Faculty Advisor Spotlight – Bob Pribush, Butler University (IN)

Professor Bob Pribush is considered a MasteringChemistry “super” user.  In one semester of General Chemistry his students complete between 700-800 problems assigned from virtually every section of the text used in class.  Using MasteringChemistry as a post-lecture reinforcement with which Pribush can monitor students’ skill levels has led to hard evidence of increased student success.  Before MasteringChemistry, Pribush’s students averaged in the 62^nd percentile on the ACS exam.  After introducing MasteringChemistry in 2007, test averages rose steadily, reaching the 78^th percentile for the most recent exam

Initially, Pribush had a long list of objectives he relied on MasteringChemistry to meet:

v      Reinforce in-class material in a timely fashion

v      Keep students on task as active learners

v      Provide students with immediate homework feedback when they need it most

v      Use diagnostic data to pinpoint student difficulties in order to modify classroom instruction and interaction

v      Increase average class performance

v      Teach students more than just chemistry by helping them develop study habits useful in the transition from high school to college

“MasteringChemistry fulfilled all my original objectives…it’s the best teaching tool that I have used in 37 years of teaching,” says Pribush.  Not only a favorite for instructors, MasteringChemistry seems to be a winner with the students as well.  In a poll conducted at the end of the semester, students rate 20 different course components in how they relate to their success in the course.  Students consistently list MasteringChemistry as the primary factor.

In addition to Pribush’s long list of objectives MasteringChemistry had to meet, some surprising outcomes resulted from adding Mastering to his course.  Pribush relates one particular student success story, made possible by MasteringChemistry:

My most amazing success story is a student who took my course before I instituted Mastering.  This student dropped the course and would have flunked had the student not withdrawn from the course.  The next year, the year I started using Mastering, the student appeared once again on my class roster.  Anyone who has taught long enough knows that almost invariably students do not do better the second time around, primarily because they do not change their study habits.  However, due to the impact of Mastering, this student earned an A in the course.  Never had I witnessed such a dramatic reversal in performance by a student, and the student attributes the success to Mastering.

The appeal of interacting with other Mastering users, developing professional and personal bonds while learning from his peers, drew Pribush to Pearson’s Faculty Advisor program.  He also gains “great satisfaction in enlightening other potential users about the value of Mastering” and then seeing them in action, implementing Mastering in their own classroom. 

Interaction is the key for anyone entering into the Faculty Advisor program, says Pribush.  You should interact with the veteran users to learn, since “each user brings a certain individuality to the program.”  You should also interact with potential users, but remember to key in to their dominant needs instead of solely focusing on how Mastering met your own needs.  Never forget that everyone’s needs are different but equally important.

Pribush eloquently sums up his experience as a Faculty Advisor and Mastering user: “Every year I learn something new about how to use Mastering more effectively with different kinds of students.  Mastering has helped me become a more reflective and, I think, effective teacher.”

What is one of the most interesting things you've learned from faculty while working as a Faculty Advisor?