An integral part of the student journey – from beginning to end

Kristen Weddington, an IUPUI math instructor and course coordinator for the school’s developmental math offering, is a longtime MyLab Math user and ardent advocate.

“We have a large student population on different skill levels,” she says. “The best part about MyLab is it meets students where they are.”

IUPUI students are required to complete a math course to graduate. About 50 instructors staff the department. Intermediate Algebra, mostly comprised of freshmen and sophomores, enrolls about 1,500 students per year, and MyLab Math shines in the course as a key component of each student’s journey, regardless of proficiency level.

“MyLab is a big part of their learning,” says Weddington. “Students use it from day one until they take their final exam. They’re on MyLab maybe more than they’re in class.”

Delivering engaging tools that drive effective learning

With students and MyLab Math joined at the hip, it’s critical that it provides what students and instructors need – and it does.

A broad suite of intuitive interactive tools caters to students at various levels of math proficiency and with different learning preferences.

Weddington notes that MyLab Math can start students at ground level and build them up.“Students do find it valuable. It really helps them understand the material after they’ve left class,” she says. “They find the platform easy to use, and they feel like it gives them good feedback.”

For example, a student who’s stuck on a homework problem may use “Help Me Solve This” – a feature quickly accessible on the student’s MyLab Math homework window. The interactive tool guides the student, step by step, through a similar problem, providing prompts that help the student understand how to solve it. The student can then return to the actual homework problem and apply what they’ve learned.

Videos embedded within the Pearson eTextbook, Intermediate Algebra: Concepts & Applications, 11th Edition, by Martin L. Bittenger, David J. Ellenbogen, and Barbara L. Johnson, provide students with another valuable learning resource too.

“I’ve had students who are really far behind, went and watched the videos for each section, and caught up and understood the material,” says Weddington, noting one of her non-traditional adult students caught up in about a week and felt a boost in motivation.

She and other instructors regularly use the Personalized Homework feature, which assigns homework questions based on each student’s performance on a previous test or quiz. The student receives credit for questions answered correctly on the test and can skip similar questions in the homework. Personalized Homework also helps motivate students by allowing them to focus on what they need to learn without having to spend time on what they already know.

Weddington has observed that students who complete their Personalized Homework assignments in MyLab tend to outperform students in classes that use other courseware platforms.

Actionable analytics for just-in-time intervention

Another key feature, Performance Analytics, located in the Instructor Gradebook, empowers instructors to monitor each student’s progress in real-time, identify ideas where support is needed, and deploy just-in-time personalized interventions to help bring lagging students back on track.

When the Early Alert feature in Performance Analytics flags low-performing students, Weddington contacts their instructors, requesting they engage with the students and help them improve.

She and other faculty also use Performance Analytics for their personal development.

“I love Performance Analytics,” she says. “I dig into them to see where I can do better, and where I can help my teachers do better. I’ve used it a lot to see what sections of the book aren’t going well and what we can do to improve.”

Delivering better outcomes – especially when broadly deployed

MyLab Math’s impact on student outcomes is amplified when it’s used across multiple courses. Students gain familiarity with the platform, which transfers to math courses they take later.

“We’ve seen that, compared to classes that use other platforms, MyLab has produced better outcomes,” says Weddington. “Students have done better in the next class. They do better because they already understand the platform.”

An unparalleled partner in fostering success

Underpinning the popularity and effectiveness of MyLab Math at IUPUI is Pearson’s unwavering reputation as a highly engaged, hyper-responsive partner that’s committed to going above and beyond.

Weddington notes that Pearson representatives make regular campus visits to engage with faculty and to discuss any areas in need of improvement.

“Pearson is great. Anytime I ask for anything, they’ve been helpful,” she says. “We use a few publishers, and Pearson has been the best. You can ask anybody that. I get immediate feedback if I need anything. I could email someone right now and I’d get good feedback within five or ten minutes.”

A partnership for the future, primed for growth

All signs point to MyLab Math featuring prominently in the department’s future.

“We don’t plan on letting it go because it’s been a really good resource,” says Weddington.

In fact, she’s eager to bring MyLab Math with her when she transitions to a new role in the fall as course coordinator for a STEM version of Intermediate Algebra.

“I plan to continue to use MyLab Math to the best of its ability. We want to keep integrating it and using all the tools that we can,” she says. “Students who use it well, learn.”