Case Study
MindTap General Chemistry Leads to
Higher Grades and Success Rates over
MasteringChemistry at Texas Tech
Professor Greg Gellene
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas
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Case Study:
MindTap General Chemistry Leads to Higher Grades and
Success Rates over MasteringChemistry at Texas Tech
The Institution
About MindTap
MindTap General
Chemistry is a studentcentered digital learning
solution that helps
instructors engage
and transform today’s
students into critical
thinkers. MindTap offers
an innovative learning
path that seamlessly
integrates interactive
learning activities,
narrative, and diagnostic
quizzes to help students
understand the concepts
behind chemical problem
solving. Activities are
organized around key
learning outcomes and
move students from
essential skills to higherlevel application.
2
Texas Tech University is the largest comprehensive higher education
institution in the western two-thirds of Texas. It is the only campus in
Texas that is home to a major university, law school, and medical school.
Today the University offers 150 undergraduate, 100 graduate, and 50
doctoral degrees with more than 35,000 students enrolled as of Fall 2014.
The Instructor
Professor Gellene earned his B.S. degree in Biochemistry at Georgetown
University in 1979 and completed his Ph.D. at Cornell University in
1983 focusing on physical and theoretical chemistry. After a brief postdoctoral appointment at Cornell, he joined the faculty of Notre Dame
University from 1984-1992 before moving to Texas Tech University. His
scientific research interests have spanned experimental, computational,
and quantum dynamic studies of gas-phase ion-molecule reactions
where he has published more than 75 research articles. While at Texas
Tech, he has taught more than 20 different courses throughout the
undergraduate and graduate curriculum and developed the first fully
distance delivered graduate and undergraduate chemistry courses in
the department. He has taught General Chemistry almost every year at
Texas Tech, in both face-to-face and distance delivery, and has direct
experience with WebAssign, MasteringChemistry, OWLv1, OWLv2, and
MindTap General Chemistry online assignment systems. While at Texas
Tech he has received the faculty recognition award from Mortar Board
and Omicron Kappa Delta (2011), the Mortar Board Apple Polishing
Award for Inspiration and Excellence in Education (2012, 2015),
Professing Excellence Award (2014), and the President’s Excellence in
Teaching Award (2015). Outside the classroom, he is the Director of
Pre-Professional Heath Careers advising more than 2,500 students,
and referees youth and high school soccer.
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MindTap General Chemistry Leads to Higher Grades and Success Rates over MasteringChemistry
The Course
CHEM 1307/1308, Principles of Chemistry I & II, is a key course for
Chemistry majors. It can be taken to partially fulfill the core Life
and Physical Sciences credit when taken with CHEM 1107 and is
recommended for students who plan careers in the physical and
biological sciences as well as medicine and engineering. It is a 3-hour
course with a concurrent 1-hour lab attached. The course has large
enrollment numbers and is taught by many faculty members including
professors, instructors, and research/teaching assistants. Prerequisites
for the course include CHEM 1301 (Introductory Chemistry) or
meeting the placement criteria of the Chemistry Placement Exam and
completion of MATH 1320 (College Algebra) or approval for enrollment
in MATH 1321. The course is a study of fundamental concepts of
chemistry including nomenclature, states of matter, the periodic table
and periodic trends, chemical reactions, atomic structure, chemical
bonding, molecular structure, and the properties of gases, liquids,
solutions, and solids.
The Study
Professor Gellene was interested in improving the academic outcomes
of his students in his Principles of Chemistry course. He liked many
of MindTap General Chemistry’s student-centered features, saying
that “the positioning of focused interactive simulations and tutorials
between relatively short segments of text draws the student into
reading the text before attempting the assignments rather than using
the text as a last resort.” He therefore decided to study the impact of
MindTap General Chemistry compared to their current digital solution,
Pearson’s MasteringChemistry.
Quotes from
Students using
MindTap General
Chemistry
“The organization
and set up of the
homework was easy to
comprehend.”
“I learned the material
I was confused about
while using the online
homework.”
“It would help most of
the students to get a
good grade in
the course.”
To do this, he compared the course grades and success rates of students
in his section using MindTap General Chemistry with those in other
sections using MasteringChemistry in Fall 2014. This provided him with
a sample of 1,799 students. Additionally, he surveyed the students
using MindTap General Chemistry to understand their experience
with the product in the course. To ensure that the students using each
solution were comparable, their Chemistry Placement Exam (CPE) test
scores were analyzed.
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MindTap General Chemistry Leads to Higher Grades and Success Rates over MasteringChemistry
The Findings
Students using MindTap outperformed their peers using
MasteringChemistry and overwhelmingly saw MindTap General
Chemistry impacting their learning. Table 1 shows the results of the
CPE for both groups. There was almost no significant difference in precourse Chemistry knowledge between groups.
Quotes from
Students using
MindTap General
Chemistry
“It helped keep me well
engaged in the course.”
“Clear and easy to
follow and makes
you do the questions
yourself and not look
them up online.”
“MindTap was extremely
helpful and I was able
to grasp and practice
concepts with
relative ease.”
Table 1. Sample Characteristics
MasteringChemistry
MindTap General Chemistry
Size
1552
247
Average Pre-course CPE Score
70.8
72.7
However, looking at the results, students using MindTap General
Chemistry showed dramatic improvement over those using
MasteringChemistry. As shown in Figure 1, the percentage of students
receiving a course grade of A or B more than doubled from 32% to 66%;
while the percentage of students earning less than a C was reduced
almost threefold, from 39% to 14%. This resulted in a course success
rate of 87%, an increase of 26 percentage points over those using
MasteringChemistry.
Figure 1.
100
86.7%
80
66.4%
61.3%
60
40
32.2%
20.3%
20
0
38.7%
29.1%
Percent of Students
Receiving Grade
of A or B
Percent of Students
Receiving Grade
of C
MasteringChemistry
13.7%
Percent of Students
Receiving Grade
below a C
Success Rate
(Percent of Students
Receiving a Grade
of C or better)
MindTap General Chemistry
These results were strongly supported by the feedback of students
using MindTap General Chemistry. Eighty percent of students said they
would recommend MindTap General Chemistry to students taking
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MindTap General Chemistry Leads to Higher Grades and Success Rates over MasteringChemistry
the course. They also saw clear benefits of using MindTap General
Chemistry, as shown in Figure 2. A clear majority agreed that MindTap
General Chemistry increased their engagement in the course as well as
provided them with support and additional opportunities to master the
course material.
Figure 2. Percent of Students Agreeing with Each Statement about MindTap General Chemistry
I would recommend MindTap for
students taking this course
80.43%
Using the Online Homework System
extended the learning process beyond
the classroom
80.29%
Using the Online Homework System
provided a new way to learn
the material
“The positioning of
focused interactive
simulations and
tutorials between
relatively short
segments of text
draws the student
into reading the text
before attempting the
assignments rather than
using the text as a
last resort.
78.84%
Using the Online Homework System
helps me pinpoint areas where I am
having problems
77.40%
Using the Online Homework System,
I was more able to learn at my own pace
76.93%
Using the Online Homework System
reinforced my learning
75.00%
Using the Online Homework System
provided a way to personalize
my learning
72.11%
Using the Online Homework System
helped complete more assignments
72.11%
Using the Online Homework System
improved my ability to understand
abstract concepts
Students are asking if
there is MindTap for
Organic Chemistry.”
68.27%
Using the Online Homework System
facilitated better classroom discussions
61.54%
Using the Online Homework System
made me more engaged in the course
61.53%
0
20
40
60
Quote from
Professor Gellene
80
100
Percent Agreeing
Professor Gellene also reported many benefits to using MindTap
General Chemistry in his teaching. He says, “The QuickPrep review of
relevant algebra techniques and previously covered chemistry content
positioned at the start of each chapter paves the way for mastering the
new content.” He added, “Using the activities as pre-lecture assignments
frees the lectures to focus on the most challenging concepts with
an integrated understanding achieved though post-lecture mastery
assignments. The very informative assignment names allows you to
know what is being treated without a detailed consideration of the
question.” This is why he recommend MindTap General Chemistry to
his peers and others teaching Chemistry.
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MindTap General Chemistry Leads to Higher Grades and Success Rates over MasteringChemistry
Conclusion
Using MindTap General Chemistry, students taking Principles of
Chemistry at Texas Tech University outshone their peers using Pearson’s
MasteringChemistry. They earned much higher grades and succeeded
in the course at higher rates. These students felt MindTap General
Chemistry played an important role in their increased achievement.
Professor Gellene also saw the benefits of MindTap General Chemistry
to his students and his teaching. MindTap General Chemistry activates
student learning to improve academic outcomes and engagement in
today’s Chemistry courses.
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Source Code: M16011192
ISBN: 978-1-285-49882-9
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