Success Stories
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Article on Successful ALEKS Implementation at Colorado State University
The Chemical Educator: Abstract Volume 18 (2013), pp 074-079
Online Homework and Student Success in Preparatory Chemistry.
Professors David Saiki and Andreas Gebauer, California State University Bakersfield, CA
"Adoption of ALEKS and subsequent inter-departmental coordination of assignments and deadlines led to increased student success . . . As a result of our efforts, we were able to increase the pass rate for this course from 60.8% in the fall quarter 2009 to 73.9% in the fall quarter of 2012. The average GPA in CHEM 101 increased from 1.96 to 2.42. At the same time, students scores on the ACS 2009 Toledo Examination improved from an average of 27 (+6.0) in the pre-test to 34 (+6.8) in the post-test. This represents an improvement from the 25 to the 59 percentile compared to national data."
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"The single most important effect that ALEKS has had is a fundamental shift in my office hours. Students are no longer asking me basic questions, but are instead asking about the very difficult, multi-concept, end-of-chapter questions. Even my weaker students are able to get to and focus on the more challenging questions. ALEKS is obviously helping students learn the background concepts, and I can now spend time in office hours and lecture integrating multiple concepts and going deeper into the material."
- Dr. Douglas Mulford, Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Emory University, GA
"My students have become better problem solvers since I have implemented ALEKS into my Introductory Chemistry course. They ask fewer questions regarding the logistics of solving problems in chemistry, and more in-depth meaning-making questions. I have also seen an improvement in their success on exams."
- Associate Professor Rebecca Krystyniak, St. Cloud University, MN
"Online homework had a significant and positive impact on final exam performance for all students, and for underrepresented groups in particular. ALEKS had a significantly larger positive impact than Mastering Chemistry."
- Dr. Jack Eichler, Lecturer, University of California Riverside, CA
"What stands out is the performance of several students who failed the readiness test by a few points but were allowed to stay in Physics 111 because they demonstrated a good proficiency level in ALEKS. Two such students ended up getting A grades in the course, and one of these was in the top 8% of the class. Three other students in this category received B grades. Without ALEKS, these students would have been dropped from the course. These five students all put in 15-20 hours or more with ALEKS, and it is fairly clear that they benefited from that work."
- Professor James M. Lockhart, San Francisco State University, CA
"ALEKS has been a tremendous asset to my classroom. Students only work on concepts that they have proven they are ready to learn, allowing for a customized learning experience for each student. This is ideal for classrooms such as mine where students have diverse science and math backgrounds. ALEKS helps students to not only learn the material but to retain the knowledge. Students are able to put in as much or as little time as individually needed to MASTER the material. I have seen an increase in not only exam averages, but also final exam scores thanks to this program."
- Professor Robbie Montgomery, University of Tennessee Martin, TN
Students
"I'm finding the ALEKS homework very helpful and wish other professors would adopt such a system. It's almost like having a personal tutor."
- Michael Sanchez, University of North Texas, TX
"I took a chemistry course last year and was always frustrated by the program we were using because I did not find it helpful; I did not pass the course. After spending only an hour and a half in ALEKS for my new chemistry course, I love it! ALEKS is much easier to input answers, to get help, and to get explanations that are clear. I hope to do well in this course and I think ALEKS will be very helpful."
- Laura Lysyj, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, VA
"My overall experience with ALEKS was excellent. I went from AP Chemistry with a 1 on the AP Exam and finished my first quarter of college Chemistry with a B+. I am extremely confident that the reason I excelled in my class was because of ALEKS. The beauty of ALEKS is that it provides you with detailed, various, and descriptive examples. Furthermore, in a freshman class with a 300-500 student lecture, ALEKS enabled me to work at my own pace. I also spent my own money to continue using ALEKS for classes that did not include the program."
- David Johnson, The Ohio State University, OH |
