"To help instructors teach better, to help students learn better - all of it is very rewarding," said Senior Vice President, Technology Pratyush Rai in our recent Macmillan Learning video. Across each team at Macmillan learning, every person is laser-focused on that mission in their daily work, including our Learning Solutions group! These folks work every day with educators to provide them with guidance, training, and support when they use our digital tools in the classroom. In this Employee Spotlight, we feature a Learning Solutions Specialist who is just one of an amazing Customer Experience team working to improve lives through learning. So, get to know us - and the amazing people who make up Macmillan Learning! Meet Robyn Burnett, Learning Solutions Specialist. Robyn Burnett Learning Solutions Specialist I work on… providing instructional and pedagogical support for educators in the Life Sciences and Physical Sciences. I also provide digital training and demos for our customers and our sales team. I work specifically on a variety of our best-selling products including Biology(Morris, Phelan, Shuster), Genetics(Pierce, Griffiths), Biochemistry(Berg, Stryer, Lehninger, Tymozcko), Chemistry(Akins, Harris), Astronomy (Comins, Freedman, Slater), Physics(Freedman, Flipitphysics), Environmental Science(Karr, Molles), Nutrition(Pope). Launchpad, Flipit. The thing I like best about my current role is… being a support role for our customers and our sales team. I also provide direct customer feedback to our editorial and product development teams based on what I hear from educators every day. My role contributes to learning and education by… training faculty how to most effectively set up and use the digital tools they will use in the classroom! I am most excited about the future because… educational publishing is evolving all the time, and it’s an exciting time to be here. When I am not working, I am… probably simultaneously watching TV, browsing the Internet, and eating. But I also like running, spending time with my crazy dog, and reading. One little known fact about me is… I used to be a preschool teacher, and I have potty trained 23 children in one year. The coolest thing I have seen recently is… I saw an Instagram celebrity in a Mexican restaurant in Times Square. I also saw Avenue Q that same night. If a friend asked, I would tell them to join Macmillan Learning because of the… fun group of people! Robyn Burnett ... View more

Summer means many things to many different people at all different phases of life. For young children, it means a summer full of sprinklers and popsicles, along with a few scraped knees and sunburns. But for college students, summer means the glorious world of being an intern. The first day of a new internship is always scary, no matter how old we are. For some of us, this year is the first summer we’ve ever had an internship. And to others, this summer is just another summer of working nine-to-five in the corporate world. Sure, we all come into the internships with a relative idea of what we will be doing. At the very least, we know what company we will be working for and in what department. But an internship often comes with countless uncertainties. And if this summer is the first of your interning summers, those uncertainties can be rather daunting. Upon coming to Macmillan Learning this summer for my first internship, I consulted the oracle of Pinterest for tips to completing my first internship, and being an intern that gets remembered in a positive way. After delving through hundreds of tips, I decided on my own top 10 tips, based on my internship experience thus far. 1. Look the part Sure, we all love our yoga pants and sweatshirts, but the corporate world is no place for an outfit made for a night in of Netflix and junk food. If we want to be taken seriously as interns and young professionals, we have to take ourselves and our jobs seriously. Contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t mean we have to break the bank either. When I was preparing for my internship at Macmillan Learning, my mom and I explored my favorite place in the world, Target. Classy and professional clothing on a budget - the perfect place for any college student. Start with the basic, a few pairs of solid colored pants and skirts, maybe a dress of two as well. Then move on to mixing and matching. Grab some patterned tops that can work with several of your pants, and you’ve already created quite a few outfits. Add in a jacket or two with some comfortable shoes, and you’ve got your wardrobe all set, and for a pretty cheap price. Now that the clothes are under control, let’s not forget the appearance. Wake up early and get yourself ready in time for work, and don’t rush. You should feel confident as you strut through Corporate America. You’ll notice everyone else does the same. Also, check out outfits on your commute to and from work. I’ve snagged a few style tips from girls I’ve seen on my commutes. And more often than not, they’re older and have a lot more experience with appearances in the corporate world, so they are a great resource! 2. Be on time (or early) There is nothing more unprofessional than being late, especially on your first day! Always be early, even if you think it’s too early, I promise there’s no such thing. Plan to come into work around fifteen minutes before your boss gets there. This way you can have all of your daily housekeeping tasks (lunch, coffee, etc.) done and you’re ready for your first task of the day when your boss arrives. This also means you’ve got some grace time in case the morning commute doesn’t go well that day. My grandfather always told me that being late wasted someone else’s time, not just my own. So, don’t waste anyone else’s time. I promise, it won’t lead to good things. Also, don’t be the first one out of the office at quitting time either. Again, not the best impression you want to give your superiors. 3. ALWAYS have a good attitude Let’s face it, we’re interns. And as much as your boss can give you some really fun and innovative projects to work on, there are going to be some slow days of mundane “intern tasks.” Whether it be mass mailing, or copying more papers than you thought possible, it’s important to always have a good attitude about any task you’re given. Having a good attitude about the small things makes it much more likely for your boss to assign you another fun project, and who doesn’t want that? 4. Take initiative Getting your tasks done a few hours before they are due is always good, but be sure to make constructive use of the left over time. Start laying the groundwork for a future project your boss discussed with you previously, or complete some easy tasks without your boss even asking you too. Being on top of things will only help make things easier, and make your boss happy as well. It’s a win-win! 5. Listen The main goal of being an intern is to gain experience, and most of that, believe it or not, comes from just listening and paying attention to your surroundings. I know college makes us think that we know everything, but the corporate world boardroom is not the place to be a millennial hot shot. However, sometimes our opinions are warranted and actually might be of help. For example, working in educational publishing, my superiors have often asked me for my opinions of educational products and services in my college career. Helping out like this gives you a chance to share how you feel in a professional and productive manner. 6. Ask questions Contrary to popular belief, your mom was right, there are no stupid questions. Speaking from experience, it is much better to ask a “stupid” question, than to try and complete the task unsure of what you’re doing. And more often than not, mistakes are made when this happens, which will only make you, and possibly your boss, more frustrated. So speak up! Trust me, everyone would prefer you did than try and do things on your own and fail. 7. Get to know everyone From fellow interns to the CEO, it’s important to get to know everyone as best you can while at your internship. First off, it makes the work day a lot better when you’re around people you know. And second, the networking connections you make will be invaluable. While at Macmillan Learning I’ve had the chance to get to know several executives, and even help host a meeting for the CEO himself. And now, he knows me by name and often says hello and starts a conversation with me. When intern orientation came around a few weeks after working here, I was the only intern the CEO knew, and that was a great feeling. Talk about a networking connection! 8. Say yes to new opportunities In the corporate world, not everything is as planned as it may seem. Things often happen last minute, and it’s important to be flexible. From last minute meetings and phone calls, to cocktail parties and work receptions, it’s important to try and attend as many things as you can. Attending events shows your interest in the company and its people, as well as a genuine care for your job. I promise, Netflix will still be there when you get home. 9. Be prepared One of the greatest businessmen I know is my dad. He’s taught me countless business lessons over the years, and taught me the importance of a work ethic and professionalism. One of the key lessons he taught me before I came to Macmillan Learning was to always be prepared. More specifically, always have a pen and paper in your hand. When you come to your boss for an assignment, or when you walk into a meeting, always be prepared to take good notes, you never know where that information might come up again. Come to meetings prepared to discuss the task at hand, and catch yourself up to speed before if needed. There is nothing executives hate more than an intern that is not prepared to do their job. 10. Make a grand exit When the time finally comes for you to clean out your cubicle, be sure you do things the right way. Write thank you notes to your boss and other executives, as well as anyone else that helped you out during your internship. In addition, schedule an exit interview with your boss if possible. Ask about what you did well, and what you can improve on for your next job opportunity. And lastly, stay in touch! Internships are made to turn into job offers, so be sure to keep the company up to speed on your life, and vice versa. It will only help you out when it comes to applying for a job. ... View more

i>clicker, a Macmillan Learning company, today announced the appointment of Renee Altier as General Manager overseeing the i>clicker and REEF Polling companies. Ms. Altier will lead i>clicker ’s product development and growth strategy, reporting to CEO Ken Michaels. “Renee’s industry savvy and boundless energy will be a tremendous asset to the Macmillan Learning team and to the future of i>clicker, said CEO Ken Michaels. “Renee is a seasoned leader with an unflinching focus on our partnership with educators. Throughout her career, she has championed the incubation of learning tools that improve outcomes. We are thrilled to bring her back to Macmillan Learning.” i>clicker is familiar territory for Altier. After Macmillan acquired i>clicker in 2005, she led the team that transformed i>clicker from a prototype into the best-selling student response system in the marketplace. Altier re-joins Macmillan Learning after founding and managing Gateway Interactive Learning, an education consultancy. “I am elated to lead the i>clicker and REEF teams,” stated Ms. Altier. “Both i>clicker and Macmillan Learning have a rich history of bringing customers into the innovation process. With customers as our partners, I have no doubt that we will achieve our collective goal of helping students succeed while providing faculty with easy-to-use tools to support their teaching goals.” i>clicker is an educational technology success story. Created by physicists Timothy Stelzer, Mats Selen, Gary Gladding, and Benny Brown, i>clicker ’s intuitive student response system has been adopted by more than 1,100 higher educational institutions in North America and used by over 3 million students. The i>clicker team recently launched REEF Education, a cloud-based, mobile polling and engagement platform that allows students to participate in class using laptops, smart devices, and/or i>clicker remotes while offering a simple, flexible experience for instructors. Throughout Ms. Altier’s twenty-year career in educational technology and publishing, she has demonstrated the ability to incubate ideas, launch products, build teams, expand market share and improve profitability. Altier will leverage her vast experience to lead the i>clicker team as they develop tools that drive student engagement and outcomes. About i>clicker: i>clicker was built by educators for educators with the goal of keeping students focused on content, not technology. i>clicker is the most widely used student response system in North American higher education, adopted at more than 1,100 institutions and used by more than three million students. i>clicker student response solutions continue to be recognized for superior reliability, intuitive software, and focus on formative assessment and pedagogy. Today, i>clicker is powered by flexibility—giving professors the choice to standardize with one remote, or take a blended approach of mixed mobile and conventional remotes in their classrooms. About Macmillan Learning: Macmillan Learning improves lives through learning. Our legacy of excellence in education continues to inform our approach to developing world-class content with pioneering, interactive tools. Through deep partnership with the world’s best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers, we facilitate teaching and learning opportunities that spark student engagement and improve outcomes. We provide educators with tailored solutions designed to inspire curiosity and measure progress. Our commitment to teaching and discovery upholds our mission to improve lives through learning. To learn more, please visit our website or see us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or join our Macmillan Community. ... View more

"Being a part of this team and sharing their energy and excitement is a privilege," said CEO Ken Michaels in our recent video introducing Macmillan Learning. So continues our series highlighting the creative, remarkable people who make up the Macmillan Learning team. These folks work every day on the content, tools, and services we create for education. Get to know us - and the people who make up this incredible team! Meet Jason Morillo, our Director of Engineering: Process Management! Jason Morillo Director of Engineering: Process Management I work on… the engineering leadership team across the Macmillan Learning offices. The thing I like best about my current role is… the mission and the technology are a very close second, but it’s the people I get to work with. Yes, it sounds cliché but my role revolves around building trust and understanding team dynamics. My role contributes to learning and education by… helping to enable our development teams to build bad a$$ software in an environment where they feel effective, efficient, empowered, and empathetic to our customers. I am most excited about the future because… the expanded width of project initiatives such as readiness and analytics. When I am not working, I am… volunteering at Agile Austin, a large local community of Agile professionals, but most likely I’m spending time with my wife and two kiddos who are currently in and entering Elementary. The boys are in stage right now where just like the bad Aerosmith song, "I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing." One little known fact about me is… I used to judge and compete in custom car and car audio competitions from the mid  90’s to 2003 across the United States. Talk about a bad ROI! It is one of the first things I gave up once I got married. The coolest thing I have seen recently is… the Austin engineering happy hour every Thursday afternoon. If a friend asked, I would tell them to join Macmillan Learning because of the… industry and office culture. Tech Ed is a hot space, we impact lives of students and educators, and if you’re going to work, why not work with folks you like? ... View more

A smartly dressed speaker stands at the front of an auditorium, next to (but not behind!) a podium, grasping a microphone firmly in hand. We all know the scene. Most of us have been that person at the front of the auditorium at least once. No matter how much we cringe at it, public speaking is deeply engrained in our culture. We all do it. It’s a cornerstone of the Western rhetorical tradition, going back to Plato and Aristotle. It’s also changing—and changing rapidly. According to current data from our editorial reviews and marketing surveys, online and “hybrid” courses—courses that have both an online and a face-to-face component—now account for about 20% of all entry-level Public Speaking courses in the United States. It's impossible to overstate how significant that number is. Public Speaking is a media-hungry course. More and more instructors are adopting online assessment, especially speech outlining and video commenting tools. The online and hybrid percentage in this course has nowhere to go but up. In some ways, the Public Speaking course seems particularly ill-suited to the demands of online and hybrid courses. After all, how can a person learn to speak effectively in public when they’re not actually in public? How can a speaker who talks into a laptop camera in her dorm room hope to deliver a speech as impactful as the grandly gesturing podium speaker? Yet despite its apparent limitations, online speaking actually offers several key advantages over face-to-face speaking. It gives the student more options. They can deliver either synchronous (i.e., real-time) or asynchronous (i.e., recorded) speeches. The synchronous method is closer to the traditional face-to-face auditorium setting: the student delivers her speech and streams it to her classmates and instructor online. She can address questions and comments from classmates and from the instructor in real-time, just as she would in a physical classroom. Asynchronous presentations provide greater scheduling flexibility, since not all classmates need to be online at the same time. The student simply records a video of his speech and uploads it to the course site, where classmates and the instructor later add comments and feedback. But this flexibility comes at the price of real-time, back-and-forth communication—a heavy cost, as most instructors consider two-sided communication to be crucial to the public speaking course. That's why many “online” Public Speaking courses still require students to visit campus and deliver speeches to a physical audience once or twice in the semester (see this course at Rochester Community and Technical College for just one example). And of course, 80% of Public Speaking courses are still taught entirely face-to-face. Still, no one can deny the big changes that are taking place in this course. For publishers, these changes are both a challenge and an opportunity, as we pivot to offer new tools for the evolving course. Our Video Tools (available in all Public Speaking LaunchPads) are an important part of the answer, and I’m excited to see what other changes are coming in the next few years. For more of the latest news in Public Speaking and other Communication courses - plus interviews with our authors and much more - don't forget to visit the Communication COMMunity!​ ... View more

“At Macmillan Learning, there are 800+ highly professional, passionate, altruistic individuals that want to give back to humanity. Being a part of this team is a privilege,” said CEO Ken Michaels in a recent interview for our Introducing Macmillan Learning video. Over the past several months, I have heard so many colleagues echo similar comments about how remarkable the people and creative energy is at Macmillan Learning. We want to celebrate that! Today we are launching a series to introduce and celebrate the talented people that make up Macmillan Learning. They are smart, creative, collaborative, and fun! Most importantly, they contribute to the content, tools, and services we create for education. Every day, they live our mission of improving lives through learning! So get to know us - and the people who make up this incredible team! First up, Director of Digital Innovation, Alex Britez. Alex Britez Director of Digital Innovation At Macmillan Learning, I work on… guiding our organization through a product design process that places our customer in the forefront.  With my team, we validate problems though customer interviews and test solutions with rapid prototypes in the pursuit of quick learning, iteration, and the reduction of risk. The thing I like best about my role at Macmillan Learning is… curiosity; curiosity about our customers, curiosity about their problems, curiosity about technology, curiosity about the future.  Curiosity leads to questions, and questions lead to learning. This has been an integral part of my growth, both as a developer, designer and just about every other aspect of my life. My role contributes to learning and education by… creating products that balance customer desirability, business value and pedagogical impact.  It is crucial that all three be a focus on all the products that we design for customers. I am most excited about the future because…areas such as personalization, quantified self, wearable technology  and mobile learning, will allow us to tailor individualized experiences where they are both cognitively and physically. When I am not working, I am… either mentoring middle school kids in social impact project based learning competitions and coaching a couple elementary school robotics teams. One little known fact about me is… I could solve a rubik’s cube in a little over a minute. The coolest thing I have seen recently is… how much immersive experiences, such as virtual reality, augmented reality have gain immense traction over the last few years. Not only can we see virtual worlds, but we could also interact with them using our hands and voice. I would tell people to join Macmillan Learning because of the… mission. With so much disposable media that we are all exposed to on a daily bases, educational technology is in the unique situation where the learning that happens during a student’s experience sticks with them for a life time. ... View more

Education is uniquely human. We must not lose sight of this fact. With rapid technology developments, it’s easy to get swept up in the latest fad—adaptive learning, learning analytics, and iterative content engines, to name a few. Yet sophisticated algorithms never can replace the work of a highly trained instructor. Today’s instructors are domain experts that skillfully know how to distill complex concepts into fundamental learning moments. Too often when I read articles about technology trends in education, I do not see enough mention of the instructor. The instructor (next to the student) is the most influential actor in the learning process. Personalized learning requires personalized delivery from instructors, which is informed by in-depth discipline knowledge, current research, instructional design, and environmental factors. Don’t get me wrong: I’m a technology advocate. I believe data science and adaptive learning tools are extremely valuable. Instructors and universities at large are dealing with a host of complex issues—budget cuts, ballooning enrollments (particularly in general education courses), managing disparate learning levels and styles, and balancing retention rates. Technology is the natural elixir for the ills of the modern classroom. Automatically graded pre-lecture assignments, student response systems, and algorithmic homework questions are all ways to engage students in class as well as provide tailored assignments to large sections. But just as a doctor would not prescribe a cocktail of prescription drugs to a sick patient without a thorough understanding of the patient’s medical history, we should not expect that our teachers will implement a complicated technology system in the classroom without a healthy dose of individual instruction and mentoring. As stakeholders in the education system, we also shouldn’t romanticize a vision of a plug and play learning environment in which teachers and students robotically exchange ideas in bits and bytes. At Macmillan Learning, we believe our deep partnership with faculty is a key driver in understanding teaching and learning challenges and developing the solutions to ease those pain points. Too often, technology that may resonate outside of the classroom doesn’t always address learning challenges within the classroom. It is vital that content and technology are created with learning challenges in mind. A great example is the online homework system, Sapling Learning. Sapling Learning's interactive problems and feedback are designed to help students identify knowledge gaps and provide helpful feedback in real time – just like a personal tutor. The question sets featured in the Sapling system have been exhaustively tested and vetted by subject-matter experts. In fact, a key factor that sets Sapling Learning apart from other online homework systems is our commitment to educator support and platform ease of use. We match educators with a Sapling Learning Client Success Specialist – a Ph.D. or master’s-level subject expert – who provides collaboration, software expertise, and consulting to tailor each course to fit instructional goals and student needs. Our partnership with educators and our obsession with solving education-specific problems are critical to creating tools that work for educators and students. I, along with my talented team, am guided by the ideal that we seek to help teachers and learners thrive and flourish. Technology can be a powerful ally. Yet teachers and students are at the heart of our mission to improve lives through learning. ... View more

Publishing System to Support and Improve Management of Business Processes New York, NY.  Macmillan Learning today announced their partnership with Klopotek, an international software solutions provider, to improve workflow management for the learning science company.  Launch and implementation of Klopotek’s Product, Planning, and Management (PPM) publishing system has already begun at Macmillan Learning with expected progress to continue through 2017. “Developing innovative and timely learning materials for education requires the ability to quickly respond to market needs,” said Macmillan Learning Chief Operating Officer Ken Brooks. “This increasingly complex task spans print and digital materials.  Klopotek provides us an invaluable tool to coordinate development across large, diverse and distributed teams so that we can deliver those materials in a timely, low-cost and rapid manner.” “We are honored and thrilled to have been chosen by this venerable educational solutions company and we welcome Macmillan Learning to the growing family of Klopotek customers,” said George Logan, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Klopotek’s PPM system, which includes Title Management, Product Marketing, Editorial and Production supplies users with a unified approach to capturing and viewing data, increases transparency between departments, and provides workflow automation. # # # About Macmillan Learning Macmillan Learning improves lives through learning. Our legacy of excellence in education continues to inform our approach to developing world-class content with pioneering, interactive tools. Through deep partnership with the world’s best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers, we facilitate teaching and learning opportunities that spark student engagement and improve outcomes. We provide educators with tailored solutions designed to inspire curiosity and measure progress. Our commitment to teaching and discovery upholds our mission to improve lives through learning. To learn more, please visit http://www.macmillanlearning.com or see us on Facebook, Twitter, or join our Macmillan Community. About Klopotek Klopotek is the leading supplier of software and consulting services for print and online publishers. More than 375 publishers, with over 14,000 users, on four continents, in nine languages rely on Klopotek to help them manage their business and achieve their goals. www.klopotek.com ... View more

Liminal spaces are a hallmark of literature.  The hero walking a path in the woods, treading a narrow line of implied civilization through the wilderness.  A child stepping toward adulthood. Doorways. Carnivals. The boundary between land and sea. These are the places where change happens, where growth occurs, where new life and new potential is realized. We, in publishing, are quite used to liminal spaces. The Harvard Business Review had an article this week about such in-between-ness, though they called it something else.  Hybrid: the new liminal. We, in publishing, are getting pretty used to hybrid too.  And, like HBR points out so eloquently, hybrids aren’t always a pretty thing.  More often, they are a purely functional thing, a physical manifestation of the growing pains of an industry, a concrete expression of the narrow path we are striving to walk between the past – solely print, stable, predictable – and the future we are rushing to meet – one that promises a multitude of media, subscriptions, and, undeniably, more change. I appreciated this article because it celebrates this uncomfortable hybrid space, and I can relate fully to that celebration.  Here at Macmillan Learning, it has been a source of daily enjoyment to imagine solutions for transforming higher education publishing.  There is a post-it note on my computer monitor, a quote from a meeting I sat in during my first couple of years with the company. It repeats a question one of the guests asked us that day: “What does it mean to dominate a failing market?” I wrote it down not because publishing is failing, because it isn’t. What it is, is changing.  And the answer I see to that question is that it is our responsibility, as an industry leader, to direct that change, to ensure that it is for the better, as much as we possibly can. Our CEO, Ken Michaels spoke in Inside Higher Ed last week on the debate between print and electronic media.  Specifically, he said that it doesn’t matter which one is selling better, so long as students are learning.  Just as it doesn’t matter, at least to me, if our hybrids are a little bit inelegant, if our liminal space is a bit more like that battle between surf and sand than it is that smooth step through a doorway.  Because hybrid to me doesn’t mean solution, and it certainly doesn’t mean we’ve arrived out our destination, at the end of the change.  Hybrid means progress, it inspires excitement, it represents the search for something better.  And, as Ken reminded me, it is our focus on students that drives our innovation.  So long as that is at the heart of our work, we will be on the right path. ... View more

Macmillan Learning recently participated in SXSWedu in Austin, Texas, which is an annual ed tech conference that "fosters innovation in learning by hosting a diverse and energetic community of stakeholders from a variety of backgrounds in education."  Over four days, the community comes together in panels, workshops, and interactive sessions to discuss educational challenges as well as the many opportunities to improve in the future. Macmillan Learning sponsored several opportunities to bring this community together to discuss the strategies and tools needed in the future, but perhaps the most thought-provoking was our panel discussing The Science of Learning (podcast can be heard here​). The panel featured authors Rob Lue and Tyler Cowen debating with Susan Winslow and Editor in Chief of Scientific American, Mariette DiChristina. They discussed and debated how we learn, where we learn, what method of instruction has benefited students the most, what has driven improved outcomes in classrooms, and how all of it has translated to the preparation of our future workforce. They noted that hybrid or "blended" learning has emerged as a teaching method that increases student outcomes while lowering attrition rates. The panelists challenged that combining traditional face-to-face instruction with online learning is not just a skill competency, but an approach that connects to education, leadership, and creativity. They reviewed current research, course experience, and external factors while underscoring that STEM and Liberal Arts education needed a framework to support progress to more effective learning and leadership. Our graphic artist, Stacey Weitzner, also captured the themes and ideas from the session in an Infodoodle (pictured above). Most of the key points from the session are highlighted there and we will be using this as a springboard for continued discussion. It was an incredibly thoughtful, engaging debate that continued in the hallway with the audience for nearly 45 minutes as attendees pulled panelists aside to discuss the themes presented. We want to continue hearing your thoughts! Are we just training drones? Are our teaching methods positively connecting students to learning, leadership, and our future workforce? Is traditional learning meeting teaching/learning goals better than online, or is the hybrid approach best positioning students for the future? Add to the discussion below with thoughts or questions that you want heard. Didn't go to SXSWedu? No problem. The podcast of the session can be heard here​. The full "infodoodle" is attached here and will also be used to continue our conversation in the weeks and months to come. Join in and let Susan Winslow​, Tyler Cowen​, Robert Lue​ and Mariette DiChristina​ your thoughts on The Science of Learning! ... View more

At the beginning of the New Year, we think about our resolutions, our goals – to ponder whether this is the year to implement a new idea or form a new habit.  I’ve oft-avoided making the leap from the pondering phase to officially committing to New Year’s resolutions because I don’t want to feel bad about not following through.  This year I took a different approach, figuring if I broke a resolution into smaller, quarterly goals (and ditched the word “resolution”), it would be more doable.  But goals of any size still need a structure. I borrowed a philosophy and method from some of the most talented leaders in higher education.  It is a call to action encased in a small book called Scientific Teaching.  It is officially described as a book that “encourages the reader to approach teaching in a way that captures the spirit and rigor of scientific research and to contribute to transforming how students learn science”.  To me it is an elegant and practical primer on teaching and learning, that anyone in any discipline can use to teach better, ultimately resulting in better learning for the student. I learned about this philosophy during a meeting where it was used to help our authors think about how to write their chapters, but what struck me, as a non-educator, was the practical application beyond the classroom.  A section called Building a Teachable Unit: Backward Design provides a simple but profound framework, using backward design (Wiggins and McTighe 1998), to build teaching materials and activities to meet one's learning goals and outcomes.  I took the table for constructing a teachable unit and adjusted it slightly so it could be to build my personal goals.  (See more on a teachable unit in the book.) Now I have a space for committing not only to a goal, but which specific actions will get me there and ways to assess whether I achieved it.  What I am learning is that this doesn’t have to be difficult.  Whether one is starting to do something new in the classroom, perhaps trying out in-class activities for the first time, or crafting personal goals, employing a simple framework that asks us to go beyond just stating the goal, to answer the what and the how, makes it doable. I applied this framework to my goal of writing this blog post: Table 5.3. A framework for constructing a teachable unit. Learning Goals Assessment Activities Alignment What should students know, understand, and be able to do at the end of the unit? Do the learning goals represent the nature of science? How will I determine whether students have met the learning goals? How will students assess their own learning? What activities will engage a diverse group of students in learning? Do the activities and assessments help students achieve the learning goals? Source: Handelsman, Jo, Sarah Miller and Christine Pfund, Scientific Teaching. (New York: W.H. Freeman, 2007) 89. Print. Personal Goal Assessment (i.e. Outcomes) Activities (i.e. Actions + Decisions) Alignment (i.e. Gut Check) What do I want to achieve? How will I measure my success? What do I need to do – and when – in order to meet my goal? Is what I’m doing in alignment with meeting my goal? Write a blog post for Macmillan My post will make it to the site and get read Backward design my post Write a draft by 1/30 Revise on 2/1 If I watch another episode of Mozart in the Jungle, am I going to miss a deadline? It's simple, practical, and brilliant. Ask your local Macmillan rep for a copy of Scientific Teaching or request a copy. How do you approach course design? Share your tips and insights with our community in the comment section below! ... View more

Today at SXSWedu, Macmillan Learning announced the launch of iOLab, a first-of-its-kind handheld tool for college Physics courses that allows students to gather real-time data dynamically. Invented by Mats Selen and Tim Stelzer, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, iOLab allows Physics educators to increase student participation and engagement in class as students are able to see the results of any activity graphed with data in real time. The device communicates wirelessly to its software. Sophisticated built-in sensors give students the ability to measure force, acceleration, velocity, displacement, magnetic field, rotation, light, sound, temperature, pressure and voltages in any field-based or classroom situation. Commenting on the launch, CEO @Ken Michaels said, “This is a quantum leap forward for student engagement in the classroom. The flexibility of this system makes it easy to design or implement virtually any experiment educators want to teach. Classrooms today are struggling with constraints of space and budget. iOLab offers a practical solution coupled with more authentic active learning.” Fully integrated with the Microsoft Office products, any user with access to Office 365 can leverage the power of Excel to analyze the information they have captured, and share their data with their instructor, fellow students, or anyone else they choose. To read the full press release, click here. See the product in action and hear from instructors and students here. Share the news on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn! ... View more

Fostering student excitement over research methods was the theme for the day as Discovering the Scientist Within: Research Methods in Psychology authors Gary Lewandowski, Natalie Ciarocco, and David Strohmetz presented their Video Link : 1524 webinar on February 22 nd . The Monmouth University professors focused on making research methods, a key topic for psychology pupils, interesting and appealing for students. Over the course of the semester, Strohmetz stated, students are “learning the concepts, but they don’t feel that they are becoming better researchers.” His advice is to change the way the course is taught and create an enthusiastic environment for students about research. Lewandowski, Strohmetz, and Ciarocco presented with a “show, not tell” mentality, utilizing their time by creating engaging, playful, and entertaining slides coupled with popular culture examples to create an informative lecture.  They aimed to have instructors seek out ways to get their students to think like scientists by inciting their curiosity and relating scenarios to their daily lives on campus. Ciarocco stressed finding research that related back to concepts students would find stimulating. For example, she discussed research on how scent affects behavior, getting students interested about a topic they may not have previously given much thought to. She suggested working in small groups, writing press releases, and having group critiques to hold students’ attention. PowerPoints were a major discussion throughout the webinar.  As avid users of the media, the authors suggested bringing in more visuals and less words, keeping slides neat and uncluttered, and utilizing technology, such as animations and videos, in a smart and deliberate way. The authors emphasized “learning through doing” to root the information in their pupils minds by engaging, rather than just lecturing. The webinar was met with high praise, as many instructors commented on the useful resources brought forward, including teachpsychscience.org​, the professor’s resource site for statistics and research in psychology. There many activities, including group, lab, and one-on-one tools, to use and encourage the class to be curious about the world around them. If you’d like to see the full video of the webinar or the author's PowerPoints, you can do so on the The Psychology Community​. Keep an eye out for upcoming webinars on our Psychology Community! ... View more

The Macmillan Learning team can't wait to head to Austin next week for SXSWedu. We hope to meet and learn more about you while we're there. Here's where we'll be next week at SXSWedu: Tuesday, March 8th, 6-8pm: Startup Showcase​ A networking event that allows attendees to connect with startups in the education space. Tuesday, March 8th,7:30-11pm: Macmillan Learning #MomentumParty​ Keep your SXSWedu momentum going with the Macmillan Learning team at the Speakeasy on Congress Avenue, just a few blocks from the Convention Center. See additional information below. Wednesday, March 9th, 5-6pm: The Science of Learning II panel Susan Winslow, Macmillan Learning Managing Director, will discuss the far-reaching impact of hybrid learning with Macmillan Learning authors Rob Lue and Tyler Cowen and Scientific American Editor in Chief, Mariette DiChristina.  Saturday and Sunday, March 12-13th: SXSW Job Market ​       Engage with our team to learn about careers with Macmillan Learning. We're especially excited about our #MomentumParty on Tuesday night! Here are all the details: Tuesday, March 8th, 7:30-11pm Speakeasy, 412 Congress Avenue Join us for live music (featuring The Nightowls!), bowling, pool tables, free food, and amazing downtown views from the rooftop bar. Be sure to stop in the red lounge to connect with featured Science of Learning II panelists. Our first 100 guests will receive complimentary drink tickets. Door prizes will be given away throughout the evening. We hope to see you next week in Austin! ... View more

Time Magazine recognized Bedford/St. Martin's authors Diana Hacker, Andrea Lunsford,  and Mary Lynn Rampolla, and  Worth author aKathleen Berger among the most-read female authors on college campuses today. The analysis came from 1.1 million syllabi collected in the Open Syllabus Project. The majority of the syllabi come from US campuses, but nearly 30% come from Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Diana Hacker was honored as the second most widely read female author noting her collection of handbooks have been assigned in close to 4000 classrooms over the past 15 years. Hacker ranks higher than Virginia Woolf, Jane Austin, Toni Morrison, and JK Rowling. Mary Lynn Rampolla ranks in 45th place with her book, A POCKET GUIDE TO WRITING HISTORY, followed by Andrea Lunsford in 62nd place based on use of EVERYDAY WRITER. Kathleen Stassen Berger ranked in 91st place with THE DEVELOPING PERSON series in Psychology. Rampolla was assigned in 688 classes, Lunsford in 529 classes, and Berger in 364 classes according to the TIME rankings. It is a fascinating view into assigned reading material in college classrooms today. More importantly, it is a wonderful testament to these authors and the work they do to support instruction of college students every day. They are improving lives through learning! Congratulations to our wonderful authors and all of the members of the fantastic teams at Bedford/St. Martin's  and Worth Publishers that support them. To see the full list, click here: College Textbooks: 100 Most-Read Female Writers on Campus ... View more