In the spring of 2008, Dr. Maria Fernanda Botelho, a professor at the University of
Memphis, was determined to improve the success rate in her elementary calculus course, so she was open to trying new methods. “My observation was that by the third or fourth week I would have only 40 percent of the [enrolled] students left,” Botelho recalls.
So she began training on Pearson Education’s MyMathLab software after two other professors had begun using it in their classes at the university. During the summer session, Botelho incorporated the system into the syllabuses of her two general education elementary calculus classes.
Using the online technology, students are required to solve problems in a laboratory environment. An instructor-led lecture introduces basic concepts, and students spend the remaining class time solving MyMathLab problems using their laptops. The program provides feedback, grading and support resources including tutorials.
The results were immediately noticeable, Botelho says. “I saw attendance go from 40 percent to about 70 or 80 percent throughout the semester,” and she says, “that led to retention and, ultimately, to success in the course.”
Botelho’s experience was shared by others in the Memphis Mathematical Model, or MMM, the university’s MyMathLab-enabled program.
Dr. Tom Nenon, vice provost for assessment, institutional research and reporting, introduced MyMathLab to the UM campus in 2008, because “at the time we had a 46 percent success rate in lower division math courses.” Nenon says he wanted to explore different pedagogy and take advantage of some of the technological tools that were showing success elsewhere.
