MyLab Math with MyLabsPlus homework positively impacts developmental students’ success
Pearson | January 28, 2022 in Meaningful Outcomes
by Pearson
MyLab Math with MyLabsPlus contributes to student success
Between Fall 2016 and Spring 2017, Professor Kathryn Merritt from Pensacola State College in Pensacola, FL, partnered with Pearson to investigate the impact of MyLab™ Math in MyLabsPlus™ for Prealgebra and Introductory Algebra, 4th Edition by Martin-Gay on student success in her Developmental I & II courses.
Key findings include:
- Students’ module PostTest scores improved an average of 40 percentage points from their module PreTest scores.
- Students who earned higher MyLab homework scores showed greater improvement between module PreTests and PostTests.
- Students who scored higher on MyLab homework earned higher final course scores.
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Why does Professor Merritt use MyLab Math?
The Title III-funded Developmental Students Redesign Project aimed to improve student success, persistence, and learning through the implementation of a redesigned curriculum that addressed students’ differing gaps in knowledge while bringing them all to the level of mastery needed to move on to their next course. To aid in these goals, MyLab Math with MyLabsPlus was utilized.
How was MyLab Math implemented?
There are two courses in the developmental math sequence at PSC, Developmental Math I & II. Each course meets for three hours per week and is worth three credits. PSC’s developmental math sequence is taught using the emporium method. All of the course materials are delivered via MyLab Math in MyLabsPlus, with each course divided into six modules.
Each course module begins with the student completing a PreTest in MyLab.
- With scores of 80 percent or higher on the PreTest, students are exempt from the module content and may move immediately to the next module’s PreTest.
- Students scoring less than 80 percent on a PreTest are required to complete that module. Their first task is to watch all of the module lecture videos in MyLab, Homework assignments may be practiced multiple times, and exercises must be corrected until at least 80 percent are correct.
When all module homework and quizzing is complete, the student takes a PostTest on the module.
After the completion of all modules and the final exam review homework, students take a 30-question, multiple-choice final exam with only one attempt given.
Were students successful in the courses?
PreTest and PostTest scores were analyzed for students who were required to complete work in modules.
- Students taking the Developmental Math I course improved their scores an average of 34 percent.
- Students taking the Developmental Math II course improved their scores an average of 43 percent.
Students in the sample were then broken down into two groups: those who showed improvement <40 percent and those who showed improvement ≥40 percent.
- Students demonstrating improvement ≥40 percent on PostTests earned MyLab homework scores nearly twice as high as students in the other group.
Did students like using MyLab Math?
The following results are from the national Pearson student MyLab Math survey, taken by 32,192 students in Spring 2017 from both two-year and four-year schools:
- 78 percent of respondents reported that MyLab Math helped them learn their course’s content.
- Over 75 percent of respondents reported that they had either a good or very good experience with both MyLab Math homework and learning aids.
