Engaging Students with MindTap Leads to Success. White Paper

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1 White Paper Engaging Students with MindTap Leads to Success A Study of MindTap in Post-secondary College Success, Criminal Justice, Medical, and Psychology Courses MarketingWorks SEG Measurement 2/10/2015 ENGAGED WITH YOU cengage.com

2 White Paper: Engaging Students with MindTap Leads to Success About MindTap MindTap is an online, personalized learning experience built on Cengage Learning s content that combines student learning tools readings, multimedia, activities, and assessments into a Learning Path that guides students through their course. Instructors can personalize the experience by customizing Cengage Learning content and learning tools, including adding their own content via apps that integrate into the MindTap framework with Learning Management Systems. About This Study MarketingWorks and SEG Measurement, two independent research firms, conducted a comprehensive study of faculty and student perceptions of MindTap in the fall of There were 32 treatment instructors in four disciplines College Success, Criminal Justice, Medical, and Psychology who provided feedback about MindTap throughout the semester. Feedback was also received from 27 students in four mid-semester focus groups (one per discipline) and from 744 students through an online survey at the end of the term. In a separate study, the students taking psychology courses took a posttest of psychology knowledge and skills taught in the course to compare the amount of learning between MindTap users and nonusers. MindTap Highly Rated for Teaching and Engaging Students Overall Experience The 32 instructors rated their overall experience with MindTap a solid B (mean rating of 2.9 out of 4), with 79% rating MindTap either A or B. Among the 13 instructors who were experienced MindTap users and thus were not using MindTap for the first time, the average rating of their overall experience was 3.4 out of 4, with all giving it a rating of A or B. Finally, 80% of instructors rated MindTap an A or B for making their teaching easier or better. 2 ENGAGED WITH YOU cengage.com

3 Figure 1. Percentage of Instructors Grading Their Overall Experience and Impact on Teaching A or B Instructors Grade Their Overall Experience and Impact on Teaching Subjects All subjects Psychology Medical Criminal Justice College Success MindTap is awesome. And it has definitely made teaching easier. Jennifer Swartout Instructor, College Success Heartland Community College Percentage Assigning a Grade of A or B Made teaching easier or better Overall experience Impact on Student Engagement, Learning, and Critical Thinking Over three-quarters (78%) of instructors said that MindTap positively impacted student engagement in the course. Eighty-four percent said that MindTap contributed greatly (34%) or somewhat (50%) to student learning; 78% said that it contributed to improvement in students critical thinking skills; and 88% said MindTap s assignments helped students understand concepts application to the real world. I think MindTap helps students achieve higher levels of learning because it gives them more content and a fuller view of the field so they can get more than an in-class experience. Joseph Grande Instructor, Psychology Wilmington University I have learned to love MindTap and can certainly see how useful the platform is. This is a solid product! Tony Smith Instructor, Criminal Justice Rochester Institute of Technology cengage.com ENGAGED WITH YOU 3

4 Figure 2. Percentage of Instructors Agreeing or Strongly Agreeing that MindTap Improves Student Learning, Increases Engagement, Fosters Critical Thinking and Real World Application Instructors Agree That MindTap Improves Student Learning, Engagment, Critical Thinking, and Real World Application Overall, MindTap is a great, user- friendly system. It frees up time and resources for other things. Since students have already had some engagement with the material prior to our first class discussion of each chapter, class discussions are more interactive. This takes some of the teaching pressure off of instructors and allows more time for activities, demonstrations, and supplemental material to be shared. Ayanna Lynch Instructor, Psychology Bowie State University Subjects All subjects Psychology Medical Criminal Justice College Success Percentage of Instructors Agreeing or Strongly Agreeing How well MindTap s assignments helped students understand concepts application to real-world extremely and somewhat well Degree of MindTap s contribution to critical thinking skills Degree of MindTap s contribution to student learning Degree that student engagement was impacted by MindTap Greatly and Somewhat Students Report: MindTap Positively Impacts Learning A majority of all the students surveyed at the end of the course strongly agreed or agreed that MindTap had a positive impact on their learning in the four disciplines. 4 ENGAGED WITH YOU cengage.com

5 Figure 3. Percentage of Students Agreeing or Strongly Agreeing that MindTap Enhances Their Ability to Learn and Improves Their Grades Instructors Agree That MindTap Improves Student Learning, Engagment, Critical Thinking, and Real World Application Learning Improvement and Grade Improvement Questions MindTap helped me to better understand difficult concepts MindTap improved my grade so far MindTap reinforced my learning MindTap helped me better understand the course material By using MindTap I was more able to learn at my own pace MindTap extended the learning process beyond the classroom MindTap provided a new way to learn the material Percentage Agreeing or Strongly Agreeing All Subjects (N=744) Psychology (N=214) Medical (N=123) Criminal Justice (N=284) College Success (N=123) Students and Instructors Recommend MindTap to Others Sixty-nine percent of the 32 instructors said they would be greatly or somewhat likely to recommend MindTap to their colleagues. About six in ten (61%) of the 744 students using MindTap during the semester and a majority of students in each discipline said that they would recommend MindTap to other students taking the course. There is a clear connection between those who are doing very well in the class and those who are enrolled in MindTap. They are paying better attention to deadlines and planning better for their semester. Those using MindTap regularly are definitely more engaged. Susannah Chewning Instructor, College Success Union County College I m definitely more involved in the class with MindTap rather than just the text. It is so easy to log in, study whenever you want to, and take your quizzes. MindTap makes me more efficient as a student. Joshua Student, College Success Mott Community College cengage.com ENGAGED WITH YOU 5

6 Figure 4. Percentage of Instructors and Students Who Would Recommend MindTap to Others Instructors and Students Recommend MindTap to Others I love having a reliable, interesting resource that isn t me! Julie Huffman Instructor, Medical Jordan Applied Technology Center Subjects All subjects Psychology Medical Criminal Justice College Success Percentage Recommending MindTap Students Instructors Students Report: MindTap Positively Impacts Interest and Engagement About two-thirds (63%) of all students felt that MindTap made the courses much more or somewhat more interesting, and about twothirds (66%) found that it made the course much more or somewhat more engaging. Figure 5. Percentage of Students Using MindTap Reporting More Interest and Engagement Students Report: Course More Interesting and Engaging with MindTap All subjects (N=744) Subjects Psychology (N=214) Medical (N=123) Criminal Justice (N=284) College Success (N=123) Percentage Reporting More Interest and Engagement Made the Course More Engaging Made the Course More Interesting 6 ENGAGED WITH YOU cengage.com

7 Students in Psychology Courses Learn Significantly More with MindTap The research study included the testing of students in psychology classes that used MindTap (treatment group) and classes that didn t use MindTap (control group). Students using MindTap achieved significantly higher psychology posttest scores than students using the same textbooks and other digital resources but without MindTap. This level of growth is consistent with a student moving from the 50th to the 63rd percentile. Figure 6. Comparison of Growth in Psychology Knowledge Between MindTap Users (Treatment) and Non Users (Control) MindTap Users Score Higher on Psychology Post-test I find MindTap to be a lot more interesting, and I m a lot more willing to go to MindTap than read a book. There are so many aspects that allow you to be more interactive and get more into the class. Meaghan Student, Criminal Justice, Florida Atlantic University Treatment (MindTap Users, N=170) Treatment (MindTap Non-Users, N=242) Psychology Scaled Score (0-600) Conclusion In a national, semester-long study, a majority of instructors and students in college success, criminal justice, medical terminology, and psychology courses judged MindTap to be effective in helping to teach students the content of their courses. In addition, students using MindTap in psychology courses showed significantly greater growth in psychology knowledge and skills than students who did not use MindTap but did support their learning with other digital tools. MindTap engages students to learn and think critically across disciplines so they can succeed in college and beyond. cengage.com ENGAGED WITH YOU 7

8 Cengage Learning is a leading provider of innovative teaching, learning, and research solutions for academic, professional, and library markets worldwide. The company s products and services are designed to foster academic excellence and professional development, increase engagement, improve learning outcomes, and deliver authoritative information to people whenever and wherever they need it. Through the company s unique position within both the library and academic markets, Cengage Learning is providing integrated learning solutions that bridge from the library to the classroom. Source Code: M Copyright 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.