Instructor Testimonials

O. Pauline Chow, Harrisburg Area Community College

O. Pauline Chow, Harrisburg Area Community College

My Students have experienced less frustration while completing their math homework thanks to MyMathLab. Once they become familiar with the Learning Aids, they rave about the wonderful learning experience and ultimately find themselves successful.

Rachel Whitten, Lone Star College, Tomball

At the Polya Center, MyMathLab is used primarily for completing homework assignments. Students may select to complete their assignments in a traditional manner, from the textbook, or by using the homework/tutorial utility in MML. The MML delivery system has several advantages, chief among them immediate feedback on every question. A single teacher cannot possibly review every problem a student works in the traditional textbook-delivery environment, and feedback is inherently delayed. With the electronic grading process, students get hints, step-by-step help, and positive feedback every time they complete work correctly. This builds momentum and corrects problems before they have a chance to solidify. For most students, completing homework in the MML environment is more effective than completing it in a traditional environment.

Theresa Allen, University of Idaho

My students are really learning and working hard because they are getting the help and reinforcement that they have always needed in a math class. They get explanation in the math lecture, and then it is up to them to get the homework done in MyMathLab by the deadline date. They love knowing they can re-do the homework problems until they get 100% (until the deadline date, of course). So the deadlines motivate them to come for help and to ask questions. They can take the assigned tests over and over until they make a perfect score or until time runs out. It is wonderful! I am truly enjoying this semester more than any other semester because so many students are getting motivated and they are enjoying math! This is a teacher's dream!

Linda T. Wright, Sam Houston State

As director of the Math Teaching and Learning Center at UW-Stout, I've been extremely pleased with the results we've been getting since we began using MyMathLab in 2004. Failure/withdrawal rates have decreased by 62% in Beginning Algebra and by 32% in the Intermediate course. A large factor in this turnaround has been the online homework: we've achieved a 96% homework submission rate, with an average homework score of 94%. The immediate feedback, multiple chances to re-do a new version of missed problems, and the many avenues for online help have motivated these formerly math-phobic students to put in an average of 95 minutes a day on ALGEBRA homework--amazing!

The computer can give instant feedback to students. It's amazing in this age of video games how that feedback encourages students. They're spending more time on their homework.

Jeanne Foley, University of Wisconsin Stout

MyMathLab is the most exciting thing to happen to our preparatory math program in years. I was skeptical at first, wondering how a tool that requires self-motivation and discipline would ever work for our students, particularly since they have nothing to gain by finishing the coursework early; but now that I've been able to compare my computer-mediated sections with traditional lecture-based classes, I am sold. Students are too. My exam averages and course pass rates are up. Students are actively engaged in practicing math, ask more and better questions, and enjoy the learning process. They appreciate the instant feedback and aren't satisfied until they get 100% on the homework assignments. When it comes time to register for the next class, most students who have done both lecture-based and MyMathLab hybrid classes seek out the MyMathLab sections. They feel a real sense of accomplishment because they recognize and can take credit for the role they've played in their success.

Jill Shirley, Cal Poly Pomona

Observations on MyMathLab's effects:

• Students got immediate feedback while doing their homework assignments. If unsuccessful, they received help online through four different modes of learning. They were thus given every opportunity to be 100% successful on every task required on their graded assignment.
• Students rarely asked questions in class over their homework. We used the extra class time to slow down during our lectures and to involve our students in activities that enhanced their learning and problem solving skills.
• There was more time for in-class practice.
• With more free time on hand, and more interactive sessions, our teachers were able to better gage their students’ learning, thus identifying and assisting those who needed help the most.
• Students worked independently on homework. No homework was copied from someone else, as all homework problems in MML are algorithmically generated.  In the past, it was not unusual to see students copying homework from each other during the 10 minutes preceding class time....
• The help online, which was provided to the students while doing homework, was efficient and effective enough to be a good motivator and a good incentive for independent work.
• The students who seem to have benefited the most from MyMathLab were our students with learning disabilities. Their testimonials via e-mail and via personal contact were overwhelmingly positive. Some described MyMathLab as “Simply Awesome!” Some stated that this was their second time through the course, and claimed that if they had had MyMathLab when they took the course the first time, they would have passed the course then.
• Students had more flexibility than in the past in submitting their graded assignments. They were given 3 to 5 days of leeway to do so. However, if they missed the final deadline, they knew that under no circumstances could they get another extension. Very quickly students learned to do and submit their work on time.
• The automated electronic grading and delivery system provided by MyMathLab was outstanding.
• All human errors in the grading of the assignments were eradicated. Not a single complaint was voiced about the grading of the assignments and all grading was consistent from section to section.  
• We had no need for graders in Intermediate Algebra & College Algebra for Fall 2004 and Winter 2005—a cost savings.

Faculty surveyed at University of Missouri, University of Missouri

Using MyMathLab as a key component of most 2-year mathematics courses creates a win-win situation. MyMathLab has made teaching the core content more efficient. I believe class time is utilized more effectively and students appear focused. Because of the algorithmically generated types of exercises, students are able to repeat homework exercises until THEY feel the concept/skill is understood. With this capability MyMathLab helps students become proactive in their steps to master the material. Although passing rate is not the only measure of student success, my colleagues and I have seen several times over 90% passing (includes withdrawals, and grades of D/F) in courses such as Intermediate Algebra.

Heidi A. Howard, Florida State College at Jacksonville

Since I first began requiring online homework using MathXL in my college algebra class in the summer of 2005, I have seen a tremendous improvement in student success. Passing rates have gone up around 10%, test averages have increased 9%, and the number of students earning an A in the course has gone up an astounding 25%! This is a strong indication that the students are learning the material more thoroughly than they did by simply doing homework out of the book. As an added bonus, the students feel more involved in the course and responsible for their own learning. Thus, my withdrawal rates have decreased by 10-15%. I am so thrilled to have finally found a way to require my students to do homework in a way that keeps them engaged, forces them to truly learn and understand the material, and also saves me the headache of grading paper-and-pencil homework assignments!

Brooke Quinlan, Hillsborough Community College