RICOCHETSCIENCE.COM: LearnSmart in the Classroom: Setting up a Class

LearnSmart in the Classroom: Setting up a Class

First of all, what is LearnSmart? Basically - LearnSmart is an adaptive learning platform that provides a student-centered assessments of learning. In other words - the program responds to what the student does and does not know, and designs a custom learning path to allow the student to obtain certain learning objectives.

While I have given numerous workshops on the benefits of LearnSmart, I have also discovered that many instructors do not yet know how to effectively assign LearnSmart for their students. They make the mistake of assigning too much material, or weighing it too heavily in their final grades. The instructors at my institution have requested that I outline a series of steps to get them into the program. Below, I have provided a brief overview that will allow an instructor to quickly and easily engage their students in the LearnSmart platform. Please note that this is just one set of guidelines on how to use the program - after you become familiar with the system, you should feel free to experiment and develop your own, course-specific best practices.

Step 1: Assigning Content

In my classes I use LearnSmart to get my students prepared for the lecture, be it virtual or traditional. Therefore, the initial assignments usually focus on the core terminology and concepts of the chapter. I have found that if I can get the students to understand key terms and concepts before class, I can spend more time developing the more difficult concepts and applications.

Most of the time - the core concepts are located in the first few major headings of the chapter (10.1, 10.2, etc). Therefore, for the pre-class assignment, I only assign those sections of the text (Step 4 will show you how to integrate the entire chapter).

The other key item in generating an assignment is to give the students time to complete the work. The goal is not to overwhelm them in scientific terminology, but to build a foundation. Therefore, using the slider bar I usually set the assignment for around 20-30 minutes average worth of work.

As you move the slider bar from right to left, you are increasing the focus on the core materials, and reducing more of the application-related content.

Step 2: Due Dates

For due dates - when possible, I assign LearnSmart material 5 days prior to the lecture. This allows the student, who increasingly has a busy schedule of classes, work, and family, ample time to complete the assignment. One of the nice aspects of LearnSmart is the fact that you do not need to complete the entire assignment at one time - so 20-30 minutes of work can easily be spread over a few days if needed.

I also always assign the same time each day for the assignments to be due. I happen to choose 1155pm (never choose 12 pm, too easily confused with 12 am), but other instructors choose the start of class for their traditional or hybrid courses. Be consistent and you will greatly reduce the number of emails from your students!

Step 3: Assigning Points

My goal for using LearnSmart is to develop an understanding of how the course material - a foundation on which I can build more difficult concepts. Therefore, I award points based on 100% completion. If you complete 100% of the LearnSmart assignment - you get 10 points towards the module grade (usually 100 or 200 points total in my classes). The eliminates the focus on right/wrong, and greatly reduces the student appeals of specific cards.

Step 4: Entering the Playground

Even though I do not assign all of the sections, I encourage the students to work on the complete chapter in LearnSmart before their exams. Actually, most of my students request this feature.

To access the complete chapter, simply enter what I call the "playground" . On each Connect site, in the lower right is an icon similar to the one below. By clicking on this icon, the students enter the LearnSmart program for the entire book.

One note of caution - it is important that you inform your students that assignments need to be completed from the Assignment list, and not from within the playground, since no grades are recorded from within the playground.

In later postings, I will discuss how you can run reports using LearnSmart, and how these reports can transform your classrooms from an instructor-focused environment to a student-centered learning arena that utilizes both adaptive learning and adaptive-taching strategies.

If you are a user of LearnSmart, I also encourage you to enroll in The Connect Community, a site where you can find active discussions on adaptive learning, case studies on classroom effectiveness, and more importantly, a community of educators who are exploring new ways of interacting with students.