Frequently Asked Questions
What is Way to Succeed?
Way to Succeed is a mini-course designed to help students develop more self-regulating and independent learning practices while taking a college-level math or other STEM class.
What is in the mini-course?
The mini-course consists of ten short chapters that can be assigned to students once a week for ten weeks.
Seven chapters contain short readings (average time a little over 3 minutes each) and 5 – 10 item multiple choice quizzes. Topics include Learning how to Learn, How College is Different than High School, Math and STEM Anxiety and How to Overcome It, Note-taking, Improving Test Scores, Error Analysis, Preparing for Finals.
The other three chapters are the core of our program, the diagnostic Learning Assessment in which students see their own personal learning profile, note learning strengths and weaknesses, and discover prescribed ways to strengthen their learning practices. Each assessment takes about 10 - 15 minutes for students to complete. These learning assessments must be scheduled at least two weeks apart to allow students to try out new ways of approaching learning. The next assessment can then build on the students' new ways of operating in the math or STEM class and gives them the opportunity to fine tune changes and stretch themselves to incorporate additional approaches to learning math or STEM content.
Do the students have to take the same assessment three times?
No. We have developed the assessments to adapt to each student’s strengths and weaknesses on their previous assessment. We focus in more on weak areas of learning and de-emphasize what they already seem to know in their strengths. With over two million different combinations of questions by the third assessment, no two students in your class will likely be taking the same assessment by the end of the semester.
How long does it take to set up Way to Succeed for my school?
Once your school decides which classes in which you want to use Way to Succeed, you will purchase our program through PayPal.com (or a purchase order) and register at the check-out. We will then send each instructor an Instructors Guide, Student Edition, and “Class Codes” within a day. Individual instructors can then create due dates for their students and notify their students to purchase and download their eBooks (or just download their eBooks if your school is paying for them) using their unique "Class Code" to make sure they are enrolled in your class. That’s it!
Do instructors or teachers receive any reports on their students?
Yes. Instructors and Deans (or Department Chairs) can access class reports that show students' most recent scores on all fourteen components of the Way to Succeed diagnostic Learning Assessment. The scores are also color coded by quartile so that instructors can immediately see which students are performing above the median and which students are struggling and in what areas. Instructors and Deans can also directly access individual student Learning Assessment results. They can also access the "Gradebook" that shows the completion of chapter quizzes from the eBook. All student data can be copied and pasted into .csv files for statistical analysis.
We have also added a new feature: The Chapter 10 Quiz is a survey about evaluating their learning improvements and the Way to Succeed program. We have made your class's results available to you in graph form. We thought this would be helpful when using Way to Succeed in the future. Students seem to really like our program and have found it to be valuable!
Do I have to re-purchase the Instructors Guide if I want to use it with my students for another semester?
No. Instructors have permanent licenses to use Way to Succeed for as many terms as they want. Simply let us know your upcoming class names and sections, and we will issue new "Class Codes" at no charge.
As an instructor knowing information about my students’ learning, how can I help my students?
We have made the results page so that it is easy to identify struggling students. We color-code scores on the Diagnostic Learning Assessments. Scores in the 25%tile and below will show up as red, and 25%tile through 50%tile as orange.
You could look for specific areas in which most of your students are weak (red and orange) and address those issues with your students as a class.
Secondly, you could meet with those students who score mostly in reds and oranges for some personal one-on-one guidance or refer them to an advisor or personal tutor. You might also want to pair a low-performing student with one who has good learning habits, identified by a green score. Both of these extreme scores will be easily visible from the Instructor Report.
A third way to help might be to require that students select a certain number of "Actions", perhaps two or three that seem appropriate to them and write them down for you or highlight them on the student's printed "Action Plan". The act of "owning up to" weaknesses and their associated remedies can be a powerful motivator for change.
Can students print their results so they can refer to them later?
Yes. The "Action Plan" is a student report that summarizes students' Learning Assessment results. It is printable as a PDF. Students can post the printed report at their workspace as a reminder of their results and the actions they have decided to adopt during the next few weeks. The printable report can also be an accountability tool by using it as a springboard to dialogue with the professors or success coaches and individual students.
How often do students take the assessments?
Students take the assessments three times during the semester. Assessments are spaced apart by about two to four weeks to allow students to try out and internalize changes in their approaches to learning math or STEM.
How soon after the assessments will the student reports be ready for students and teachers/instructors to access?
Reports are available within seconds of completing an assessment. The reports are available throughout the semester.
We already have a College Success course for freshmen. Why should we purchase the Way to Succeed program?
Three reasons: One, Way to Succeed focuses on student learning in Mathematics or other STEM classes. Students don't always come prepared with the habits of mind and self-regulation to learn math at the college level. Learning is different in Math and STEM, and requires a more pro-active approach for students. Also, math and other STEM courses appear to be the most challenging for first-year students. Many students struggle with math and STEM. College Algebra, for example, continues to have the highest failure rate of all freshmen classes.
Secondly, Way to Succeed is highly personalized for each student. Because students self-evaluate for each of the characteristics of effective learning, they tend to internalize and apply new learning techniques even before they see their results on assessments. The personalized reports reflect student-provided answers, therefore offering a more credible assessment of deficiencies and strengths in the minds of the students. Recommendations are prescriptive and should make sense to the student because they are based on his or her own answers to questions about their learning practices and cognitions.
Third, Way to Succeed pairs well with what your school is already doing to improve student success. Recommendations for students encourage the use of existing resources that your campus provides, as well as dozens of actions for students to personally think about and try that strengthen specific characteristics of their learning practices and cognitions.
Only a few students don't pass math classes at our school. Do we really need the Way to Succeed program?
All students can benefit from Way to Succeed, even ones who are successful in the mathematics classroom. No one is a perfect, mature learner. Every student can improve how they operate in the classroom to become more efficient with their learning and increase their level of success.
Is this just a study skills program?
No. It's more than that! Study skills are just one part of what is addressed in the Way to Succeed program. Quality learning encompasses other skills, such as planning, awareness and use of strategies, cognitions, metacognitions, self-regulation, and goal-setting, and includes mindful applications customized for each student.
Why only math and STEM classes?
Mathematics and other STEM fields are some of the only subjects in which you have to know processes and procedures in order to be successful. Students encounter unique problems on mathematics and science tests, similar to practice problems but ones they have most likely never worked before. In this way they can demonstrate proficiency with ideas, procedures, and computational competencies. Mathematics and STEM courses therefore are more performance-based, demanding the blending of learned skills, knowledge, and problem-solving. This is in contrast to courses requiring rote memorization and delivery of facts and ideas through speaking or writing. Unlike many subjects, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and engineering requires the student to recognize situations where certain strategies can be used to answer mathematical problems, and then to have the skills and knowledge to use the strategy successfully. With that in mind, any breakdown of the aforementioned skills, such as the ability to analyze a problem and to know how to apply processes, procedures, and computations, is essential for students to be successful in any mathematics or STEM course. An overwhelming body of evidence shows that at the college and university level, the courses with the highest failure rates are the mathematics and STEM courses (Bryk & Treisman, 2010; Freidl, Pittenger, & Sherman, 2012; Herriot & Dunbar, 2009; Hudesman, Crosby, Flugman, Issac, Everson, & Clay, 2013) and these failures profoundly limit career choices (Ahlam, 2013; Ma, 2010; Theil, Peterman, & Brown, 2008).
Can high school students use Way to Succeed?
Yes, but our product is best suited for the college level coursework and resources. High school students who are taking Dual Credit can certainly benefit from the ideas found in Way to Succeed. Our most significant consideration when designing Way to Succeed is that failure at the college or university level is the most damaging to students and schools. Lost scholarships, wasted taxpayer money and university resources, and deferred or unrealized career dreams are extremely costly in terms of money and in the lives of affected students. This is the primary reason we have decided to introduce Way to Succeed to the post-secondary institutions.
We don't want to expose our students to outside sales. What are the policies of using the emails of our students and faculty?
Way to Succeed will not use emails of our customers other than for the purposes related to the direct use of our system. We do not sell emails or otherwise exploit our customers including students, faculty, or administration involved with Way to Succeed.
We are too close to the beginning of the semester to consider something now.
Way to Succeed is designed to be simple and time-efficient to set up and use. We offer free tech support to help you implement Way to Succeed for your math classes in as little time as possible. You can still effectively use Way to Succeed beginning in the first week or two of class.
We don't want another program for our faculty to implement. They are already very busy people.
We understand! Way to Succeed was designed to be easy to use and to involve the least amount of time possible for the faculty. Faculty should not need to change curriculum, textbooks, pedagogy, or fit anything new into the time available for class. The only responsibilities of Instructors are to set due dates for assignments and decide how to incentivize completion of the Find Your Way to Succeed curriculum. There is nothing to grade, and assignment scores appear in the Instructor's Gradebook automatically as soon as students complete an assignment. Additional lessons for both the whole class or with at-risk students come with each chapter for those Instructors wanting to do more, but this is not necessary.
Should I offer Way to Succeed to my students as extra credit, or should I require that my students participate?
Way to Succeed was designed to be an integral part of a math or STEM course, so that the completion of all ten chapters should be required as part of the course. We recommend that students receive a small number of points towards their final course grade as an incentive to work through the mini-course. The diagnostic Learning Assessments are graded on completion only so that students do not try to fake their Way to Succeed score to somehow get a better grade. Students must be honest in their self-evaluations or the learning assessment results will not be useful to the student. Some schools do not allow non-content material to receive a component of the course grade. If that is the case, the extra credit offering is certainly better than no incentive at all. We have noticed that when Way to Succeed is offered as extra credit, students, especially those students who most need the learning insights that Way to Succeed provides, don't always make the effort to claim the extra credit points.
We don't have time in our schedule for professional development training.
Way to Succeed is an intuitive and simple program to set up. Tech support is available 24-7 if you have any difficulty setting up your classes. We can walk you through the set-up process and are here to answer any questions after you have started your semester.
Do you keep cookies?
No. We use session storage to move data around. Session storage variables automatically delete once a session is completed and closed.
Note: Ipad and Mac users may have to enable cookies in their Safari settings in order to login. It appears that Apple equates Session Storage and cookies even though they are different.
I'm using Safari, and when I try to see my Action Plan, I get "Cannot Open Page". What should I do?
Click on 'OK' in the error box. Then kill the untitled tab at the top of your browser window. You should now see your Action Plan pdf.
Do you have a Public Privacy Policy?
Yes. You can click here to view it: Public Privacy Policy