“…My [student] success rates have gone up approximately 13% since switching from paid textbooks to Lumen OER content for Introduction to Statistics.”
Faculty Roundtable Sessions bring together faculty who are already using Lumen-supported OER courses with those who are exploring this path. On Tuesday, October 24th, 2017, we had the opportunity to speak with Dave Usinski of SUNY’s Erie Community College, Professor of Math and champion of the OER movement for Math courses. You may:
- View a video recording of the Faculty Roundtable
- Download presentation slides
- Read key takeaways from our discussion
- Request more information about this OER course
View Roundtable Recording
Download Slides
Use this Slideshare link to download Roundtable slides.
Highlights and Key Takeaways
See the Q&A below for key takeaways from Dave’s roundtable conversation:
Q. What are some of your favorite learning tools in the Waymaker Statistics course?
The Waymaker tools allow students access to interactive assignment modules to better understand course concepts. The interactive structure encourages students to go back and study areas that they may be struggling in. The content also tries to address how well students are doing by having them self-test and provide their level of confidence in their responses. What’s more, all of the statistical data provided in the course is based on real life situations and is regularly updated. Automated messaging tools are also pushing students to improve their grades and do better on quizzes.
Q. How has working with Lumen been compared to other publishers?
It’s been great, and my experiences with Lumen have been remarkable. Errors or problems that happen to come up are immediately addressed in a quick and timely manner.
Q. What are you getting back from students in terms of how they are liking the courseware?
Student success rates and affordability have improved immensely. In analyzing a sample of 522 students, students saved from $62,000 to $114,000 in textbook costs and success rates in Introduction to Statistics has gone up 13% since switching from paid textbooks to OER materials.
Q. Do you find that the courseware improves students’ conceptual understanding of statistical content?
The courseware does engage students’ understanding of statistical concepts by applying real-life data from Gallop surveys, Census data, etc., and making it interesting and applicable. This is one of the reasons students are reading more of the materials and interacting with the content on a regular basis.