Teaching and Learning blog

Students don’t know how to study. 

As a former instructor of undergraduate students, I would hear students say they are too busy to study, and when they do study, they aren’t sure what to focus on. Research shows students spend their study time rereading their notes or textbook, highlighting too much, and don’t know what they need to prioritize1. These poor study habits create frustration as students cram for exams but still get low grades. I was left wondering; how can I help make learning more engaging and robust for my students? 

Active learning is an effective and efficient method to remember more. 

Learning science shows that students need more effective strategies to optimize their limited time and keep them engaged during learning2. Active learning practices can make learning dynamic for the student and can promote efficiency in the study session. The term “active learning” comes from the ICAP framework3. In this framework, the level of engagement is categorized based on the level of interaction the student has with the learning material.  

When students are rereading text or listening to lectures without taking notes, they are engaging in passive learning behaviors. Passive learning has the worst outcomes for learning4. Active learning habits – such as outlining key concepts, comparing ideas, generating hypotheses, or reflecting on questions – allow learners to deepen their understanding in a shorter amount of time. Active learning does not mean learners are physically active; rather, learners are actively creating new ideas and connecting to the material in a way that benefits their learning. 

Frequent, shorter study sessions work best. 

Students that regularly engage in active learning while studying outperform those who cram right before the exam5. While last-minute cramming is common, research shows that information is quickly lost soon after a long study session. To avoid the decay in memory, spacing 20–30-minute study sessions across multiple days or weeks can lead to greater memory retention. Essentially, frequent brief exposures to the material can lead to better memory performance on the test, even when the exposures are for shorter durations of time.  

Instructors can help students set up a schedule to study and break up homework into smaller chunks. 

Students need support in active learning. 

Students need guidance to stop passively learning and use more active practices. Instructors can teach students the benefits of active learning and integrate opportunities for it in the classroom. Here are a few ways you as an instructor can encourage your students to be active learners. 

Walk students through features that enable active learning. 
Take some class time to show students how to use all the available digital learning tools, such as highlighting, flashcards, and quizzing. These eText features are easy to use and have been built to promote active learning. 

Create opportunities for reflective thinking. 
Active learning practices can be embedded into the course's structure by assigning opportunities to reflect. Activities that prompt active thinking can happen both in and out of the classroom. Discussion boards asking students to challenge a topic, assigning students to instruct others on a topic, or creating a visualization that structures a topic are all examples of ways to prompt active learning. 

Demonstrate how to take notes and study. 
Leading by example can be the best way to change behavior. By providing an outline or talking about what to focus on while studying, instructors can curb students from wasting time rereading. Students should have a clear understanding of what is most relevant to prepare them for an exam. 

Encourage frequent testing. 
Practice makes perfect. Therefore, regular low-stakes test sessions can help students gain exposure to the material and testing experience before taking a high-stakes exam. Regular testing can also guide students to know exactly what they are struggling with. Offer students frequent opportunities to quiz themselves on the material and provide clear feedback to help them know what to study next. 

Promote collaboration. 
Research shows that students learn best in a community, and learning from peers can save time for the instructor. AI tutors can also answer questions and prompt students to engage in active learning practices. 

Signs that your students are studying effectively 

Ensuring students are using the best study habits can be tricky. You can ensure your students are being productive outside of the classroom by looking for a few signs. According to the ICAP framework, students that are actively learning can: 

• ask insightful questions 
• discuss, challenge, and debate 
• instruct others 
• draw connections between concepts 

Integrating active learning in your course 

When I was looking for ways to get my students engaged and promote better study habits, I found that educational tools like digital flashcards and collaborative notetaking prompted more active thinking. Pearson offers a dynamic learning experience built to help students engage in active learning. Together, we can help students leverage the benefits of digital tools for learning. 

Jerilin Morris, Blackboard Administrator at The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences (TCC), and Paula Lee, LMS System Administrator at Lee College, both work with their bookstore and Pearson to integrate courseware into their institution’s Learning Management System (LMS), currently Blackboard. Jerilin has been the Blackboard Administrator at TCC for 10 years, while Paula has been the System Administrator at Lee College her entire 16 years there. Both of their responsibilities include ensuring the integration between the courseware and their LMS in the instructors’ courses are working appropriately. They attend to any issues and answer any questions that may arise from both instructors and students based on the integration process.  

Integration with Pearson 

LMS administrators have experience with a variety of publisher’s integration capabilities. Oftentimes the beginning of the semester can pose an issue when it comes to integration as students have to access their course materials through their LMS, which can be confusing for some students. With Pearson, Jerilin sees how much smoother it is during those first weeks of the semester saying, “The LMS integration with Pearson is basically seamless. For instance, students were having issues with a previous math product and every semester I just dreaded the first week because students would need so much help. I haven’t had any of those issues since we switched to Pearson.”  

In addition, Jerilin sees the value of LMS integration for students’ useability as it is less cumbersome and creates an intuitive way to access course materials. “It’s seamless for students. There are just too many clicks on different products. Without even realizing it, they’ve crossed a bridge between two different software products. Things really got easier for students when they got that single sign on and then all their material is just right there.”  

Access Pearson’s LMS integration allows for grade synching and assignment linking, direct from courseware into the LMS system. Paula feels this ease of use and set up is helpful for instructors. “The flow of the LMS integration with Pearson is good. It is simple to set up. The flow of grades syncing back up and setting up the links is straight forward, which is nice.” Jerilin agrees this process is beneficial saying, “The Pearson content is so specific that it’s a perfect fit for our courses. The integration is a much smoother process with Pearson and the grades synch automatically.” 

It’s the season of love, and at Pearson, there’s nothing we love more than helping students succeed. This Valentine’s Day, we asked students how Pearson helps them in their courses, and we’re excited to share the love!

Features and tools

From the convenience and accessibility, to the interactive and engaging features and tools, MyLab and Mastering have become the study buddies that students adore. Over 90% of students agree that Pearson helps them come to class better prepared and ready to learn. With personalization features that help students pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses, what’s not to love? One of the most popular features is the ‘Help Me Solve This’ tool in MyLab, which walks students through problems step by step. One student says, “I love the feature, it allows me to get my questions answered without having to be in person!” It’s important that students can work their way through problems they don’t understand without having to wait for extra help.

Whether it’s built-in homework help or premade practice quizzes and flash cards, Pearson is always ready to help students save time studying. MyLab and Mastering cater to each individual student, helping them understand where they’re struggling or excelling in real time, “MyLab and Mastering are especially useful for topics that I may not be so strong in, as they give little reminders and tips to study specific problems.” says one student. When students are able to break down exactly what sections and problem types they struggle with the most, they don’t have to struggle looking for ways to fill the gap. Pearson is already there to guide them in the right direction. It’s a match made in academic heaven!

Studying, reading, and homework, wherever you are

Pearson makes it easy for students to stay on top of their assignments with the flexibility and accessibility that allows students to take their courses with them. On commutes students listen to the audio of their textbook or catch up on studying with their P+ app. “Pearson gives me the flexibility to have easy access wherever I am” says one student, “I can use it across multiple devices.” And with features like embedded videos, study tools, and interactive problems, 80% of students agree that Pearson products are more engaging than a traditional textbook. The convenience and ease of use MyLab and Mastering provide help students stay on top of their assignments. Students find they’re more organized when they use Pearson in their courses with one student saying “it’s so easy to navigate and it helps me stay on schedule and makes me more efficient when studying.” With the right tools, everyone has the opportunity to thrive in their courses, and at Pearson we love that we’re able to provide those tools.

MyLab and Mastering are designed to meet students where they are, whether that’s physically on the go, or academically in class. Our tools and features help move students along in their courses without feeling like they’re being left behind. Over 77% of students recognize that MyLab and Mastering play a huge role in helping them sustain engagement within course materials, and many students use Pearson to help understand in class lectures better.

Thanks for the LOVE!

We love to hear from students, and we’re so proud to be able to spread that love this Valentine’s Day! And we LOVE to be able to partner with students to provide purpose-built learning platforms that help them achieve their academic goals. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Carlos de la Lama has integrated Pearson’s MyLab platform into approximately 80% of the courses he teaches.

How did Pearson earn pride of place in the curricula of an esteemed higher ed math instructor with decades of experience?

Carlos attributes his long partnership with Pearson to the strong relationships he has cultivated with Pearson representatives. These connections keep him at the forefront of technological advancements and enable him to utilize MyLab’s many resources to help his students succeed.

Emphasizing accessible learning materials

Pearson’s commitment to supporting every learner with accessible content and platforms is a primary reason why MyLab is Carlos’s go-to resource.

When Carlos was teaching at Southwestern College in 2017, the school updated their accessibility standards and requested that any publisher they work with comply with the new changes.

Many publishers refused, but Pearson saw SC’s change as an opportunity for growth and collaboration. By partnering with SC, Pearson ensured its platforms were accessible and became one of the few publishers that could provide services to the institution.

Recently, the commitment to accessibility begun at SC earned Pearson the prestigious Global Certified Accessibly Certification (GCA) from Benetech.

Balancing structure and customization in math instruction

As an instructor, Carlos finds MyLab’s wealth of diverse and difficulty-tiered questions unparalleled. This flexibility allows him to tailor assessments and homework to meet the unique needs of his students.

For example, Carlos strategically deploys MyLab in courses with historically low student success rates, such as Intermediate Algebra. By incorporating MyLab content into assessments and finals, spacing them strategically over weeks, and introducing pre-assessments as non-credit prerequisites, Carlos has been able to significantly improve math test scores, indicating heightened student engagement and mastery.

For face-to-face courses, Carlos recommends starting small and carefully structuring individualized homework. Emphasizing the development of prerequisites, he believes, has been instrumental in his success.

In hybrid or online courses, he says the same principles apply, with added considerations for assessment administration and leveraging MyLab resources to foster engagement.

Helping students find success

For Carlos, Pearson’s MyLab is an indispensable ally, shaping not only his teaching methodologies but also contributing significantly to increased student success. In the ever-evolving landscape of education, Carlos’s story stands as a beacon for instructors seeking to elevate the learning experience.

Want to know more? Discover how to transform your teaching with MyLab Math.

“Do the right thing for every student, every time.”

Callie Daniels has lived by this motto since she first heard it as an undergraduate education student.

Now, after 30 years as a higher-ed math instructor, Daniels understands how truly important that advice is — and has taken her time to share her teaching knowledge in a new webinar.

“Math is challenging, and some of our students are barely hanging on.”

She likens struggling math students to cowboys in a rodeo, holding on to their horses’ saddles for dear life.

“It’s hard to know what their needs are going to be when they get to us,” Daniels says, “but if we can determine the right thing and just do it, then that’s the best we have to offer our students.”

Her statements highlight a key dilemma for educators: How can you continuously offer your best to students while avoiding burnout?

“MyLab uses your time wisely and your students’ time effectively.”

Author Callie Daniels knows that when higher ed math instructors have the right tools at their disposal, it’s much easier to meet students where they are.

Engaging, interactive resources like MyLab Math and eTextbooks can help you empower learners and more easily identify and address your higher-ed math students’ needs.

In her 30-minute on-demand webinar, Daniels explains how to tailor MyLab Math and eTextbook resources to your unique teaching style and objectives

Other higher education instructors ask me what I use to keep my students engaged in courses that involve a lot of memorization and how do I build confidence and deepen their understanding in the material?

I teach online Medical Terminology as well as nursing courses for three different colleges. MyLab Medical Terminology by Pearson has been one of my go-to resources for 12 years because it helps me keep my online students invested in their learning.

Features that make learning dynamic and fun

Medical terminology, outside of being difficult, can be tedious at times. With all those root words, prefixes and suffixes to remember, students are essentially being asked to learn a new language in the span of a single course. A spelling or pronunciation error could be vital to a patient’s life.

To help my students overcome this challenge, the features of MyLab Medical Terminology are designed to promote active learning, which makes the process of mastery more enjoyable and effective.

Mastering Microbiology is the online Learning Management System that accompanies the textbook Microbiology: An Introduction. Mastering Microbiology is packed full of instructor friendly resources that aid in student learning and understanding. These resources give students 24/7 access to learning opportunities, allowing them to take ownership of their learning. The Mastering Microbiology resources range from providing students with important background knowledge, to adaptive study tools, to clinical based applications of Microbiology. The resources in Mastering Microbiology are pedagogically focused to provide clear explanations of complex concepts and to engage learners in the material by providing practical applications of microbiology concepts.

The Mastering Microbiology resources available for Microbiology: An Introduction include:

In The Clinic Videos: These videos bring to life the scenarios of the “In the Clinic” features that open every chapter. The videos introduce a microbial disease and ask questions linking microbiology concepts to disease pathology. This helps students transfer their knowledge of microbiology to clinically relevant settings.

Pedagogy – The “In the Clinic” Videos are designed to take concepts found in the disease chapters towards the end of the book and move them forward in the class, introducing disease pathology in concert with the microbiology that explains the how and why behind the pathology. This connection between microbiology and disease pathology occurs in a clinical setting highlighting how microbiology understanding can be transferred to patient care. These real-world examples engage learners and help students develop critical thinking skills.

How to Assign – These assignments can be assigned after class to allow students to apply the new information they have learned. These assignments can also be used in class to provide active learning and/or peer to peer learning in class. An instructor can show the first part of the video and ask students to hypothesize answers to the questions. This will provide a scaffold for student learning while the instructor lectures over the content. Later on, the class can come back to the videos to see content application and spark classroom discussion. In an online setting, instructors can assign these after chapter reading assignments to apply and assess knowledge students have gained.

MicroBoosters: MicroBoosters are a suite of brief video tutorials that cover key background concepts students may need to review or relearn prior to diving into more complex microbiology content.

Pedagogy – Complex microbiology concepts often build from prior knowledge based in biology and chemistry. In a one semester Microbiology class, instructors are pressed for time to cover all of the microbiology concepts in detail, and they may not have time to cover all the background material as well. The MicroBooster video tutorials allow students to learn and review key background knowledge, ensuring they come to class prepared.

How to Assign – MicroBoosters can be assigned before class to give students the background knowledge they need for lecture topics. Assigning Microboosters before class allows the instructor to review student grades prior to class to determine if students know the needed background information for the lecture. In an online setting, Microboosters can be used either as a warmup before chapter content is assigned, or at the start of the class in a background introduction module.

Interactive Microbiology: Interactive Microbiology is a dynamic suite of interactive tutorials and animations that teach key microbiology concepts. Students actively engage with each topic and learn by manipulating variables, predicting outcomes, and answering assessment questions.

Pedagogy – Interactive Microbiology takes a scaffolding approach to presenting complex materials. This concept allows different microbiology concepts to build on one another, helping students to understand the answers to questions and mimic the type of thought process that would occur clinically. Each module starts with a case study to provide students with a real-world hook that increases interest and engagement. The activities use state-of-the-art animations to bring cell biology concepts to life and ask questions that allow students to own their learning and connect microbiology concepts to clinical applications. Interactive Microbiology helps to bridge the core concepts of microbiology like morphology, genetics, and metabolism, with the more advanced concepts of microbiology like pathology, immunology, and pharmacology in a realistic manner that makes the learning genuine.

How to Assign – Interactive Microbiology assignments can be assigned as post-lecture material, reinforcing and providing application for lecture content. These assignments can also be used to introduce upcoming lecture concepts, helping students connect basic knowledge with more advanced concepts.

Micro Lab Explorations: Micro Lab Explorations are branching style lab activities that use a Choose Your Own Adventure™ approach to teach lab techniques and concepts. These decision-tree style lab exercises present a clinically based scenario that walks students through the process of using microbiology lab knowledge to solve clinical problems.

Pedagogy – Decision-tree style lab exercises are designed to increase student ownership and interactivity in online environments, by allowing students to engage in the narrative of the lesson. Students are not just passively watching content, but rather directing the path of the content, answering questions, and learning from their mistakes in a low-stakes environment. These activities also help students develop critical thinking skills by linking microbiology concepts and lab techniques with clinical applications.

How to Assign – Because Micro Lab Explorations contain videos on how to perform certain lab techniques, they are perfect to assign as pre-labs prior to in-person or virtual labs. Students will not only see the proper way to perform lab techniques but will also learn about the concepts behind the lab and how these lab techniques are used to aid in clinical diagnosis.

Interactive Labs: Interactive Labs for Microbiology is a suite of online microbiology lab simulations. These interactive labs allow students to perform lab techniques virtually, while receiving guided feedback.

Our mission is simple: to help people make progress in their lives through learning. Because wherever learning flourishes, so do people. We'll only be successful when our educational materials are accessible to all users, and we’ve long been committed to providing access to learners with disabilities. That commitment is woven into the fabric of our learning materials, development processes, innovation efforts, employee culture, and partnerships.

We’re proud to have been recognized as a Benetech Global Certified Accessible™ (GCA) publisher. The first third-party EPUB certification program to verify eBook accessibility. (Learn more about this achievement, and our new partnership with Benetech.)

Accessibility in MyLab and Mastering  

Pearson’s Faculty Advisors recently led best practice webinars for our two leading learning platforms, exploring accessibility features designed to help more learners succeed. (We invite you to watch the recorded webinars: MyLab or Mastering.)  

We’ve all been there. We sit down to watch a movie. The storyline is a little slow in the beginning and our minds start to drift. As we try to bring our attention back to the screen, we decide we’re a little hungry. We get up and go to the kitchen to make a snack, all the while telling ourselves that we didn’t need to pause the movie because we can hear it in the kitchen. We return to the living room and settle-in to watch the movie as we munch on our pizza rolls and soda. The food rouses little Gizmo from underneath the couch and she sneaks out to investigate the enticing aroma. We offer her part of our snack and give her a little scratch behind the ears. Before we know it, we are involved in an all-out tug-of-war with a 10 pound ball of fur. The movie is long forgotten.

Now replace the movie in this scenario with the carefully constructed video lessons that you have created for your students so that they would be eager to delve into the latest lesson on solving equations or factoring polynomials. The truth is that most students endure video lectures as a means to an end but struggle to stay engaged enough to absorb the material. It would be easy to say that this is just an issue for developmental or freshmen level students. The harsh reality is that it is true at all levels in all subjects. I witnessed first-hand as my son, who was finishing a master’s degree in Biosystems Engineering, struggled to stay awake while watching online lectures for a required statistics course which was only offered in an online format. He would stop every ten minutes, literally take a lap around the house, and then sit down to try and watch a few more minutes.

While there is no universal solution to this difficulty for students, we can supply them with tools which will help to mitigate the time lost to distracted viewing. When I created full lesson videos for my online students several years ago (pre-covid), I included colorful guided notes to help them stay engaged with the material. Using PDF files deployed in our learning management system, I supply my students with word-for-word, picture-for-picture materials that match the video they are watching. I have strategically placed blanks and empty boxes on these guided pages, so that the student must fill-in-the-blank as they watch the video. If their mind begins to wander, they will miss a blank or box and will have to rewind to get the needed information. Sometimes the blanks are words that are being said in the audio. Sometimes the boxes are specific letters or numbers that are relative to the problem being shown. It is important to include three keys for creating and successfully implementing guided notes in your course: Color, Active Learning, and Grading.