“I really like helping teachers through the process of learning MyMathLab,” says Dr. Scott McDaniel, mathematics professor at Middle Tennessee State University
McDaniel uses MyMathLab for several aspects of his course and has created an inverted classroom model where class time is no longer used for lecturing.
I post video lectures that I have created with a tablet PC within MyMathLab that students watch prior to class. Class time is then devoted to doing the critical thinking and active analyzing and problem synthesis that is based on the assigned videos.
To ensure students are watching the videos, McDaniel embeds a password in the videos and requires students to take a password-protected quiz in MyMathLab. In addition to the videos in MyMathLab, students are required to do 5-10 homework problems within the program as well. McDaniel assigns the easiest problems based on the difficulty icon featured for every problem. This model, according to McDaniel, “allows instructors to be in control of the more difficult aspects of the course content.” During class time, students have the opportunity to engage in solving the more difficult problems which require a deeper analysis and synthesis of the content. An added bonus to this course structure for McDaniel is the ease with which instructors can identify struggling students and provide them with immediate feedback.
MyMathLab also allows for student tracking that helps to identify struggling students. McDaniel uses MyMathLab to keep an eye on student grades and on the time they spend with the content so that he can track those students who are having difficulties in the course.
Students’ favorite MyMathLab feature? The feedback. McDaniel says his students, “love the immediate feedback they get from MyMathLab and the ability to do problems (or problem sets) more than once”.
Being a Faculty Advisor allows McDaniel to share these teaching experiences he has had using MyMathLab with other faculty since, “every teacher loves to learn some new trick or a different approach to MyMathLab.” McDaniel sees the sharing aspect of being a Faculty Advisor as one of the most important, “You don’t have to know every single aspect of MyMathLab to be a Faculty Advisor (and I certainly don’t); just be willing to share what you do know about MyMathLab and how you use it in your classes.”
What feature of your MyLab or Mastering product do your students like best? What personal teaching experiences do you find yourself frequently sharing with other faculty?
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