One of the main issues at the forefront of higher education today is the provision of equitable learning opportunities to underserved students. To bridge this education gap, leaders in the field are in need of efficacious strategies that are based in sound research.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with Macmillan Learning to research how digital learning platforms can help close equity gaps in education. A collaboration such as this is rare, as the foundation rarely gives grants to for-profit companies. The grant is aligned with the foundation’s postsecondary success strategy to eliminate race, ethnicity, and income as predictors of student success.
“It concerns us greatly that race, ethnicity, and income can be indicators of students’ success. We designed Achieve to help level the playing field so that all students feel like they belong and can succeed in the college classroom. The research we’re undertaking now in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation should offer new insight into how we can do that even better for marginalized psychology and sociology students,” said Macmillan Learning Chief Executive Susan Winslow, in a prepared statement.
The goal of the partnership is to study how courseware, specifically Macmillan’s Achieve, can help close educational gaps for underserved student populations, including students who identify as black, Latinx, indigenous and of low income. The study also aims to gain insight into students' sense of belonging and metacognition and how these psychological factors play into student success. This new project will be building on ongoing research within Achieve on student success and is expected to offer insight into resources and tools that can be incorporated into similar courseware to specifically support underserved students. Findings from the project will aid in further development of highly effective courseware that promotes student success, focusing 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 for BLI-LI students; and
- how to best develop culturally responsive content for all students.
The project will include students who are taking introduction to psychology and sociology classes, as these seminars are often considered gateway courses to degree completion and are thus a prime opportunity to explore the three areas listed above. Most degree programs require an introductory course in a social science such as psychology or sociology that acts as a foundation for upper division coursework; for this reason, introductory lower division classes are termed gateway courses. Poor student achievement in a gateway course has the potential to impede program advancement and, therefore, degree completion.
Previous research illustrates that poor outcomes in introductory courses correlates with first and second year drop out rates. In fact, research from The Gardner Institute found that a range as wide as 15% - 60% of students in gateway courses withdraw or earn a D or F grade, and students from Latinx, black, indigenous, and/or low income backgrounds are disproportionately affected. The current study aims to provide not only valuable insight to better understand marginalized communities, but also to supply future direction so that the field can better serve their students.
“Students in marginalized communities often have an unequal access to opportunities, which may lead to challenges in successfully navigating their education. I’m looking forward to participating in this research, and seeing firsthand the impact that digital learning platforms can have on meta-cognition and sense of belonging for Latinx students,” stated Nancy Acevedo, author and associate professor at California State University, San Bernardino,
Once the research project is complete, the findings will be made public so that other leaders in the field may draw insight. Macmillan Learning also plans to create an implementation guide with examples of evidence-based practices that can be widely used in courseware such as Achieve. Instructors from 2- or 4-year institutions serving predominantly black, Latinx, indigenous and/or lower-income students are encouraged to register their interest in participating in the study here.