MyMathLab/MyStatLab/MathXL

New Features

TABLE OF CONTENTS

January 2014 New Features ...................................................................................... 3

June 2013 New Features ........................................................................................ 12

JANUARY 2014 NEW FEATURES

As happens twice a year, MyMathLab, MyStatLab, and MathXL has been updated to be an even more effective teaching tool for your courses. The latest update occurred on December 28, 2013, and you can read below for details about the new enhancements.

Assign Study Plan as Prerequisite

Extending the efficacy of the adaptive recommendations, the Study Plan can be assigned as a prerequisite to specific tests or quizzes. By default, this Companion Study Plan (CSP) includes the objectives from the associated test, but you have the option to add additional objectives to the CSP or omit any of the test objectives from the CSP. You can also specify the minimum number of mastery points needed to meet the prerequisite.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Design the Companion Study Plan as a review for a test

• Design the Companion Study Plan to verify mastery prior to retaking a test

In the first scenario, you assign a Companion Study Plan (CSP) as a prerequisite to a test. Students need to work in the CSP and meet your specified prerequisite threshold before advancing to take the test.

Note: Any work done in the course on assignments that affect the Study Plan will also affect the CSP. Therefore, students may already have earned some mastery points on the CSP prior to starting on the CSP.

Here is an example showing the Companion Study Plan for a Module 1 Post-Test. Notice that the CSP is located immediately before the test.

In this example, the student has to earn at least 10 of the 13 available mastery points in the CSP before continuing on to the Module 1 Post-Test.

Note: The student must meet the mastery percentages you specified for the assignments that affect mastery. For example, if you specified a mastery of 80% on the Quiz Me quizzes, the student must score at least 80% on the Quiz Me quiz to earn 1 Mastery Point for that objective.

In the second scenario, you assign a Companion Study Plan (CSP) as a prerequisite only for subsequent attempts at a test. The first attempt on the test has no prerequisite. Here is an example showing the CSP for the Module 2 Test. In this screenshot, there is no prerequisite for the test since the student has not yet taken the test.

After the student takes the test once, the student must work in the CSP and earn mastery before taking the second attempt on the test, as shown below.

This approach ensures that the student practices and masters any objectives not mastered on the first attempt of the test before retaking the test.

BEST PRACTICES

• If you want students to revisit skills covered prior to the test, you can include the objectives for these skills in the Companion Study Plan. If students have previously mastered these objectives, they will automatically receive credit for them.

• If your Study Plan is powered by Knewton, the Knewton recommendations containing within the CSP are given priority and placed at the top of the list of objectives in the CSP. Therefore, if you include objectives for prior skills, these objectives will be recommended based on the student’s overall performance to date as well as the test the student is intended to take next.

STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS

1) To create a Companion Study Plan:

a) In the Homework/Test Manager, click Create Assignment and select Create Test.

b) In Step 1, enter the test name.

c) Check the box to assign a Companion Study Plan as a prerequisite for the test. Notice that the wizard is updated to include Step 4 where you define the Companion Study Plan.

d) Complete Steps 2 and 3 to select the questions and choose the settings for the test.

e) In Step 4, all of the objectives included in the test are automatically mapped to the CSP. You can include additional objectives in the CSP that are not covered on the test, or you can exclude objectives that are covered on the test.

f) You can also specify the minimum number of mastery points required to meet the prerequisite.

2) To change the mastery percentages on assignments that affect the Study Plan:

a) In the Study Plan Manager, click Edit in the Mastery Settings section.

b) In the Mastery page, choose the assignments types that affect mastery, and specify the score required for mastering a Study Plan objective.

Note: When the student is working in the Companion Study Plan, the only option for mastering an objective is by taking the Quiz Me quiz.

Weight Assignments by Question Points

Whether you use Category Weighting or Assignment Weighting Only, you now have the option to weight assignments by total assignment points – i.e., sum of the points for each question in an assignment. The choice would apply to all assignments in the same category (homework, quizzes, or tests). In addition, if you choose to display scores in points, all assignment scores will be displayed in points throughout the Gradebook, rather than a mixture of percentages and points.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Design a grade weighting structure to match assignment points

• Change question points for assignments to align with learning priorities

• Choose the grade display option to show points

The overall score each student receives for online work can be calculated as the weighted average of the student’s Homework, Quiz, Test, and Study Plan averages. If you add offline items to the Gradebook, the weighted average includes the student’s average for these items as well. There are two methods for calculating the Overall Score:

Category and Assignment Weighting

Each category is assigned a weight and assignments within each category are weighted relative to each other. This method is also known as "weighting by percentage."

Assignment Weighting Only All assignments are weighted relative to each other, regardless of category. This method is also known as "weighting by points."

Note: Refer to the Gradebook Weighting handout for more information.

With either weighting method, assignments are weighted relative to each other by entering points for each assignment weight. The two options for setting the default assignment weight are:

Equal weight Each assignment is given an equal weight of 10 points.

Assignment weight Each assignment is weighted according to the number of points in the assignment.

Here’s an example of the effect of each assignment weighting option on a set of homework assignments that are worth 15% of the course average.

Assignment Assignment points

Equal weight

% of overall score

Assignment point weight

% of overall score

Homework 1 15 10 1.5% 15 1.5%

Homework 2 12 10 1.5% 12 1.2%

Homework 3 18 10 1.5% 18 1.8%

Homework 4 25 10 1.5% 25 2.4%

Homework 5 19 10 1.5% 19 1.9%

Homework 6 13 10 1.5% 13 1.3%

Homework 7 10 10 1.5% 10 1.0%

Homework 8 5 10 1.5% 5 0.5%

Homework 9 12 10 1.5% 12 1.2%

Homework 10 25 10 1.5% 25 2.4%

If you decide to weight your assignments according to the assignment point value, you would adjust the values for each question in each assignment. You may want to design a rubric for your question points to reflect the relative importance of different types of assignments. Here’s an example of a simple rubric with points assigned based on question difficulty.

Question Type Easy Medium Hard

Skills 1 2 3

Application 2 4 6

BEST PRACTICES

• Prior to creating any assignments in your course, do the following:

o Change the default assignment weighting option to ensure that the assignments are automatically weighted according to your default selection.

o Design a rubric for your question points so that you can enter the question point values during the assignment creation process.

• After creating the assignments in your course, verify that the grade weights are correctly aligned with the grade distribution for your course.

STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS

1) To change the default assignment weighting:

a) In the Gradebook, click Change Weights in the toolbar at the top of the page.

b) In the Assignment Weighting section of the Change Weights page, click Change for the Default Weighting.

c) Select Equal weight or Total assignment points for the default assignment weight for future assignments created in each category

d) Click OK to save your selections.

e) Click Update in the Change Weights page to save your changes.

2) To change the question values in an assignment:

a) In the Homework/Test Manager, create a new assignment, or edit and existing assignment.

b) In Step 2 of the wizard, change the question point values in the My Selections list.

Note: The total points for the assignment are automatically updated, as shown at the top of the question points.

c) Click Next to edit the assignment settings, and then click Save & Assign to save the assignment.

d) To view student grades by points:

e) In the Gradebook, click More Gradebook Tools and select Set Scoring Options.

f) In the Set Scoring Options page, select Points in the Score Display Section.

g) Click Update to save your selections.

h) In the Gradebook, click All Assignments. In the spreadsheet view of the Gradebook, the student’s scores are displayed as points earned/points total.

JUNE 2013 NEW FEATURES

As happens twice a year, MyMathLab, MyStatLab, and MathXL has been updated to be an even more effective teaching tool for your courses. The latest update occurred on June 30, 2013, and you can read below for details about the new enhancements.

Adjust Test/Quiz Grades

If instructors find a problematic question in a test or quiz, they can award automatic credit for that question even after students have done work in it. Subsequent student attempts on the test/quiz will omit the problem question and award automatic credit for that question.

1. Navigate to the Item Analysis page for a quiz.

In the Gradebook, open the All Assignments, Quizzes, or Tests Gradebook view. Click the IA icon at the top of the column for one of the quizzes or tests.

2. Award automatic credit for a question.

On the Item Analysis page, select a checkbox in the Score All Correct column to award automatic credit for that question to all students, whether they have attempted the question or not.

A pop-up warning box informs you of the consequences of scoring the question as correct.

Click OK to continue.

Note: You can only award automatic credit for one question on a quiz or test. And, once you award automatic credit for a question, you cannot select a different question to award automatic credit.

A message on the “bad” question window informs students that their instructor has removed that question from the test/quiz and they will receive full credit for it.

Automatic Import of Previous Results

Instructors now have the option to automatically import student results from a previous course that uses the same book. They can also specify a date to import only results from that date forward. This process is transparent to students, who will not have to do anything different when they enroll in the new course. Instructors can also delete all results from a student in batch mode, rather than one assignment at a time.

1. Navigate to the Import Previous Results page.

In the Gradebook, select Import Previous Results from the More Gradebook Tools dropdown list.

2. Select the option to automatically import results.

On the Import Previous Results page, check the box to automatically import previous course results. You have the option of importing all previous results or only results from a specified date. Click OK to save your changes.

Note: You can still import results manually for each student in your class.

Student-Entered IDs

A new option on the Add/Edit Student IDs page allows instructors to require students to enter an ID before they can work in the course.

1. Navigate to the Add/Edit Student IDs page.

In the Gradebook, click Add/Edit Student IDs.

2. Require students to enter an ID.

On the Add/Edit Student IDs window, check to box to require students to enter their ID before starting work in the course. You can also enter an ID type that will be displayed as a prompt to students when they are entering their ID.

Note: In MyMathLab and MyStatLab, students are prompted to enter the ID the first time they click on a link to do their assignments, view the gradebook, or access the Study Plan. In MathXL, students will be prompted to enter the ID when they enroll in a course.

More Control over Course Home (Dashboard)

Instructors can now choose to hide the Course Timeline – i.e., the scatterplot – on the Course Home while still displaying other information such as the My Results Overall Score and My Progress bar graphs.

1. Navigate to the Home Page Settings page.

In MyMathLab or MyStatLab, click Course Tools in the course menu, and then click Course Home Manager. In MathXL, click Home Page Manager in the Instructor group, and then click Home Page Settings.

2. Hide the Course Timeline.

In the Home Page Settings page, select the option to hide the Course Timeline.

Click Save to save your changes.

3. View the Course Home Page.

Click Course Home to view the Dashboard. Notice that the Course Timeline (aka scatterplot) is no longer displayed on the Dashboard.

Other enhancements

In addition to the published list of new features, there are several other enhancements that enrich your experience with the program.

Delete results by student

In addition to the ability to delete assignment results for all students for one or more assignments, you now have the ability to delete all assignment results for one or more students. In the Gradebook, select Delete Results from the More Gradebook Tools dropdown list.

On the Delete Results page, check the boxes for one or more students. Click Update to delete all assignment results for the selected students.

Easier navigation in Item Analysis

On the Item Analysis page for an assignment, you can now easily navigate to the Item Analysis page for other assignments in the course. In the Gradebook, open the All Assignments, Quizzes, or Tests Gradebook view. Click the IA icon at the top of the column for one of the quizzes or tests.

On the Item Analysis page, the Previous Assignment and Next Assignment links at the top of the page allow you to quickly view the Item Analysis page for another assignment without having to navigate back to the Gradebook.

Easier navigation in Alerts page

The Gradebook Alerts page lets you know when there are assignments that need to be graded. The “Work needs grading” table lists all assignments that include work that you need to grade manually. The list is now organized by assignment and you can easily see how many assignment submissions need to be graded. In the Gradebook, click Work needs grading under Alerts.

The assignments that have submissions are listed in the Assignments column. The last two columns show the date and time of the oldest submission, as well as the total number of submissions for that assignment.

Click the assignment name to grade the assignment. On the grading window, you can see the student’s answer as well as the student’s work. At the bottom of the window, you can change the student’s score as desired.

Note: Depending on the scoring options you set for the assignment, the question may already be scored; this score can be changed before you submit the grade.