In 2008 I had a teaching dilemma.  I was the instructor of large first-year chemistry course that had no formal tutorial sessions.  And even if I could have incorporated tutorials, my institution didn’t really have enough qualified teaching assistants to run them.  But my students needed extra help.

Finding the right solution

I needed a way to provide students with tutorial-like support when they needed it.  In other words, when they were working on their assignments and not during a scheduled time during the week.  Pearson’s Mastering was the perfect solution.  In addition to the end-of-chapter exercises, it had specifically designed tutorial questions that provided hints and guided feedback to the students when they needed it.  It also had other features that let me go beyond the classic weekly assignment questions – I especially loved eliminating the manual grading load!

Evolving with my teaching

Fast forward 17 years and Mastering is still a large part of my teaching. As my teaching has transformed to include more simulations, data analysis, and interactivity, Mastering has changed along with it. Pearson has listened to instructor feedback and developed a variety of activities, question types and assessment formats to suit every instructor’s needs and teaching style.

Supporting every student’s learning

Pearson has also focused on the student learning experience. Adaptive feedback exercises and dynamic study modules help students provide additional practice with the material while improving their confidence and understanding.   The study area has a wealth of different resources including, but not limited to flashcards, interactive examples, videos and key concept activities.  And in keeping up with technological advances, AI-powered tools have just been recently added further increasing the student learning experience.  And since all of these resources are located in one place, students get a consistent approach to course content, avoiding the potential problems associated with different external resources.

From homework tool to teaching partner

In the beginning, I was looking for a tutorial/homework platform.  What I have now is an integrated teaching and learning platform that is adaptable to my course in whatever way I wish. Along the way I’ve had the opportunity to offer feedback, guide its direction, discuss new features and work on materials.  It has impacted me and my teaching.  I really couldn’t ask for more.