Assessments within Connect can be powerful tools for enhancing student understanding, critical thinking, and retention of course material. As educators, we know all students have different learning styles; they can be auditory, kinesthetic, or visual learners. Engaging students is key to both their—and our—success.  

An average student today can be struggling with a lot of things– from trying to keep a balance between staying safe and maintaining a normal life, to feeling scared, depressed, and worried about his future, to feeling a bit lost and angry. It’s worth pondering upon the ways to support them through the pandemic and how instructors can best educate their students during these tough times.

The content of this blog has been extracted from the webinar conducted by Robert Feldman, where he shared the challenges faced by students in the pandemic, learning science and how instructors can use technologies such as Connect® to teach online. You can watch the webinar here.

How can an instructor implement ALEKS® in the classroom?

There is no one way of doing this – the instructor has the flexibility to decide. Below are a few ways where an instructor can use ALEKS:

• Homework – The experience will be different from the traditional homework pattern as ALEKS uses adaptive learning technology.
• Pre-lecture assignments – If the instructor wants the students to read or prepare something before coming to the lectures, ALEKS can be used.
• Open pie mode – The instructor can share all the course topics with the students and let them do it on their own. Some may prefer this approach while others may not.
• Course Prep/review – ALEKS can be used when the instructor wants to assess what knowledge the students have got or what they’ve already learnt in the past.
• Fundamental Knowledge – Understanding some basic principles about the course can be assessed through ALEKS.