Student Engagement Tool/Peer Connector

The Goal

To foster a sense of belonging and community among students using Macmillan Learning’s Achieve courseware utilizing new tools, based off research done in collaboration with the Gates Foundation.

Learn more about sense of belonging in the classroom here.

The Process  

• Design and content exploration and fine-tuning across 4 semesters; iterating Figjam prototypes for initial concept testing with students.

• Facilitating brainstorming sessions among product managers and learning scientists.

• Training instructors and gathering and implementing direct feedback.

• Creating other versions of the tool for instructors, more focused on various evidence-based learning strategies and how they implement them.

• Prototype maintenance as well as metrics collection and analysis on a regular basis.

• Contributing ideas to the next pilot phase of the project.

The Impact

97% reduction in user error and a 45% improvement in engagement after implementing changes.

A completion of 13-15 Sense of Belonging activities was related to a 10 percentage point increase in students overall course performance.

Overall satisfaction and interest from students, instructors, and internal stakeholders for a new tool that was embedded into the existing courseware. The tool is currently being enhanced and tested for release soon.

Read more about a literature review on sense of belonging and metacognition and a more about initial impact here.

Read more about the ongoing pilot here.