MyLab Economics and Learning Catalytics contribute to student success
Pearson | March 4, 2022 in Meaningful Outcomes
by Pearson
MyLab Economics contributes to student success
In Spring 2017, Professor Brooks Herrboldt from Normandale Community College in Bloomington, MN partnered with Pearson to investigate the impact of MyLab™ Economics and Learning Catalytics™ with Microeconomics by Hubbard and O’Brien on student success in his Principles of Microeconomics course.
Key findings include:
- Students earning an A, B, or C as the final course grade had average MyLab quiz scores 21 percentage points higher than students who earned a D or F.
- Students with above average Learning Catalytics/problem set scores earned substantially higher MyLab quiz and exam scores than students who scored below average on Learning Catalytics/problem set assignments.
- 96 percent of student survey respondents agreed that the in-class Learning Catalytics questions helped them identify lecture material that they may not have understood completely.
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Why did Professor Brooks Herrboldt adopt MyLab Economics?
Principles of Microeconomics is a one-semester, three-credit course. Recognizing that publishers use their vast resources and textbook content to provide engaging, interactive tools that promote personal responsibility for learning, Herrboldt adopted MyLab Economics in 2007 for all of his sections of Economics in all course formats.
In 2016, Herrboldt resolved to enhance his current hybrid sections by flipping the classroom. To facilitate the flipped class, Herrboldt chose to adopt Learning Catalytics, embedded in the MyLab program which are both required by students.
How was MyLab Economics implemented?
MyLab Economics is required; the program is used by students working at home for understanding content, homework assignments, and assessments.
- Homework: Assigned weekly for skills practice and applying the textbook material. There are no points associated with these assignments, but students are required to complete the homework problems with a minimum score of 70 percent before the MyLab quiz will open.
- Quiz: There is a ten-point quiz weekly in MyLab, and students have three attempts at completion with no time limit.
- Exams: There are four exams that cover all course content. Students have 60 minutes a one attempt at completion.
Learning Catalytics (LC) complements lecture instruction by using real-time questions and answers to capture student feedback to quantitative and graphical problems. This immediate feedback enables him to adjust his lecture based on his students’ responses, identifying topics where they are struggling.
- Learning Catalytic/problem set (LC/PS): Grades that are a combination of attendance, participation, and accuracy of response. Students receive one point for attendance, two points for attempting the question, and three points for answering it correctly.
Were students successful in the course?
Students were divided into two groups based on the average Learning Catalytics/problem set score.
- Students who scored equal to or above the average Learning Catalytics/problem set score earned average quiz scores 17 percentage points higher and exam scores 15 percentage points higher than students who earned an LC/PS score below the average.
In addition, students who showed mastery of course content by earning an A, B, or C as their final course grade had average MyLab quiz scores of 81 percent, which is 21 percentage points higher than students who earned a D or F.
Did students like using MyLab Economics?
Responses from the Spring 2017 end-of-semester, voluntary survey of Herrboldt’s students indicate that the majority of responding students recognize the value of MyLab Economics.
- 100 percent of students strongly agree or agree that their understanding of the course material increased as a result of using MyLab.
One student said:
“MyLab shows a wider variety of application-based explanations of concepts that may otherwise be difficult to understand.”
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