Start locally. That’s the advice mathematics instructor Sam Bazzi shares with our most recent Faculty Advisors. Bazzi also suggests sharing best practices with others while staying up-to-date on the newest features of your MyLab or Mastering product – definitely an ongoing task and something Bazzi takes very seriously. “I do like MyMathLab and I get excited about new features and in particular the features that will lead to more effective teaching and learning.”
As a MyMathLab user for both fully-online and traditional courses, Bazzi incorporates MyMathLab in two different ways. For the online courses, “MyMathLab and MyStatLab are the backbones,” while for the traditional courses, MyMathLab is used to assign homework, quizzes, and provide students with immediate feedback on their progress within the course using the gradebook features. Bazzi really has MyMathLab take center stage in his online courses, building the courses themselves around the, capabilities of MathXL. He also assigns media files to watch and answer questions about, and gives students the option to work at their own pace through the Study Plan awarding them extra credit for their efforts.
Using MyMathLab has resulted in the majority of Bazzi’s students, “devoting the required time to master their course objectives,” evidenced by high scores achieved on homework. To Bazzi’s surprise, “the majority of students like using MyMathLab as a required component in their class.” This ultimately motivated Bazzi to expand the use of MyMathLab into other courses within the department. “Students showed that they can adapt with this technology smoothly and effectively,” says Bazzi.
Interacting with other faculty tops Bazzi’s list of reasons why he enjoys being a Pearson Faculty Advisor. “It gives me great pleasure to be able to connect with other faculty and share with them my knowledge and expertise with this system (MyMathLab) that proved to be very effective in enhancing teaching and learning.” Training faculty or just sharing best practices with colleagues allows him to contribute to student success at schools other than his own. “It is a joy to show instructors who at first are a bit hesitant about incorporating technology in their course that using MyMathLab is going to help,” says Bazzi who also spends time training adjuncts at his own college.
Being a huge fan of staying current on MyMathLab’s latest feature enhancements, Bazzi also enjoys attending more MyMathLab focus groups as a Faculty Advisor, and getting a sneak peak of what’s coming.
Mostly, it’s the attitude he can inspire that makes being a Faculty Advisor such a rewarding experience. Bazzi experienced first-hand the excitement of other faculty as they realize the benefits of a redesign. While working with a local college that was undergoing a beginning algebra redesign, Bazzi soaked up their positive attitude which he feels will eventually, “reflect on their students and thus contribute to better learning outcomes.”
What is the biggest increase you've seen since using your MyLab or Mastering product? Was it an increase in student success, student participation, retention rates, overall class averages, etc?
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