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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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