MindTap

Author: Shawn Orr, Director of the Center for Innovation & Teaching Excellence; Professor of Communication Studies, Ashland University As a college faculty member for more than 25 years, I’ve taught thousands of undergraduate students in a traditional classroom setting, utilizing active learning strategies to engage and involve students in the learning process. Changing charts, card flip, expert groups, clearest/muddiest point, group projects, polling, augmented reality and case studies—all tools of the trade I know, love and use every semester. Then came online classes. I taught my first completely online course 15 years ago. I’ll be the first to admit it was Read More…

Author: Greg Underwood, English Department Chair at Pearl River Community College As a chair, I helped oversee the Pearl River Community College English department’s shift from offering nine non-transferrable developmental hours before students could enroll in the traditional first semester writing course, to a track where those same students now directly enroll in a transferrable, four-credit hour first semester writing course. We’re now in our second year, and our tracking numbers show that academically, students perform at or above the levels they did previously. Combined with the fewer developmental hours students no longer have to take, we now retain more Read More…

  Want to capture the attention of your Introduction to Business students? Check out the following five tips to engage your students and increase success in class — and beyond. Tip 1: Make Content Applicable to Students’ Daily Lives Incorporating hot topics in business from Amazon, to AI, to the #MeToo movement, helps students relate course concepts to their everyday lives.  The Cengage Higher Ed Faculty Community provides articles related to discipline content that you can bring in for classroom discussion.  From reviewing new branding strategies in Marketing Dunkin’ to learning about the Worst Read More…

Author:  Dr. Stephanie Thomas, Cornell University How do you engage a class of more than 450 students with varying academic backgrounds and vastly different interests in the subject? This is the challenge I face every fall semester when I offer Introductory Microeconomics. I approach this question from the following perspective: students come to class on the first day because they have to come. They come to class the rest of the semester because they want to come. It’s hard for us to imagine why a student wouldn’t want to come to class! As instructors, most of us enjoyed going to Read More…

By: Shawn Orr, Director of the Center for Innovation and Teaching Excellence, Faculty in Communication Studies at Ashland University – Ohio Icebreakers often come with a dreaded connotation that implies frivolous activities done on the first day of class with limited benefits to student learning. Consider that one icebreaker—”introduce yourself and tell us one interesting thing about yourself”—that is used over and over while yielding little enthusiasm or class engagement. Yet, semester after semester, we pull that icebreaker out and use it again. Why? Because we want to start the semester off by fostering student connection and community. This Read More…

By: Dr. Jenny Billings – Chair of English and Study Skills, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and Cengage Faculty Partner   As someone who majored in and teaches English, I surprise others by how into numbers and data, I actually am. I have always been careful, curious, and strategic; I am always anticipating the outcome, what an action will yield. That’s a trait I have in common with my best friend, who actually teaches Mathematics.

Creating SMART Goals in Higher Ed Courses

While earning my doctorate, I took a class on data-driven decisions and one on planning and assessment. The combination of these classes Read More…

 By: Essie Childers, Education Professor at Blinn College – Texas   Let’s take a moment to step away from facts around student retention, building facilities, growing partnerships and enrollment numbers. Albeit, those topics are truly important and can be found on any college or university’s agenda. What about adding to the agenda expected classroom experiences to promote student learning. The secret is out—instructors are at the “front door” to facilitate student learning; they also help promote retention and build enrollment. How? This is possible when instructors become culturally responsive teachers.

What IS Culturally Responsive Teaching?

“Culturally responsive teaching occurs when there is Read More…

We’re proud to announce that Cengage has received seven recognitions from the 2018 Hermes Creative Awards, an international competition for creative professionals in the media, marketing and communication industry. Each year, thousands of entries from all types of companies are reviewed and recognized for excellence in creativity, design and technology. Cengage was honored for creative excellence in print and electronic media for National Geographic Learning and MindTap programs.

How We Placed

The Cengage 2018 Hermes Award wins include:

Platinum Awards:

Winner, Interactive Media: Website – MindTap Simulation Station: Health Care Academy
Winner, Print Media: Brochure – U.S. History American Stories,

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Cengage is proud to be a three-time honoree in the 2018 EdTech Digest Awards! MindTap Pronounce, part of the MindTap Mobile App, was named WINNER in the Higher Education Mobile App category. Additionally, MindTap Business Statistics with Excel Online was recognized as a finalist in two categories: Professional Skills Solution and Student Study Tools.

MindTap Earns Praise

MindTap Business Statistics with Excel Online was even praised by EdTech Digest Award organizer and Editor-in-Chief, Victor Rivero for being “a collaborative technology effort (Cengage and Microsoft) for the benefit of teachers and students in Business Statistics that makes Read More…

by Dr. Jenny Billings, Cengage Faculty Partner and Chair of ACA, DRE, and ENG and English Instructor at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Having taught Developmental Reading and English students, I’m deeply aware of the effects self-doubt can have on first-year writing students. Many of them come in feeling behind, lacking the confidence they require to be successful. Some students need their academic foundations built, or rebuilt, while others only need refreshers to get them on their way. I’ve found that Questia can help in either circumstance. It can serve as #JustOneThing to alleviate students’ worries and fears, especially Read More…