Macmillan Learning, a privately-held, family-owned education publishing and service company announced today it is seeking instructors teaching Introduction to Psychology and Introduction to Sociology classes to participate in research on closing equity gaps. The company is initially seeking about 20 instructors from 2- or 4-year institutions serving predominantly Black, Latino, Indigenous and/or lower-income students for the upcoming fall semester.

Research beginning in the Fall 2022 semester will study evidence-based teaching practices, including the impact of outcomes-driven instruction, active learning inside and outside the classroom, and formative assessment and feedback. Notably, the research will examine the relationship between these practices and student course performance. In spring 2023, Macmillan Learning will study students' sense of belonging and metacognition. These studies will be replicated in the following academic year.

Earlier this year, the company announced it will research how digital learning platforms and courseware like Achieve can help to close equity gaps in course completion for historically and presently underserved students, and students experiencing poverty. The new research will seek to discover how resources and tools that can be incorporated into courseware, like the company’s new digital learning platform Achieve, can support underserved students and promote student success. In particular, it will focus on three areas:

• learning what in-program courseware resources most effectively support student metacognition and sense of belonging;
• if the inclusion of evidence-based teaching practices in Achieve has a positive relationship with learning outcomes; and
• how to best develop culturally responsive content for all students.

Research for Introduction to Psychology will be done using the best-selling Achieve for Psychology in Everyday Life, 6e, written by David G. Myers and Nathan C. DeWall. Research for the Introduction to Sociology courses will be done using Achieve for OpenStax Sociology, 3e. Students participating in the research will receive their course materials at no cost to them, and participation in the research study is voluntary.

Once completed, Macmillan Learning will make its findings publicly available and create an implementation guide with examples of evidence-based practices that can be used in courseware like Achieve.

Instructors from 2- or 4-year institutions teaching Introduction to Sociology or Introduction to Psychology serving predominantly Black, Latino, Indigenous and/or lower-income students can register their interest in participating in the study here.

About Achieve

Achieve is Macmillan Learning’s recently launched digital learning platform. It was developed using learning science and in partnership with students and instructors with the goal of supporting students of all levels of motivation and preparedness and to engage them in and out of class to improve their outcomes. Because it was based in learning science, Achieve was the first product exclusively designed for higher education to earn the “Research-Based Design” product certification by Digital Promise. The product certification helps ensure instructors and institutions that the products they select were designed using research-based learning science principles and developed using best practices before using them with their students.

Previous efficacy research on Achieve found that it can help bridge the performance gap often seen among students entering college. That is, the more that less academically prepared students use Achieve, the closer they can come to meeting the performance of their more academically prepared peers. This is because Achieve was co-designed with active learning in mind by more than 7,000 students and 100 leading educators and learning scientists, both working at Macmillan Learning and advising as members of independent review boards. Achieve can be used in traditional, online, hybrid, blended, or a fully “flipped” classroom, with options for both synchronous and asynchronous learning to support student engagement.

About Macmillan Learning

Macmillan Learning is a privately-held, family-owned company that improves lives through learning. By linking research to learning practice, we develop pioneering products and learning materials for students that are highly effective and drive improved outcomes. Our engaging content is developed in partnership with the world's best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers. To learn more, please visit macmillanlearning.com or join our Macmillan Community.

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