impact of the economy on happiness, on public policies impact on the labor market, and the economic forces shaping the modern family, among other topics.   Justin Wolfers is a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan. He is an expert in unemployment and inflation, the power of prediction markets, the economic forces shaping the modern family, discrimination, and happiness. He has been an editor of the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, a board member on the Committee on the Status of Women in Economics, a member of the Panel of Advisors of the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, among many other board and advisory positions.  About Macmillan Learning Macmillan Learning is a privately-held, family-owned company that improves lives through learning. By linking research to learning practice, we develop pioneering products and learning materials for students that are highly effective and drive improved outcomes. Our engaging content is developed in partnership with the world's best authors researchers, educators, administrators, and developers. Visit macmillanlearning.com, see us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or join our Macmillan Community. ... View more

2018 Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author James Forman Jr. will open the summit with a special presentation Atlanta, September 23, 2019— The Third HBCU Rhetoric & Composition Symposium, a national summit focusing on excellence in English composition and rhetoric, will be held at Morehouse College from September 26-28. This year’s symposium “Re-imagining the African American Canon for Teaching Composition at HBCUs” is sponsored by Bedford/St. Martin’s, an imprint of Macmillan Learning, and Morehouse College. The annual summit is a think tank for English professors and other educators that attracts some of the greatest minds in literature and composition from historically black colleges nationwide and other universities that serves large populations of students of color.  “We are honored to host the third annual HBCU Composition Summit on the campus of Morehouse College,” said Morehouse President David A. Thomas. “Some of the world’s most eloquent and profound writers were educated at HBCUs, from Toni Morrison and Alice Walker to Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King Jr. Focusing on excellence in writing is a campus-wide priority at Morehouse across all academic divisions. This conference aligns with that important goal.” “Bedford/St. Martin’s is proud to support what we know will be a vibrant exchange among scholars and writers from HBCUs and predominantly Black colleges,” said Leasa Burton, Vice President of Humanities for Macmillan Learning. “We recognize the need for diverse voices and have long partnered with educators to support connections across campuses and communities. We hope that this year’s program will inspire the next generation of African American teachers and writers.” Highlights of the 2019 symposia include: Presentation and book signing by 2018 Pulitzer Prize Winning Author James Forman Jr.(Locking Up Our Own, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan) will open the symposium with a special presentation A private tour and overview of the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection, along with a discussion on how to use it to teach composition A full day of panels on topics that vary from strategies of teaching writing to “Reimagining the Role of Black Fiction, to “Writing in the Discipline and Teaching Black Excellence,” among others    Leah Creque, Ph.D.,   Professor of English and Honors Program Director, issued the invitation for the symposium to be hosted at Morehouse College during her tenure as chair of the Department of English. Dr. Nathaniel Norment, Director of the Writing Center and The Black Ink Project serves as the conference co-chair. Programming was chosen following a call for papers, roundtables, and workshops by a collaborative group of external reviewers led by Dr. Jason DePolo, North Carolina A&T and Dr. David Green, Howard University. *Sessions include: Sept 26:  Presentation: James Forman Jr., Pulitzer Prize Winning Author of Locking Up Our Own Welcome remarks: Loretta Parham, Director of the AUC Robert Woodruff Library Panel: Using the King Collection to Teach Composition Tour of the Martin Luther King Jr. Collection, Morehouse College Keynote Address: Black Writers: Why We Write, Dr. Daniel Black Sept. 27: Panel: Role of the Writing Center at North Carolina A&T State University. Panel: Baldwin, Giovanni, and Hughes: Teaching Writing at HBCUs Panel: Then and Now: Teaching Writing Across the Curriculum at HBCU Panel: Writing for Success Panel: Hurston in the Contemporary Writing Classroom: Reimagining the Role of Black Fiction at HBCUs Panel: Culturally Relevant Content and Assessing African American Students’ Writing Panel: Where da Ladiez At?!: Rethinking Labor, Love, and Language Through Traditional and Contemporary Texts in the HBCU Composition Classroom. Panel: When Harlem was in Vogue: Harlem’s Icons at HBCUs Panel: Interrogating “The New Writing Center” at HBCUs Panel: #NotYaClassicCompCourse: Reciprocal Learning Possibilities for Redefining the HBCU Composition Classroom. Panel: Constructivist Paradigms and Digital Writing in a Socially Mediated World Panel: Writing in the Discipline and Teaching Black Excellence Strategies and Best Practices for Teaching Writing to African American Students Panel: Creating and Providing Agency and Identity through the Teaching of Writing Panel: Perspectives on Teaching in First Year Writing Programs at HBCUs Keynote Address: Dr. Jackie Royster, “What is the Concept? Teaching Writing at HBCUs” Sept. 28, 2019: Curriculum Working Group Session Publication Working Group Session  Follow #HBCUComp19 on Twitter.    *Speakers and sessions are as of September 19, 2019 and are subject to change. About Morehouse College Morehouse College is the nation’s largest liberal arts institution for men. Founded in 1867, the College enrolls approximately 2,200 students and is the nation’s top producer of black men who go on to receive doctorates. Morehouse is also the top producer of Rhodes Scholars among HBCUs, with five Morehouse Men receiving the honor. Historically, Morehouse has conferred more bachelor’s degrees on black men than any other institution in the world. Prominent alumni include: Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. Surgeon General; Shelton “Spike” Lee, award-winning American filmmaker; Maynard H. Jackson, the first African American mayor of Atlanta; and Jeh Johnson, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. Morehouse currently has more than 17,000 alumni in 40 states and 14 countries. For more information visit www.morehouse.edu. ... View more

Today Macmillan Learning announced that the STEM Education Summit will focus this year on the future of work. The meeting -- held annually with us and Scientific American, the longest-running magazine in the US -- was established to help find solutions to best educate and empower the next generation of STEM students; for the seventh year, the event will bring together thought leaders from the education, business, policy, and technology communities to explore how to best do that. The STEM Education Summit will be held on Sept. 26 at the Central Library in Austin, Texas. The event is free to the public via livestream. “As we enter what many are calling the fourth industrial revolution, this year’s focus on the future of work couldn't be more timely. We believe that the STEM Summit is a great way to bring together education’s evangelists to discuss how to prepare students for their best future,” said Susan Winslow, General Manager, Macmillan Learning. Sessions include*:  The Merger of Education and Work Brandon Busteed, President, Kaplan University Partners Access, Equity, & Engagement: Equipping Students to Thrive After GraduationPanel features Dr. Danette Howard, SVP & Chief Strategy Officer, Lumina Foundation, Dr. Allen Delong, Senior Associate Dean, Center for Purposeful Work, Bates College and Scott Carlson, Senior Writer, The Chronicle Gigged Sarah Kessler, Author & Editor-in-Chief, Quartz Magazine Developing a STEM Workforce at Scale: The Power of a Coalition Supporting Education Janet Auer, Global Advisor Education Programs, Chevron and Susanne Thompson, SVP, Corporate Education Partnerships, Discovery Education The Entrepreneurial Future of Education Fireside chat between Susan Winslow and Dr. Robert Lue, Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University. Computer Science Education for All Matt Dawson, Engineering Education Program Manager, Google Teaching AI Lightning talk by Michelle Zimmerman, Director of Teaching and Learning Sciences,  Renton Prep Big Data, Wellness and Disease Dr. Lee Hood, SVP and Chief Science Officer, Providence St. Joseph Health; Chief Strategy Officer, Co-founder and Professor, ISB Diverse Pathways to Career Success Dr. David Soo, Chief of Staff, Jobs for the Future and Jennifer Stredler, VP of Workforce Development, Salesforce Foundation, Caitlyn Brazill, EVP, Development & Communications, Per Scholas Student Perspectives on STEM & Work Tricia Berry, Director, Texas Girls Collaborative Project, The University of Texas at Austin along with three students from Cockrell School of Engineering Reflections from a former Google Science Fair Winner Kenneth Shinozuka, Current Harvard College Student Ethics in Tech: Casey Fiesler, Assistant Professor, University of Colorado, Boulder  In addition to presentations and panels, the conference will include a demo from Komal Dadlani, CEO and Founder, Lab4U on a mobile technology she believes is poised to help democratize science. Follow #STEMSummit2019 on Twitter and on @MacmillanLearn. Media interested in attending should email marisa.bluestone@macmillan.com.   *Speakers and sessions are as of September 6, 2019 and are subject to change.  About Macmillan Learning Macmillan Learning is a privately-held, family-owned company that improves lives through learning. By linking research to learning practice, we develop pioneering products and learning materials for students that are empathetic, highly effective, and drive improved outcomes. Our engaging content is developed in partnership with the world's best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers. To learn more, please visit macmillanlearning.com or see us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or join our Macmillan Community. ... View more

This week Macmillan Learning announced the availability of their new, first-edition textbooks and courseware for the 2019 - 2020 academic year. As part of the company’s ongoing investment in authors and engaging content, Macmillan Learning launched new course materials and software for humanities, social sciences and STEM courses. The new course materials add new perspective and diversity to the hundreds of already published digital and print works from the company.  "Because we’re a family-owned company we’re able to focus our attention and investments on the classroom, not the boardroom, and giving instructors the new voices and perspectives they’re asking for,” said Susan Winslow, General Manager of Macmillan Learning. “We take a holistic approach to creating learning materials, meaning we’re working closely with authors, faculty and students to offer affordable learning materials that meet students exactly where they are and, importantly, inspire them to keep learning.” The new titles are available in digital formats (LaunchPad, SaplingPlus, e-books) as well as various forms of print (hardback, paperback and loose-leaf) and can be either rented or purchased. The first edition projects include:   Peter Adams authored The Hub: A Place for Reading and Writing, which is the first and only hybrid digital and print course materials developed specifically for corequisite and Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) first-year writing courses. David Anderson authored Survey of Economics, which answers the question “why should I care about economics.” Susan Burns authored Psychology of Sex and Gender, which provides a the foundational understandings of the topics of sex and gender alongside cutting-edge research to encourage students to question perceptions of gender in the world around them. Robert Crosnoe authored Families Now Diversity, Demography, and Development, which offers a modern, integrative approach to understanding families, reflecting the dynamic changes occurring in family life and institutions in the U.S. Lauren Ingraham and Jeanne Law Bohannon authored The Writers Loop, a practical approach to writing, based on the habits of strong writers, who pause often, reflect, and loop backwards and forwards as they revise on their way to a final draft. Stephen Rubb and Scott Sumner authored Economic Principles: A Business Perspective, which covers the fundamentals of economics in the context of today’s globalized business world. It can be purchased with a focus on Microeconomic Principles, Macroeconomic Principles, or both together. Interactive General Chemistry was built from the ground up as a digital learning program to help effectively and efficiently tackle chemistry concepts and problem solving, using multimedia-rich learning resources. Todd Taylor authored Becoming a College Writer, a unique multimedia text that offers brief, modular chapters derived from 100 interviews with students who recently finished first-year writing. Judy Yung authored Chinese Exclusion Act and Angel Island, which offers original documents and provides context that together offers a broader and more inclusive vision of U.S. immigration history. All of these course materials can be paired with iClicker to facilitate classroom attendance, active learning activities, or to complete in-class quizzes and surveys with mobile devices. Prices begin at $9.99 and all of these eBook titles are born-accessible, designed for users of all abilities. Prior to developing these new titles, Macmillan Learning editors and authors worked closely with college instructors and students throughout the US through research councils and other outreach efforts. Additional titles for college students in STEM, Humanities and Social Sciences for the 2020-2021 academic year are currently in development. In addition to these new titles in higher education, first edition textbooks for Advanced Placement (AP) High School programs in Government and Physics are also newly available for the coming academic year. ... View more

Finding the right course materials can be critical to helping students on their learning journey. That’s why we really enjoyed learning that The Open Syllabus Project found, after reviewing more than six million syllabi, that Macmillan Learning course materials were assigned by the most college instructors for courses in English Literature, History and Psychology.   The Open Syllabus Project found that A Writer's Reference from Bedford/St. Martin’s was the second most assigned title from every course material being used across college campuses today, appearing in more than 7,500 course syllabi. It also beat out classics like Canterbury Tales to become the most assigned text in English Literature. Other top titles are The American Promise: A History of the United States by James L. Roark published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, which was the most assigned title in History appearing in more than 4,000 course syllabi; and Psychology by David G. Myers from Worth Publishers, which was the most assigned title in Psychology appearing in more than 2,000 course syllabi.    Some of the other course materials from Macmillan Learning and our imprints (including imprints Bedford/St. Martin’s, W.H. Freeman, and Worth Publishers) that were among the top 10 most assigned materials in their respective subjects include:     Astronomy Discovering the Universe, Neil F. Comins  Universe, William J. Kaufmann   Biology: Molecular Cell Biology, Harvey F. Lodish   Chemistry: Quantitative Chemical Analysis, Daniel C. Harris   Economics: Macroeconomics, N. Gregory Mankiw   English Literature: A Writer's Reference, Diana Hacker  A Pocket Style Manual, Diana Hacker    Geography: World Regional Geography: Global Patterns, Local Lives, Alex Pulsipher, Lydia Mihelic Pulsipher    History: The American Promise: A History of the United States, James L. Roark  A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, Mary Lynn Rampolla    Mathematics: Introduction to the Practice of Statistics, George P. McCabe, David S. Moore    Media/Communications: A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking, Dan O.'Hair, Hannah Rubenstein, Robert A. Stewart A Speaker's Guidebook: Text and Reference, Dan O.'Hair, Hannah Rubenstein, Robert A. Stewart    Psychology: Psychology, David G. Myers  Exploring Psychology, David G. Myers    We don’t plan on resting on our laurels, and will continue to invest in new and diverse voices and content. New course materials for use in the upcoming academic year will be announced soon, and we’re very much looking forward to issuing these future classics.   The Open Syllabus Project uses machine learning to analyze millions of syllabi to understand the college teaching, publishing, and intellectual traditions around the world. They are based at the American Assembly, non-profit organization affiliated with Columbia University. ... View more

New York, NY; July 1, 2019 -- Macmillan Learning released under a creative commons license four new research reports that provide guidelines for designing next-generation learning experiences. These “Learning Science Foundations” build on the company’s previously published core principles for learning design and learning models (active, problem, and project) and together make up the blueprints of experiences that drive better student outcomes. While these foundations underpin the design of Macmillan Learning’s next-generation of products, they are shared freely with the education community that’s helped create them and provide educators and instructional designers with guidelines on how to apply the best of learning science to build research-based educational experiences that benefit students anywhere. The four new papers provide a glimpse of the “learning engineering” behind Macmillan Learning’s emerging technologies, and cover Learning Objectives, Assessment Strategies, and Analytics for Instructors and Students. The collection is being released together because of their deeply interrelated nature -- the learning objectives drive assessment, and analytics enable insight into performance on those assessments and against those objectives. Although concise, they are based on a rigorous, expert-reviewed synthesis of “what works” from educational research and cognitive science and provide references to all the supporting primary literature. “The next generation of learning technology has the ability to provide highly personalized learning experiences and powerful insights, but both are only as good as the underlying content, data, and pedagogical models they support,” said Dr. Adam Black, Chief Strategy & Learning Officer at Macmillan Learning. “We’ve been fortunate to work with a remarkable panel of leading researchers, practitioners, and students to develop these principles.” By releasing the research to the education community, Macmillan Learning hopes to advance the scholarship on how learning works and open our own research up to constructive critique and ongoing improvement. The four foundations released today are based on Macmillan Learning’s Six Key Principles for Learning Experience Design, previously released research which shared the company’s approach to learning and the principles that inform how the company’s dig@ital products are designed. Building upon these learning experience design insights, the blueprints released today provide best practices for: Devising Effective Learning Objectives and the wealth of benefits for instructors and students Impactful Assessment Practice and how to assess student progress and when to intervene Empowering Analytics for Instructors and combining behavioral insights with academic performance to give powerful insights for efficient and personalized teaching Empowering Analytics for Students and how insights can be empathetically shared students to motivate them and indeed help them to become more effective learners   The Learning Science Foundations are developed through a comprehensive and rigorous research and refinement process, including critiques by Macmillan Learning’s Learning Research Advisory Council and our Student Codesign Group. ... View more

June 18, 2019 -- Bedford/St. Martin’s, an imprint of Macmillan Learning, today announced the 10 new graduate students chosen to become part of the 2019 Bedford New Scholars program, an advisory board of graduate students for English Composition. The Bedford New Scholars are a critical part of the broader education community that teaches Composition courses to students, helping them develop the skills and abilities that will lay the foundation for every other course they take. A recent study by the Association of American Colleges & Universities found that many of the skills taught in Composition, including written communication, decision making, and analytical reasoning, were cited by more than three quarters of hiring managers and company executives as a top skill for college graduates. While Bedford/St. Martin’s has long been connected to the Composition community, the Advisory Board began in 2008 as an additional way for Bedford/St. Martin’s to understand teaching challenges and new research and practice in the field from promising graduate students. The dozens of previous Bedford New Scholars have given the editorial team feedback on the direction of new projects, ultimately contributing to the creation of some of the company’s new course and teaching materials for composition courses. They also contribute to the teaching community at large by creating assignments that engage students in writing and address teaching challenges for Composition instructors. “Bedford/St. Martin’s has long understood that Composition is a critical part of the holistic development of students’ writing skills and workplace success,” said Edwin Hill, Vice President of Humanities, Macmillan Learning. “Our continued investment in this space and partnership with this community underscores the importance of this coursework to a student’s future and we look forward to learning from the Scholars.” The Bedford New Scholars meet throughout the year at the company’s offices, at conferences, and at focus groups and are included in market research that informs product development. Throughout the program, the Scholars also gain insight into the publishing process, provide feedback on the direction of new books and projects in Bedford/St. Martin’s pipeline and foster lasting professional connections with other rising scholars and teachers in writing studies. The 2019 Bedford New Scholars are: Shannon Butts, a PhD candidate in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Writing Studies at The University of Florida. Butts teaches courses on digital rhetoric, remix writing, augmented reality, multimodal composition, public writing, professional communication, technofeminism, and first-year writing. Joshua Chase, a PhD candidate in the Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture program at Michigan Technological University. Chase serves as the composition program coordinator and teaches courses in composition, literature, and technical writing. Nina Feng, a PhD candidate in English with an emphasis in Writing and Rhetoric Studies at the University of Utah. Feng teaches Intermediate Writing, Writing in the Social Sciences, and Write4U, a course for transfer students. Misty Fuller, a PhD candidate in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition at Louisiana State University. Fuller currently teaches first-year composition courses and was previously nominated for the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award and served as a member of reader and assignment committees for first-year writing courses at the University of North Florida. Leah Beth Johnston, a PhD candidate in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition at the University of Arkansas. Johnston’s research focuses on first-year composition administration and marginal rhetorics, and her dissertation is a book that explores the intersection of the two.     Caitlin Martin, a PhD candidate studying composition and rhetoric at Miami University, where she also serves as a graduate assistant director of the Howe Center for Writing Excellence. Martin has taught courses in composition theory and business writing in addition to face-to-face and online first-year composition and advanced writing courses. Marissa McKinley, an Assistant Teaching Professor of English at Quinnipiac University who earned her PhD in English with a concentration in Composition and TESOL at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). McKinley will teach classes in First-Year Writing and Research Writing and will assist with the revision of the writing program. Salena Parker, a PhD candidate in Rhetoric with a concentration in World Literature at Texas Woman's University. Parker teaches Composition I and II and serves as an English professor at Collin College. She previously taught College Readiness Writing, Introduction to Humanities, and ESL abroad. Karen Tellez-Trujillo, a PhD candidate in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Professional Communication at New Mexico State University. Tellez-Trujillo teaches Rhetoric and Composition, Business and Professional Communication, Technical and Scientific Communication, and the Rhetoric of the Horror Story and also serves as a Writing Program Coordinator and Writing Program Mentor. Carrie Wilson, an MA candidate in English at Appalachian State University. Wilson has taught Introduction to Writing Across the Curriculum and Expository Writing. Find more information about the Bedford New Scholars here. About Macmillan Learning  Macmillan Learning improves lives through learning. By linking research to learning practice, we develop pioneering products and learning materials for students that is empathetic, highly effective, and drive improved outcomes. Our engaging content is developed in partnership with the world's best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers. To learn more, please visit macmillanlearning.com or see us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or join our Macmillan Community. ... View more

New York, NY; June 17, 2019 -- Today Skyfactor Benchworks announced the winners of its first, annual Assessment and Impact Awards. The award was created to highlight colleges that are successfully using data to improve their housing programs, helping to retain students. Housing is an important part of the overall college experience, with national housing data over the last decade revealing that 52% of students living on-campus felt that their housing experience significantly contributed to their academic performance. It is one of the most important attributes predicting student success and retention, which is why Macmillan Learning partnered with The Association of College and University Housing Officers (ACUHO-I) to better understand student experience, satisfaction and learning in the residence halls. The four institutions selected to be the inaugural Assessment and Impact Award for Housing and Residence Life winners were: John Carroll University in Ohio, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Southwest Oregon Community College. The winners were selected using a multi-step evaluation process that included an analysis of multi-year assessment data that identified programs that either had the best results or best increases in performance in areas like student staffing and diverse interactions as well as interviews and with housing and residence life leaders by members of the Benchworks Analytics and Research Team. “Housing and residence life is such an integral part of the college experience, and our research shows that it significantly impacts how students feel about attending college. The award recognizes colleges that are successfully using assessment data to improve their students’ experience with housing and their overall success,” said Craig Bleyer, General Manager of Skyfactor. The Benchworks assessments are the most widely used programs in higher education housing, and have been available for nearly 20 years. The ACUHO-I/Benchworks Residents Assessment is used by nearly 300 institutions each year, and is one of more than 50 different assessments from Benchworks on topics important to college success, including housing, orientation, and student affairs and service. The survey includes questions about student happiness, safety, diversity and inclusion, facilities, costs, sense of community, and time management, among others. Assessment and Impact Award for Housing and Residence Life winners will be acknowledged during a luncheon at the upcoming ACUHO-I conference being held in Toronto, Ontario later this week. To learn more about how housing facilities relate to student perceptions, view this free webinar. ... View more

Springfield, MO. October 21, 2019 --  Skyfactor Benchworks, a Macmillan Learning Company that provides research-based program benchmarking and assessments to help colleges identify areas of improvement, announced today the winners of its first, annual Assessment and Impact Awards for Nursing Education. The award was created to highlight schools of nursing that are successfully using data to improve their programs, helping to retain students and developing more practice-ready nursing professionals. Increasing the pipeline of practice-ready nurses is critical as the threat of a substantial nursing shortage persists. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of Registered Nurses (RN) positions is expected to grow 15%, from 2.9 million in 2016 to 3.4 million in 2026. The Bureau also projects that an additional 203,700 new RNs will be needed each year through 2026 to fill newly created positions and to replace retiring nurses. In addition to first-time pass rates on the national board exam, employer, student and alumni satisfaction are key indicators for quality nursing programs, which is why Macmillan Learning has partnered with the Association of American Colleges of Nursing (AACN) for two decades to offer benchmarking assessments that empower nursing administrators to better understand the program components that most significantly impact these important stakeholders.  The four institutions selected to be the inaugural Assessment and Impact Award for Nursing were: Bloomfield College, Colorado Technical University, Rowan University and Seton Hall University. The winners were selected using Benchworks multi-step evaluation process that included an analysis of multi-year assessment data that identified programs that either had the best results or best increases in performance in areas like course interactions and quality of instruction, as well as interviews and with nursing program administrators by members of the Benchworks Analytics and Research Team.  “With such a sustained demand for practice-ready nurses, the work that nursing programs are doing is critical. As the preferred program assessment solution for nursing education for more than 20 years, we’ve been fortunate to amass keen insights into the characteristics that improve student satisfaction and experience. The award recognizes colleges that are successfully using assessment data to improve programs benefit both students and local employers,” said Craig Bleyer, General Manager of Skyfactor.  The Benchworks assessments are the most widely used programs in nursing education, and have been available for 20 years. The various Benchworks Nursing assessments are used by more than 250 nursing programs each year, and is one of more than 50 different assessments from Benchworks on topics important to college success, including housing, orientation, and student affairs and service. The survey includes questions about student happiness, safety, diversity and inclusion, facilities, costs, sense of community, and time management, among others.  Assessment and Impact Award for Nursing winners were acknowledged during a luncheon at AACN’s Academic Nursing Leadership Conference held in Washington, DC, last weekend.  To learn more about how assessment and benchmarking can help guide program initiatives, join this free webinar, “Seeing the Possibilities: How Benchmarking Can Improve Our Work”.  About Skyfactor  Formerly known as EBI, Skyfactor Benchworks is a Macmillan Learning company that provides research-based program assessments and benchmarking for a variety of Student Affairs programs, as well as Business Education, Engineering, Nursing, and Teacher Education. The robust analytics Benchworks provides empowers programs to identify areas of improvement for maximum impact on program success. Benchworks assessments are rooted in research and mapped to accreditation and professional standards. About Macmillan Learning Macmillan Learning is a privately-held, family-owned company that improves lives through learning. By linking research to learning practice, we develop pioneering products and learning materials for students that are highly effective and drive improved outcomes. Our engaging content is developed in partnership with the world's best authors researchers, educators, administrators, and developers. Visit macmillanlearning.com, see us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or join our Macmillan Community. ... View more

Macmillan Learning announced today, April 15, that we became the first education solutions company to become Global Certified Accessible™, providing “born accessible” digital learning (ebook) options for students with disabilities. Books that are born accessible are developed to ensure that all students, no matter their ability, have the same access to information. This is increasingly important for students and instructors as more than one out of every ten students who attends college has a disability. Benetech, a nonprofit that empowers communities with software for social good, established the Global Certified Accessible program to become the publishing industry’s first-ever program focusing on accessibility certification. The program evaluates whether ebooks are designed to be accessible for learners with reading barriers such as blindness, low vision, dyslexia, or a physical disability. “In this digital age there’s no reason that students with disabilities shouldn’t have the same access to learning materials as their peers,” said Susan Winslow, General Manager of Macmillan Learning. “Through working with Benetech, we saw how our internal processes could be improved to make materials even more accessible and made all the necessary changes. While we’re very proud of being the first to have the designation - we’re more proud that we now better serve all learners.” Over the past few years digital experiences have become richer - with dynamic content and features that make learning more interactive. While Macmillan Learning has had processes in place to support learners with disabilities for some time, the company worked alongside Benetech to ensure that the best possible support for access to these digital features were built in. To become Global Certified Accessible Benetech evaluated Macmillan Learning’s workflow for creating accessible books, as well as many samples of content across the disciplines they publish in, and certified conformance to the accessible EPUB creation guidelines, which are based on WCAG 2.0 AA+ standards put in place by the international standards organizations and the publishing community. Using a collaborative process, Benetech evaluated and provided feedback on more than a hundred accessibility features. The certification applies to all books created using Macmillan Learning’s updated process, which includes all ebooks with a 2019 copyright. “As teachers, school districts and post-secondary institutions select course materials, they need to know that the ebooks they choose will be accessible for all students,” said Brad Turner, VP and GM, Global Education and Literacy at Benetech. “Now that Macmillan Learning is a Global Certified Accessible publisher, schools can select Macmillan’s certified materials, knowing that every student will be able to read and learn from the textbook in a way that works for them, laying the foundation for a classroom that is inclusive of all learners.” Macmillan Learning’s certified materials will be available through our regular channel partners as well as a new retail store hosted by VitalSourceⓇ. This also includes a catalog of more than 200 titles from our backlist which, while not “born accessible,” include detailed accessibility information on the VitalSource platform through their accessibility badging initiative. “We are excited about the leadership Macmillan Learning is providing around accessibility support and transparency in their content,” said Rick Johnson, VP of Product Strategy at VitalSource. “Our industry leading efforts with transparency showcases the accessibility features they have included in their content and will help all learners understand how that content can best support their individual needs.” For many years, Macmillan Learning has offered accessible materials such as instructor and student resources (e.g., lecture slides, quizzes, PDFs, etc.), and ebooks at no additional cost to Disability Services for qualified instructors and students with disabilities and for instructors supporting students with disabilities. About Macmillan Learning  Macmillan Learning improves lives through learning. By linking research to learning practice, we develop pioneering products and learning materials for students that is empathetic, highly effective, and drive improved outcomes. Our engaging content is developed in partnership with the world's best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers. To learn more, please visit macmillanlearning.com or see us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or join our Macmillan Community. ... View more

New Orleans, October 16, 2019 -- The EconEd Conference, held annually by education publisher Macmillan Learning, doubles down its focus this year on knowledge sharing of best practices for teaching economics. #EconEd19 will be held this week, on Oct. 18-19 in New Orleans, and is free to instructors and the economics community via livestream, with no registration required. The conference is held annually to offer professional development and community building for economics instructors. Among the highlights this year are presentations from acclaimed economic instructors Betsey Stevenon and Justin Wolfers, and a session with Loonshot: How to Nurture Crazy Ideas Author Safi Bahcall.  “We encounter economics all around us, in nearly every decision we make, and the speakers lined up for EconEd share Macmillan Learning’s goal of making economics more relatable and applicable to students’ everyday life experiences. From sessions on economics of ‘free’ goods like social media to the economics of environmental sustainability -- an issue aligned to Macmillan’s own mission of sustainability -- we hope to learn more about how instructors are motivating students’ creativity and curiosity about economics,” said Charles Linsmeier, Senior Vice President of Content Strategy, Macmillan Learning. Friday Sessions are from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. CT and include*: Students Aren't Like Us, So How Can We Reach Them Betsey Stevenson, University of Michigan  Learning Science and Insights: How Data and Insights Can Support You Marcy Baughman, Macmillan Learning Economics of Sustainability  Madhavi Venkatesan, Northeastern University Triangulated Teaching & Learning Dave Anderson, Centre College Access and Success: The Case for Reaching All Students in Economics Panel Economics of a Free Good Alex Tabarrok, George Mason University Economics (In)Action: Revamping a Survey of Economics Course Sarah Jenyk, Youngstown State University Loonshot: How to Nurture Crazy Ideas Safi Bahcall, St. Martin’s Press  Saturday Sessions are from 8:30 a.m. to noon CT and include*: Micro-Insertion: A Small Unit of Ethics Instruction Scott Houser, Colorado School of Mines Turning the Dreaded “Must Take Class” into the “Best Class Ever”: Bringing Economic Concepts to Life! Eric Chiang, Florida Atlantic University Knot Tying 101 Irene Foster and Students, George Washington University Econofact & The Principles Course Michael Klein, Tufts University  One Step At A Time: Engaging Undergraduate Students in Applied Economics Research Karen Bernhardt-Walther, York University  Team-Based Learning Pedagogy in College Economics Classes Phil Ruder, Pacific University Make America Think Again Reggie Gray, Dallas County Community College Teaching Business Cycles to Principles Students. Justin Wolfers, University of Michigan Follow #EconEd19 on Twitter and on @MacmillanLearn. Media interested in attending should email marisa.bluestone@macmillan.com.   *Speakers and sessions are as of October 15, 2019 and are subject to change.   About Macmillan Learning Macmillan Learning is a privately-held, family-owned company that improves lives through learning. By linking research to learning practice, we develop pioneering products and learning materials for students that are empathetic, highly effective, and drive improved outcomes. Our engaging content is developed in partnership with the world's best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers. To learn more, please visit macmillanlearning.com or see us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or join our Macmillan Community. ... View more