STUDENT PERCEPTIONS ON USING MYMATHLAB article

 Journal of Student Success and Retention         Vol. 3, No. 1, October 2016 

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STUDENTPERCEPTIONSONUSINGMYMATHLAB

TOCOMPLETEHOMEWORKONLINE

JoanRainesMiddleTennesseeStateUniversity

joan.raines@mtsu.eduAbstract

Themainaimofthisstudywastoexamineandbetterunderstandstudents’perceptionson

theuseofMyMathLab,anonlineinteractivecoursemanagementsystem,forcompleting

homeworkonlineinaredesignedelementaryalgebracourse.Asurveywasadministered

to125studentsaftermidtermandresultsindicatedthatfromthestudents’perspective,

completinghomeworkonlineappearedtohaveapositiveimpactontheirunderstandingof

themathematicsconceptsinthecourse.Additionally,students’perceptionsthatdoing

homeworkonlinepreparedthemforin‐classtestsappearedtohaveapositiveimpacton

theirlearningthecontentinthecourse.Theresultsofthisstudysuggestthatcompleting

homeworkonlineplayedaprominentroleintheattitudesofandoutcomesforthose

studentsrequiringsometypeofremediationbeforetakingcollege‐levelmathematics

courses.

Keywords:onlinehomework,studentperceptionsofonlinehomework,web‐based

mathematicsinstruction,MyMathLab

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ThenumberofhighschoolstudentsintheUnitedStatesattendingcollegeafter

graduationisontherise.However,thousandsofthesestudentsdiscovertheylack

adequatepreparationforcollege‐levelcourses,especiallyinmathematics.Inthefallof

2000,56%ofallmathematicsclassesattwo‐yearcollegesand12%atfour‐yearcolleges

wereremedial;andin2001,remediationwasrequiredforalmostone‐thirdoffreshmen

enteringcollege(Bettinger&Long,2009;McGowen,2006).Intheirstudyusingdatafrom

theU.S.DepartmentofEducation,GreeneandForster(2003)foundthatonly32%ofall

studentsthatcompletehighschoolarereadytoattendcollege.A2010reportbythe

NationalCenterforPublicPolicyandHigherEducationandtheSouthernRegional

EducationBoardfoundnearly60%ofincomingcollegestudentswerenotadequately

preparedacademicallyandrequiredsomeremedialinstruction.In2012,only25%ofall

highschoolgraduateswhotooktheACTexammettheCollegeReadinessBenchmarksin

thefourindividualsubjectstestedandthenumbermeetingallfourbenchmarksin2013

and2014increasedonly1%(ACT,2013,2014).Basedonthisinformation,thenumberof

studentsenteringcollegewhorequireremediation,particularlyinmathematics,isnot

decreasing.

WithlowretentionandhighDFWratesinmanyremedialcourses,itiscriticalthat

educatorsfindwaystoturntheseoutcomesaround.BrewerandBecker(2010)foundthat

insteadoftryingtomakedrasticchangestoentireprogramsandcurriculum,“effortsto

solvetheproblemofhelpingstudentssucceedneedtofocusoninterventionsthatcanbe

implementedwithintheframeworkofexistingprograms”(p.354).Onesuchintervention

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isacoursemanagementsystemallowingstudentstocompletehomeworkonline,thereby

increasingunderstandingofcoursecontentwhichleadstoimprovedperformanceand

studentsuccessinthecourse.Thisstudyanalyzedstudents’perceptionsoftheuseofone

ofthesecoursemanagementsystems,MyMathLab,throughtheuseofsurveydata.

LiteratureReview

Thereisnoquestionthathomeworkisnecessaryandtherearemultiplebenefitsfor

studentswhentheycompletehomework,especiallyinmathematics.Numerousstudies

existthathaveexaminedsomeofthesebenefits,andtherelationshipbetweenhomework

completionandstudentachievement(e.g.,Bruce&Singh,1996;Cooper,1989;Cooper,

Robinson,&Patal,2006).Inadditiontoreviewingthebenefitsderivedfromhomework

completion,researchershavealsofoundthatwhenhomeworkiscompletedonline,the

resultsincludepositiveeffectsonachievementandlearning(Burch&Kuo,2010;Dillard‐

Eggers,Wooten,Childs,&Coker,2008;Hodge,Richardson,&York,2009;Kulik&Kulik,

1991).Thisisparticularlytrueforthosestudentswhorequireremediationbeforetaking

college‐levelmathematicscourses.

CourseManagementSystemsandtheUnderpreparedStudent

Multiplestudieshaveexaminedmathematicslearningandsubsequentachievement

ofunderpreparedstudentswhentheyusedonlinecoursewareorcoursemanagement

systems.Forexample,Testone(2005)comparedthesuccessratesofonlinestudentsin

beginningandintermediatealgebrawhousedanonlinecoursewaresystemtocomplete

homeworkwiththoseintraditionalon‐campusclassesatOnondagaCommunityCollege.

Passingratesinbeginningalgebraforthosestudentswithaccesstoonlinehomeworkand

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tutorialswasapproximately65%andoftenhigher,comparedtoapassrateaveraging

between40%and48%forstudentstakingtheclassoncampus.Instructorsofthe

developmentalmathematicscoursesfeltthesuccessoftheonlinestudentswasduetotheir

useoftheonlinecoursewaresystem.Therefore,theonlinecoursewaresystemwasmade

availabletoalldevelopmentalmathstudents;however,theywerenotrequiredtouseitor

completetheirhomeworkonline.Theinstructorsdidfindthatthosestudentswhodiduse

theinteractivehomeworkandtutorialshadgreatersuccessratesintheircoursesandit

appearedtoimprovestudentlearning.

Additionally,BakerandDias(2008)examinedpassratesontheelementaryalgebra

portionoftheACT/COMPASSexamwhichisrequiredforstudentstoexitfromremediation

atHostosCommunityCollege.Atthecollege,thepassrateforthissegmentoftheexam

wasaround50%andremainedrelativelysteadyatthisratesincetheexamwas

implementedin2004.Theelementaryalgebracoursesweretaughtusingtraditional

lecturemethodsandtheresearchersintroducedweb‐basedsoftwareasasupplementfor

homeworkintothosecoursestheywereteaching.BakerandDiasthencomparedtheir

students’resultsontheexitexamwiththeresultsoftheirstudentsfrompreviousyears

whodidnotusethesoftware.Priortousingthecoursemanagementsoftware,thepass

rateontheexitexamforBaker’sclasses(48.3%)wasbelowthedepartmentaverage

(54.7%)andafterintroducingtheuseofthesoftware,thepassrateimproved(76.3%).

Diasalsohadanincreaseinstudents’passratesontheexamaftertheintroductionofthe

softwareandtheseincreaseswerestatisticallysignificantforbothresearchers.Fromthese

resultsandfromexaminingstudents’homeworkscores,BakerandDiasconcludedthe

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web‐basedhomeworkwasasignificantpartoftheirstudents’successinpassingtheexit

exam.

DuetolargeenrollmentandlowpassratesinelementaryalgebraatDelaware

TechnicalandCommunityCollege,Vezmar(2011)examinedtheeffectsofanonline

coursewaresystem,MyMathLab,onstudentachievement.Thefinalsampleforherstudy

included178students,enrolledinelementaryalgebrainfall2010,whocompletedall

elementsofthecourse.Afterexaminingthedata,Vezmarfoundastatisticallysignificant,

moderatecorrelationbetweentheamountoftimestudentsspentdoinghomeworkin

MyMathLabandtheirhomeworkgrade.Thisresultwasnotsurprisingsincestudentsdo

needtospendtimeinMyMathLabinordertocompletehomework.Additionally,the

resultsofat‐testrevealedastatisticallysignificantincreaseinstudentachievementas

measuredbyfinalexamscoresforthosestudentswithhomeworkgradesof75%orbetter;

and,therewasastatisticallysignificantpositivecorrelationbetweenhomeworkgradesand

finalexamgrades.

Students’PerceptionsofCourseManagementSystems

Theimplementationanduseofcoursemanagementsystemsshouldbeguidedby

theattitudesandperspectivesofthestudentsusingthem.Numerousstudieshavebeen

conductedusingsurveydatatobetterunderstandstudents’perceptionsregardingtheuse

ofthesesystemstocompletehomeworkonline.

Buzzetto‐MoreandUkoha(2009)reviewedsurveydatafrom692studentsenrolled

inaremedialmathematicscourse,whichhadahighfailureandattritionrate,atthe

UniversityofMarylandEasternShore.MathXL,aweb‐basedlearningmanagement

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program,wasintroducedintothecourseinanefforttoimprovestudentsuccess.

Responsesonthesurveyrevealedthat63%ofthestudentsfeltMathXLwasavaluable

learningtooland49%felttheprogramhelpedthemsucceedintheclass.Additionally,

56.1%ofthosecompletingthesurveyfeltthesystemhelpedthemtobetterunderstand

conceptsinthecourseand52.8%feltithelpedthemperformbetterontheirassignments.

Sincetheimplementationofthelearningmanagementprogram,withdrawaldataatthe

universityindicatedtherewasasignificantdecreaseinstudentwithdrawals(50%)inthe

mathematicscourse,whilestudentpassratesincreased.

Holt,Holt,andLumadue(2012)employedamixedmethodapproachtoexplorethe

perceptionsofstudentsusingMyMathLabforhomeworkonlyinanintermediatealgebra

courseataregionalstateuniversityinnortheastTexas.Theirqualitativestudyuseda28

questionsurveywhichwasmadeavailableto149studentsenrolledinsixon‐campus

sectionsofthecourse.Fifty‐eightstudentscompletedtheonlinequestionnaire.The

resultsofthesurveyrevealedthatthestudentswhopreferredusingMyMathLablikedthe

immediatefeedbackreceivedwhenworkinghomeworkproblems,alongwiththeabilityto

reworkproblemsandreceivestepbystepinstructionsifneeded.Additionally,57%ofthe

studentsfelttheyhadabetterunderstandingofmathconceptsafterusingMyMathLabto

completehomeworkassignments,and69%ofstudentsagreedthatthetimespentonthe

onlineassignmentswasbeneficial.Theresearchersalsoaskedrespondentstorankwhich

featuresoftheprogramtheyfoundhelpful.Sixty‐sevenpercentand66%stated“HelpMe

SolveThis”and“ViewanExample”,respectively,wereamongthemostbeneficialtothem.

Seventy‐twopercentfoundtheabilitytoreworkproblemstobeveryhelpful,while55%

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felthavingimmediatefeedbackonaproblem’sanswerwasuseful.Overall,fromthe

students’perspective,completinghomeworkinMyMathLabseemedtohaveapositive

impactontheirmathematicsunderstanding.

Law,Sek,Ng,Goh,andTay(2012)alsoexaminedsurveydatatodeterminestudents’

satisfactionandexpectationsafterusingMyMathLabinapre‐calculuscourseatMultimedia

University.Theresearchersadministereda23‐itemsurveyto450pre‐universitystudents

enrolledinthecourseduringthefirsttrimesterattheschool.Lawetal.foundthat62.7%

ofstudentsfelttheonlinesystemwaseasytouseand68.2%saiditincreasedtheir

understandingofthecoursematerial.Halfofthestudents(49.6%)feltthatusing

MyMathLabhelpedthemachieveahighergradeinthecourse;while63.3%saidregardless

oftheirgrade,theyfeltMyMathLabhelpedthemtounderstandthesubjectmatterbetter

andthesamepercentageofstudentsweresatisfiedusingthesysteminthecourse.

Combinedresultsofsurveydatacoveringtwosemesters,completedby3,863

studentsat674individualinstitutions,revealed81%ofstudentsstronglyagreedoragreed

thatMyMathLabhelpedthembetterunderstandthesubjectmatterand80%feltthe

programhelpedthemachieveahighergradeinthecoursetheyweretaking(Speckler,

2012).Eighty‐fivepercentofthosesurveyedwereverysatisfiedorsatisfiedwiththe

system.Speckleralsonotedthatoneofthemostcommonlyusedfeaturesofthesystem

was“ViewanExample”,andstudentsfeltthislearningaidalongwiththeotherancillaries

helpedthempersevereandnotbecomediscouraged.Vezmar(2011)alsonotedthat66%

ofstudentsrespondingtosurveyitemsreportedthemostbeneficialaspectofMyMathLab

wasoneofthelearningaids,“HelpMeSolveThis”or“ViewanExample”.Furthermore,

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studentssurveyedstatedthattheimmediatefeedbackintheMyMathLabprogram

encouragedthemtobeengagedinandmoreaccountablefortheirownlearning(Speckler,

2012).

Inordertounderstandstudents’perceptionsofonlinehomework,YushauandKhan

(2014)surveyed394studentsfrommorethantensectionsofcollegealgebracoursesat

KingFahdUniversityofPetroleumandMinerals.Theirfinalsampleconsistedofresponses

from337surveys,allparticipantsweremaleswithanaverageagebetween17and18.The

studentsinthecoursecompletedbothonlinehomeworkandtraditionalpaper‐pencil

homework.UsingatraditionalLikertscale,thesurveycontained38itemsconsistingof

questionsregardinghowstudentslikedonlinehomework,howonlinehomework

comparedtotraditionalhomework,andhowstudentslikedusingtheMyMathLabprogram.

Oneitemthatreceivedahighratingonwhythestudentslikedonlinehomeworkwas

receivinghintsiftheygottheanswerwrong(mean=1.9941).Otheritemsthatdidnot

receiveashighofaratingwithregardstotheonlinehomeworkwerewhetheritimproved

studentsunderstandingofmathematics(mean=2.0712)andwhetherithelpedstudents

prepareforexams(mean=2.2700).Theresearcherswerealsosurprisedthatstudentsdid

notratereceivingimmediatefeedbackonincorrectproblemshigherthantheydid(mean=

2.1810).Overall,studentresponsesonthesurveywerepositiveandstudentswere

enthusiasticaboutcompletinghomeworkonline.

ThestudyconductedbyLeongandAlexander(2014)involved78studentsin

developmentalalgebraclassesatacommunitycollegelocatedinthenortheasternregionof

theUnitedStates.Studentscompleteda40questionsurveyexaminingtheirattitudes

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regardingcompletinghomeworkonlineusingWebAssign.Studentswholikedtheonline

homeworksystemmentionedtheeasyaccessibility,beingabletoworkonhomework

anywhereatanytime,theimmediatefeedbackreceivedonthecorrectnessofsolutionsto

homeworkproblems,andtheotherancillariesavailabletoassisttheminlearningthe

content.LeongandAlexanderalsoexaminedwhetherstudents’mathematicsachievement

hadanyrelationshipwiththeirattitudetowardusingtheonlinehomeworksystemand

foundthatstudentswithlowermathematicsachievementhadamorepositiveattitude

towardusingWebAssignthanhigherachievingstudents.Theresearchers’results

suggestedthatonlinehomeworkplayedanimportantroleinstudents’attitudesbecauseof

theimmediatefeedbackreceivedleadingtoimprovedunderstanding,anditmotivated

lowerperformingstudentsinlearningalgebra.

CourseManagementSystemsandImmediateFeedback

Oneimportantcomponentofthesecoursewaresystemsistheimmediatefeedback

theyprovide.Itisoftendifficultifnotimpossibletoprovidetimelyfeedbackongraded

assignments,whichisessentialforstudentstoverifytheirunderstandingofmathematical

concepts.Students,especiallythosestrugglingtobeginwith,needpracticefollowedby

instructorfeedbackinordertoconfirmtheyunderstandaconcept.Oncestudentsreceive

thisfeedback,theycanmakecorrectionsandworksimilarproblems.Thisfeedback

processrarelyoccursintheclassroomduetovariousconstraints(Zerr,2007).Online

homeworkprovidesasolutiontothissituation.

Inhisstudyofafirst‐semestercalculusclassattheUniversityofNorthDakota,Zerr

(2007)createdandusedanonlinehomeworksystemtomorethoroughlyengagestudents

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outsideoftheclassroom.Hisonlinehomeworkassignmentsconsistedofmultiplechoice,

matching,true/false,andfillintheblanktypequestions.Additionally,immediatefeedback

wasprovidedforeveryquestionassignedandusuallyincludedacompletesolutionforthe

problem.Studentsalsohadtheopportunitytoredoanyassignmentasmanytimesasthey

wantedbeforeitwasdue,whichprovidedtheopportunityforthemtolearnfromtheir

mistakes.Fromsurveydata,Zerrfoundthatstudentsbelievedusingonlinehomeworkwas

beneficialandprovidedaneffectivemethodofstudy.Whencomparingstudentoutcomes

onquizzesandexams,Zerrfoundthatstudentswithmoreperfecthomeworkscores

performedbetteroverallandthusconcludedthatonlinehomeworkwashelpingstudents

inthewayitwasdesignedto.

Bonham,Beichner,andDeardorff(2001)acknowledgedthatonlinehomework

programsallowedstudentstopracticemoreandreceiveimmediatefeedback,which

enabledstudentstomastermaterialbycorrectingtheirownmistakes.However,ifa

problemwasmissed,theyfeltstudentsweregivennoexplanationastowhyitwasnot

correct.Theirresearchproject,conductedwith220studentsinanintroductorycalculus‐

basedphysicscourseand120studentsinanalgebra‐basedcoursewithexperienced

instructorsteachingthecoursesback‐to‐backonthesamedayswitheverythingsimilar

excepthowthehomeworkwascompleted,foundstudentsdoinghomeworkonline

consistentlyperformedslightlybetterontheteststhanstudentscompletingpaperand

pencilhomework.Thisdifferencewasnotstatisticallysignificant;but,studentsresponded

positivelytocompletinghomeworkonlineandwantedtocontinueusingthesystem.

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Thus,theimmediatefeedbackonallhomeworkproblems,theabilitytoget

assistancethroughancillariesincludedinthecoursewaresystems,andtheabilitytogetthe

assistanceandreceivefeedbackatanytimearedistinctadvantagestocompleting

homeworkonline.

MyMathLab

MyMathLabisacustomizableonlinetextbook‐basedcoursemanagementsystem

developedbyPearsonEducationtocorrespondwiththeirpublishedtextbooks.Once

studentspurchaseanaccesscodeandaregivenacourseIDbytheirinstructor,they

registertouseMyMathLab.Thecoursemanagementsystemcanthenbeaccessed24hours

adayfromanycomputerthathasaninternetconnection.MyMathLabcontainsa

multimediae‐textbook,videolectures,computationalexamples,animations,interactive

tutorials,unlimitedpracticeexercises,andsamplequizzesandteststhatcoordinatewith

thestudents’textbook.

Homeworkassignmentsarecreatedfromanonlineexercisebankthatcorrelatesto

textbookproblems,andalloftheproblemsarealgorithmicallygenerated.Thisallowsfor

unlimitedpracticeandmastery,andmeansthatstudentswillhavemathematicallysimilar

problems,notidentical,helpingtoensurestudentsdotheirownwork.Thecorrelation

betweenonlinehomeworkandtextbookexercisesisimportantforstudentsduetothefact

thatitmakesiteasierforthestudentstousethetextbookasaresourcewhencompleting

theirhomework.

Afterworkingaproblem,studentsreceiveimmediatefeedback‐unliketraditional

paperandpencilhomework.Studentsareinformedwhentheyansweraproblemcorrectly

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alongwithencouragingremarkssuchas“Goodjob!”ortheyareinformedthattheir

solutionisnotcorrectandsometypeofinstructionalhintorguidanceastowhattheydid

wrongbasedontheiranswerisprovided(seeFigure1).

Inadditiontotheimmediatefeedbackstudentsreceive,severallearningaidsare

availabletofurtherassistthem.Studentscanwatchavideodemonstratingasimilar

problembeingworkedout,gotothepage(s)inthee‐textbookwherethetypeofproblem

theyaretryingtosolveisexplained,viewanexampleofasimilarproblemworkedout

step‐by‐step,havethesystemhelpthemsolvetheproblemstep‐by‐step,oremailtheir

instructorforassistance.Ifstudentschoosethe“HelpMeSolveThis”option,theyare

walkedthroughthesameproblemtheyaretryingtosolve,answeringquestionsalongthe

way.Oncestudentsfinishworkingthroughtheproblemusing“HelpMeSolveThis”and

returntothehomework,theyaregivenasimilarproblemtoworkontheirownbeforethey

receivecreditfortheexercise.Using“ViewanExample”,studentsareshownacomplete

workedoutexampleofaproblemsimilartotheonetheyareattemptingtosolve.Theycan

viewthisproblemandfollowthesamestepswhileworkingontheirproblem.

Astudenthasthreeattemptstocorrectlyworkaproblemunlesstheinstructor

changesthelimitonthenumberofattemptsforeachquestion,whichhasbothadvantages

anddisadvantages.Ifastudentgetsaproblemincorrectafterthethirdattempt,thecorrect

solutionisshownandthestudentthenhastheoptionofworkingasimilarproblem.This

allowsstudentstocontinueworkingaproblemuntiltheycompletelyunderstandand

mastertheconcept.Italsoallowsthemtoimprovetheirgradesbyworkingtheproblem

untilitiscorrect.However,itmayalsoenablestudentstosimplykeepguessinguntilthey

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getacorrectsolutionfortheproblem.Iftheproblemisworkedagain,thestudentwould

getthesametypeofquestion,difficultylevel,andscopeastheoriginalproblemworked.

Figure1.ScreenshotofhintgivenforanincorrectsolutionfromPearsonEducation’sMyMathLab.ProblemfromElementaryandIntermediateAlgebra:GraphsandModels,4thed.,byM.L.Bittinger,D.J.Ellenbogen,andB.L.Johnson.Copyright2012byPearsonEducation,Inc.Reprintedwithpermission.

Methodology

Themainaimofthisresearchwastoexamineandbetterunderstandstudents’

perceptionsontheuseofMyMathLab,anonlineinteractivecoursemanagementsystem,

whencompletinghomeworkonline.Questionsthatguidedthestudywereasfollows:

1. Whatwerestudents’perceptionsofonlinehomeworkinEssentialsofMathematics?

Inparticular,

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a. didstudentsbelievethatcompletingonlinehomeworkwashelpfulinlearning

themathematicscontentand

b. didstudentsbelievethatcompletingtheonlinehomeworkpreparedthemfor

tests?

2.Didonlinehomeworkcompletionimprovestudentperformanceonin‐classtests?

3.Didstudentscompleteonlinehomeworkanddidtheypreferonlinehomework

versustraditionalhomework?

CourseDetails

EssentialsofMathematics,whichisaredesignedelementaryalgebracourse,wasthe

mathematicscourseusedinthestudy.Studentsenrolledinthiscoursehavenotmet

requirementsforenrollmentincollege‐levelcreditmathematicscoursesthatsatisfy

universitydegreerequirements.Thus,studentswererequiredtotakethiscourseifthey

hadanACTmathematicstestscoreof15or16,iftheyhadahighschooldeficiencyinmath,

orifadditionalplacementtestingscoresrequiredtheytakethecourse.

EssentialsofMathematicsservesasanintroductiontolearningmathematicsand

helpingstudentsacquirethefoundationsandskillsnecessarytosucceedatthenextlevel.

Topicscoveredincludedexponentialnotation,solvinglinearequationsandinequalities,

graphingequations,writingequationsoflines,functions,polynomials,andfactoring.After

completionofthecourse,studentsreceivedathreecredit‐hourelectivecreditandmoved

ontotakeacollege‐levelmathcourse.Allsectionsofthecourseforthisstudywereface‐

to‐facelecture‐basedclassesmeetingeithertwodaysaweekorthreedaysaweek.The

numberofstudentsineachsectionaveragedbetween22and23.

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Setting

Demographicdatafortheinstitutionduringthefall2012and2013semesterswhen

thestudywasconductedisshowninTable1.ThemajorityofstudentswhotookEssentials

ofMathematicswerefreshmenwithACTmathsubscoresof15and16.Approximately

46%ofthepopulationwasmaleand54%femaleforbothfallsemesters.

Table1InstitutionDemographics Fall2012 Fall2013Totalenrollment 25,394 23,881Freshmenenrolled 5,486 5,167AverageACTComposite 21.8 21.9AverageACTMathsubscore 20.3 20.6FreshmenwithACTMathsubscores11‐15 240 187FreshmenwithACTMathsubscores16‐20 1,401 1,373

Participants

TheparticipantsinthisstudywerestudentsenrolledinsevensectionsofEssentials

ofMathematics(N=157)taughtbythesameinstructorduringfall2012andfall2013

semestersatafouryearpublicuniversityinthesoutheasternUnitedStates.Surveyresults

frombothsemesterswerecombinedtoobtainanoverviewofstudents’perceptions

regardingonlinehomework.Studentswhodidnotcompletethecoursewereexcluded

fromthestudy(n=8)andonlythosethatcompletedthecourseandthesurveywere

included.Ofthe149studentswhocompletedthecourse,125filledoutthesurvey

(representingaresponserateofapproximately84%).Withthisrateofreturn,itis

assumedthatarepresentativesampleofstudentresponseswasattained.

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Thestudentstakingthiscourseconsistofindividualsthatareconsideredtraditional

students,thosebetweentheagesof18and22whoareattendingcollegerightafter

graduatingfromhighschool,andnon‐traditionalstudents,thoseovertheageof23and

attendingcollegeeitherfullorparttime.AllofthestudentsinthestudyusedMyMathLab

tocompletethesamehomeworkproblemsonline,receivedthesameinstructionthrough

traditionallectureintheclassroom,andtookthesamechaptertestsandfinalexam.

Instrumentation

Afterreviewingsimilarsurveys,anattitudinalsurveyinstrumentwasdesignedby

theresearcherandacolleagueinordertoexaminestudents’perceptionsregardingtheuse

ofMyMathLab.Thesurveyconsistedof19Likert‐typestatements,twofree‐response

questionsandonequestionaskingaboutprevioususeofMyMathLab.Thefree‐response

questionswerestructuredsothatstudentscouldprovidedetailedcommentsonthe

beneficialfeaturesofMyMathLabandusingittocompletehomeworkonline.Theother

surveyitemsconsistedofstatementsregardingattitudesaboutmathanddoinghomework

ingeneraltomorespecificstatementsconcerningtheuseofMyMathLabandhowstudents

feltaboutcompletinghomeworkonlineversustraditionaltextbookhomework.Afive‐

pointLikertscalewasusedwhere(1)equaledstronglydisagree,(2)equaleddisagree,(3)

equaledneitheragreenordisagree(orneutral/noopinion),(4)equaledagree,and(5)

equaledstronglyagree.

Thesurveywasadministeredaftermidtermtostudentsinsevendifferentsections

oftheredesignedelementaryalgebracourse,threesectionsduringfall2012andfour

sectionsduringfall2013.Thepapersurveyinstrumentwasdistributedtostudentsduring

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classtimeneartheendoftheperiod,andonlystudentswhoattendedclassthedaythe

surveywasadministeredhadtheopportunitytocompleteit.Priortoadministrationofthe

survey,studentscompletedaninformedconsentformincompliancewiththeinstitution’s

IRB.Consequently,participationwasvoluntaryandstudentschoosingnottoparticipate

couldleave.Inordertolinkresponseswithvariousgrades,studentsprovidedtheir

institutionidnumberonthesurveywhichwasdeletedoncethedatawerelinked.

Approximately61%oftherespondentswerefemaleand39%male.Themajorityof

respondentswerebetweentheagesof18and19(74%),10%werebetweentheagesof20

and22,10%werebetweentheagesof23and30,andtheremainderoftherespondents

wereover30(6%).

ResultsandDiscussion

Theresultsofthesurveywereexaminedtotrytobetterunderstandstudents’

perceptionsregardingtheuseofMyMathLabtocompletehomeworkonline.Percentages

werecalculatedforeachresponsecategoryforsurveyitemsalongwithresponsemeansfor

theappropriateitems.Insomecases,mediansalongwithinterquartilerangeswere

reported.SincethereisawiderangeofviewpointsonhowtoreportLikertdata,both

responsemeansandmedianswithinterquartilerangeswerereported.

Studentswereaskedseveralquestionsdesignedtolookintotheirattitudesand

opinionsregardingmathematicsingeneral.Ofthe125respondents,34.4%statedtheylike

mathwhile37.6%statedtheydidnot,andtheremaining28%wereneutral.Whenasked

whethertheythoughttheyweregoodinmathematics,approximately37.9%felttheydid

notdowellwhenitcametomath,26.6%thoughttheydidwell,and35.5%hadnostrong

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opinioneitherway.Ofthosestudentswhofelttheywere“notgoodatmath”,72.3%hadA

orBhomeworkaverages,12.8%hadaCaverage,4.3%hadaDaverage,andtheremainder

hadfailinghomeworkaverages.Forthosestudentswhohadnostrongopinion,81.8%had

anAorBhomeworkaverage,6.8%hadaCaverage,4.5%hadaDaverage,andtheresthad

failingaverages.Reviewinggradesattheendofthesemester,97students(77.6%)hadan

AorBhomeworkaverage,14hadCaverages(11.2%),5hadaDaverage(4.0%)and9

studentshadfailinghomeworkaverages(7.2%).Endofcoursegradesrevealed69

studentsreceivedanAorBinthecourse(55.2%),28studentsreceivedaC(22.4%),and

28studentsfailed(22.4%).StudentshadtoearnafinalgradeofaCorbettertopass

EssentialsofMathematics,thusnofinalgradeofDwasgiven.

StudentswerealsoaskedaboutusingMyMathLabpriortotakingthecourse.Ofthe

studentssurveyed,102statedtheyhadneverusedthecoursewarebeforeand23indicated

theyhadpreviousexperiencewiththeprogram.Mostrespondentsindicatedagreement

withtheideathatMyMathLabwaseasytouse(Mdn=5,IQR=1).Thiswasalsoreflectedin

someofthecommentsonthefree‐responsequestions,suchas“loveusingthisonline

program”,“IenjoyMyMathLabandhopefullywilluseitallthroughcollege”,“Ilikeit”,

“reallyloveit”,and“MyMathLabistheBEST!”

Table2revealstheresultsofstatementsrelatingtostudents’perceptionsofhow

onlinehomeworkfacilitatedtheirlearninginEssentialsofMathematics.Theseresults

indicatedthat97.6%ofthestudentsbelievedthatcompletingtheonlinehomeworkhelped

intheirlearningthemathematicscontentinthecourse.Theresponsesreflectedstrong

agreementwiththatstatement(Mdn=5,IQR=1),witharesponsemeanof4.6.

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Furthermore,themajorityofstudents(92.8%)feltthatdoinghomeworkinmathematics

wasimportant.Theresultsalsorevealed84%ofrespondentsbelievedcompletingonline

homeworkhelpedthempreparefortestsandthemajorityagreedwiththatstatement

(Mdn=5,IQR=1).Theresponsemeanof4.33alsoechoesthisagreement.Additionally,

therewasapositivecorrelation(r=0.483,p<0.0001)betweenhomeworkaverages(M

=87.586,SD=14.896)andtestaverages(M=72.089,SD=13.980)indicatinghomework

performancemayhavesomeeffectontestgrades.Ingeneral,thosestudentswithhigher

homeworkgradestendedtoalsohavehighertestgrades.

Table2Responserate(in%)tostatementsinvolvingstudents’perceptionsofhowonlinehomeworkfacilitatedlearning

Statement SA A N D SD MeanHomeworkhelpsmeunderstandwhatIlearnedinclass.

63.2 34.4 1.6 0.8 0 4.60

Ithinkdoingmathhomeworkisimportant

50.4

42.4 4.8 1.6 0.8 4.40

DoingthehomeworkassignmentsinMyMathLabhelpsmepreparefortests.

56.0

28.0 10.4 4.0

1.6 4.33

IdothepracticetestsinMyMathLab.

8.8

26.4 24.0 31.2 9.6 2.94

Thepracticetestshelpmepreparefortheinclasstests.

19.4

29.8 34.7 11.3 4.8 3.49

Althoughstudentsfeltthehomeworkpreparedthemfortests,accordingto

responsesveryfewtookadvantageoftakingpracticetests.Only35.2%statedtheydidthe

onlinepracticetestswhile40.8%didnot.Theresultsfromthisstatementconflictwith

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responsesgivenonthestatementthatthepracticetestshelpedpreparestudentsforin

classtests(49.2%wereinagreementand16.1%disagreed).Thedifferenceinresponses

couldhavecomefromstudentsmisinterpretingthestatement.Inadditiontoonline

practicetests,studentsalsohadatestreviewavailableonlinethatcouldbeprintedoutand

workedwithpaperandpencil.Somestudentsmighthaveassumedthestatementwas

referringtothetestreview.Additionally,34.7%ofthestudentshadnoopinionasto

whetherthepracticetestshelpedpreparethemforinclasstests.Thislargepercentage

couldhaveincludedstudentswhodidnotdothepracticetests,studentswhodidthe

practicetestsbutwerenotsureifithelped,andstudentswhomayhavedoneseveral

thingstopreparefortheinclasstestsbutwerenotexactlysurewhathelped.

Studentswereaskedtoexpressanyadditionalthoughtswithrespecttousing

MyMathLab.Someofthesecommentsincluded:

“MyMathLabisveryeasyandhelpsmewithmymathskills.”

“Ithelpedmepreparefortests.”

“Thepracticetestsareveryhelpful.”

“helpingmebetterunderstand”

“Itcanhelpstudentsalotintheirtests.”

“YoucandoalotofpracticefromthehomeworkthatisinMyMathLab.”

AsshowninTable3,students’attitudestowardsMyMathLabandonlinehomework

werefavorableoverall.Outofthe125studentssurveyed,88%likedbeingableto

completetheirhomeworkonlineand90.4%agreedthatusingMyMathLabtodohomework

wasbetterthanworkingproblemsinthetextbook.Theresponsemeansof4.42and4.48,

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respectively,suggestrelativelystrongagreementwiththesestatements.Additionally,

81.6%ofthestudentsfeltusingMyMathLabmotivatedthemtocompletemorehomework

thanhavingtodotheusualpaperandpencilhomework(Mdn=5,IQR=1).An

overwhelmingmajority(98.4%)believedgradedhomeworkwasimportant.Thisfinding

tendstore‐enforcethebeliefthatifhomeworkisgoingtobeassignedandistobe

meaningfulforstudents,thenitmusthavemerit.Doorn,Janssen,andO’Brien(2010)also

notedthatover52%ofthestudentstheysurveyedadmittedtheywouldnotdohomework

unlessrequiredandgraded.Studentsfeelthatiftheyaregoingtoputtheeffortinto

completehomework,thentheyshouldreceiveagrade.

Table3Responserate(in%)tostatementsinvolvingstudents’perceptionsofonlinehomeworkandMyMathLab

Statement SA A N D SD MeanIlikebeingabletodomyhomeworkonline.

60.8

27.2 7.2 3.2 1.6 4.42

IwouldratherdoproblemsinMyMathLabthanproblemsfromthetextbook.

66.4

24.0 3.2 4.0

2.4 4.48

IwasmotivatedtocompletemorehomeworkwhenusingMyMathLabthantraditionalpaper/pencilmethods.

57.6

24.0 14.4 0.8 3.2 4.32

Ingeneral,studentshadpositiveattitudesandopinionstowardsusingtheprogram

andcompletinghomeworkonline.Moststudentspreferredusingtheprogramandfeltit

wasbeneficial.Somerepresentativeresponsestoafree‐responsequestionregarding

MyMathLabandonlinehomeworkincluded:

“Doinghomeworkonlineismoreconvenient.”

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“Themostbeneficialfeaturewasbeingabletodomyhomeworkonline.”

“MyMathLabgivesusmoreoptionsthanifwewereusingpen/paper.”

“Thisiswaybetterthatpen/pencilandpaper.”

“Ilikedoinghomeworkonline,itmorefunandeasier[sic].”

“Beingabletodohomeworkatmyownpace.”

“Itkeepstrackofduedatesanditsonline.”

“Loveusingthisonlineprogram.”

“Itletsyoudoproblemsover.”

“Ienjoyit.”

Inanearlierstudy,Raines(2012)examinedtheeffectthathomeworkduedateshad

onstudentachievementinaredesignedelementaryalgebracourseandfoundthat

studentsperformedaboutthesameregardlessofwhenhomeworkwasdue.Therefore,in

thisstudy,homeworkforeachchapterwassettobeduethenightbeforethein‐class

chaptertest.Theintentwastogivestudentstheopportunitytoreviewthematerialand

reworkproblemswhilestudyingforthetest.Whenstudentswereaskedwhenthey

completedthehomework,80%indicatedtheydidthehomeworkassoonaspossibleand

didnotwaituntilthelastminute,while31%statedtheywaitedtodothehomeworkuntil

rightbeforeitwasdue.Thisdidnotappeartoeffecthomeworkcompletionrates.Outof

125students,only8studentsdidnotdosomeoftheassignmentsbytheduedate

(approximatelyfiveassignmentseachoutofatotalof25).

MyMathLabcontainsseveraltutoriallearningaids(e.g.,“ViewanExample”and

“HelpMeSolveThis”)toassiststudentswhentheyareworkinghomeworkproblems.

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Table3revealsthatwhenstudentswereaskedifwhentheyneededhelptheyusedthese

learningaids,72%indicatedtheydid.Dependingonwhichaidswereused,thiscouldbe

beneficialtostudentstohelpthemlearnfromtheirmistakes.Yet,itissomewhat

disconcertingtothinkthatsomestudentsmaybeusingparticularaidsjusttogetthe

homeworkcompletedwithoutgaininganunderstandingoftheconcepts.Oneofthe

drawbackstoMyMathLabisthatthereisnowaytodeterminewhetherstudentsareusing

thelearningaidsandifso,whichones.Peng(2009)foundthatsomestudentswereusing

shortcutsjusttogettheirhomeworkcompleted,nottolearnandgainunderstanding.

However,itwasencouragingtonotethat84.0%ofthestudentsdidgobackand

worksimilarexercisesiftheygothelpsolvingaproblem(laststatementinTable4).This

wouldappeartoindicatethatthesestudentswereinterestedinlearningfromtheir

mistakes(Mdn=4,IQR=2).Studentsalsorevealedthatwhentheydidnotunderstandthe

homework,theyaskedforhelpfromfriendsandfamilyandtheirinstructormorethan

visitingamathematicstutoringlabtogetassistancefromthetutors.

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Table4Responserate(in%)tostatementsinvolvingonlinehomeworkunderstanding

Statement SA A N D SDWhenIdonotunderstandmyhomework,Iaskforhelpfrommyfriends/family.

33.6

40.0 8.0 12.0 6.4

WhenIdonotunderstandmyhomework,Iaskforhelpfrommyteacher.

13.6

34.4 28.0 20.8

3.2

WhenIdonotunderstandmyhomework,Iaskforhelpfromtutorsinthelab.

6.4

16.8 20.8 38.4 17.6

WhenIdonotunderstandmyhomework,IusetutoriallearningaidsinMyMathLab.

34.4

37.6 10.4 11.2 6.4

WhenIgethelpsolvingaproblem,IgobackandaskforasimilarexercisetoseeifIcandoitbymyself.

40.0 44.0 7.2 5.6 3.2

Afree‐responsequestionaskedstudentswhattheythoughtwasthemostbeneficial

featureofMyMathLab.Fromtheircomments,itappearsmanyofthestudentsdidusethe

tutoriallearningaidswhencompletinghomework.Thirty‐eightspecificallymentioned

usingthesimilarexercisefeaturewhichallowsastudenttoworkasimilarproblem,23

mentionedusing“HelpMeSolveThis”,and20mentionedusing“ViewanExample”.Some

oftherepresentativecommentsincluded:

“WhenIdogetananswerwrongIcanclicksimilarandtryagain.Thathelpmegeta

betterunderstanding[sic].”

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“Itgivesyouthatextrahelpifyoudon’tunderstandaproblem–givesyougood

examplesanddirections.”

“Ilikethatyoucangethelpifyouneedit.Thenyoucandoasimilarexercisetoseeif

youunderstandit.”

“Ithelpsyouseewhatyouaredoingwrong.”

“Thatithelpsyouunderstandwhenyoudon’t.”

“Whenyoumissaproblem,itshowsyouthecorrectanswerandthenyoucanseewhat

youdidwrongandyoucandoasimilarproblem.”

“Thehelpaidstowalkmethroughtheproblemstepbystep.Alongwithbeingableto

dosimilarproblemstobetterunderstandit.”

“Similarexercisefeatureandhowitexplainedhowtodotheproblem.”

“Beingabletogethelpwithaproblemandgettingachancetore‐dotheproblemIgot

wrong.”

TherewereveryfewstudentswhoexpressedfrustrationswithMyMathLaband

howitworked.Thehomeworkwassetuptoautomaticallygradeeveryprobleminthe

assignment,butnopartialcreditwasgivenandonlythefinalanswerwasgraded.One

studentdidnotlikethefactthatforproblemscontainingseveralparts,creditwasgiven

onlyifallpartswereworkedcorrectly.ThiswasnotaMyMathLabissue,butwashowthe

instructorsetupthewayhomeworkwastobegraded.Sincestudentshadunlimited

attemptstoworkaproblem,itwasfeltthatworkingallpartsofaproblemcorrectlywould

notbedetrimentaltoastudent’sgradeandwouldbebeneficialtotheirlearningand

understanding.Twostudentscommentedonhowthesystemrequiredanswerstobe

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entered.Onecomplainedthatthe“programglitchesfrequentlyandmarkscorrectanswers

asincorrect.Whenshowingcorrectanswer,itcompletelymatchesmyanswer”andthe

otherstatedthat“sometimesitdoesn’taskforaparticularanswerform”suchasfractions

ordecimals.MyMathLabisparticularabouttheformatforexpressingananswer.Ifa

commaorparenthesesisomittedoradifferentletterforavariableisused,theprogram

willconsidertheresponsetobeincorrect.Furthermore,mostproblemsdohave

instructionsforwhatformtoexpressthefinalsolutionin–fractionordecimal,if

necessary.However,therehavebeenafewproblemsthatdonot,whichisunderstandably

frustratingforstudents.Anotherstudentfelt“theerrormessageswhenfirstgettinga

problemwrongaresometimesconfusing”andoneotherstudentfelt“itisnotgreator

perfect,howeveritisbetterthanthetextbook”.

Limitations

Thereweresomelimitationswithinthisstudy.Thefindingsmayhavelimited

generalizabilitysincesurveyresultswereself‐reportedwillallrespondentsfromthesame

institutionandthefocuswassolelyonstudentsinonecourse,EssentialsofMathematics.

ThestudydidnotexaminetheimpactofusingMyMathLabforhomeworkinhigherlevel

mathematicscoursesorwithstudentshavingACTmathscoresgreaterthan16.

Conclusions

Thisstudyexaminedstudents’perceptionsregardingtheuseofMyMathLabto

completehomeworkonline.Fromthestudents’perspectives,completingonline

homeworkusingMyMathLabappearedtohaveapositiveimpactontheirunderstandingof

theconceptsinEssentialsofMathematics.Additionally,students’perceptionsthatdoing

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onlinehomeworkpreparedthemfortheteststheytookinclassappearedtohaveapositive

impactontheirlearningthecontentinthecourse.Thefinalgradesforthecourserevealed

thatthemajorityofstudentsdidpasstheclass,reinforcingtheideathatusingMyMathLab

andcompletinghomeworkonlinedidhavesomeinfluenceonthisoutcome.

Theresultsofthisstudysuggestthatcompletinghomeworkonlineplayeda

prominentroleintheattitudesofthosestudentsrequiringsometypeofremediation

beforetakingcollege‐levelmathematicscourses.Theflexibilityallowedforcreatingand

settinguptheassignments(possibilityofmultipleattemptsandstudentsworkingattheir

ownpace),theimmediatefeedbackprovidedtostudents,andtheavailabilityoftutorial

learningaidsareimportantandexceedinglybeneficialforstudentsstrugglingwithcourse

content.Theabilitytoworksimilarproblemshelpedstudentslearnfromtheirmistakes

andimprovetheirmathematicalunderstanding.

Afterthestudentscompletedthecourse,itwouldhavebeeninteresting,ifpossible,

tore‐surveytheparticipantstoseeiftheirresponsespertainingtotheirattitudestowards

mathematicshadchangedsincefinalgradesrevealedthatmostofthestudentsdid

successfullycompletethecourse.Theresultsofthisstudyarepromising;however,further

researchneedstobedonetoexamineifsimilarresultswouldbeobtainedwithdifferent

groupsofstudentssuchasthosetakinghigherlevelmathematicscourses.Additional

researchmightalsoexamineanycorrelationsbetweenstudentperceptionsofonline

homeworkandvariousdemographicssuchasage,gender,highschoolgpa,and/or

economicsituation.

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