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Journal of Student Success and Retention Vol. 3, No. 1, October 2016 1 STUDENT PERCEPTIONS ON USING MYMATHLAB TO COMPLETE HOMEWORK ONLINE Joan Raines Middle Tennessee State University [email protected] Abstract The main aim of this study was to examine and better understand students’ perceptions on the use of MyMathLab, an online interactive course management system, for completing homework online in a redesigned elementary algebra course. A survey was administered to 125 students after midterm and results indicated that from the students’ perspective, completing homework online appeared to have a positive impact on their understanding of the mathematics concepts in the course. Additionally, students’ perceptions that doing homework online prepared them for in‐class tests appeared to have a positive impact on their learning the content in the course. The results of this study suggest that completing homework online played a prominent role in the attitudes of and outcomes for those students requiring some type of remediation before taking college‐level mathematics courses. Keywords: online homework, student perceptions of online homework, web‐based mathematics instruction, MyMathLab

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Page 1: 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

[email protected]

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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