See how Mastering Biology helps students master key concepts and improve results.
Engage students and teach them to think like scientists with online labs built around the process of science. The labs feature real-world scenarios with guided feedback so students can make and learn from their mistakes. Learn more about Pearson Interactive Labs.
Watch our webinar: Let’s Get Virtual in the Biology Lab.
Pearson+ is available within your Mastering course. It gives your students instant access to your course eTextbook and study tools, in one intuitive interface. Designed for students, by students, Pearson+ lets them choose how they learn best. They can listen to the audiobook, find what they need with enhanced search, and study their own way with notes and flashcards. The app lets them read where life takes them, no wi-fi needed.
Dynamic Study Modules are assignable modules that adapt to each student’s performance and offer personalized, targeted feedback to help them master key concepts. Available for select titles.
GapFinder Diagnostic Modules assess students' prerequisite knowledge such as study skills, foundational science, and math concepts, and then recommend GapFinder Study Modules with personalized remediation specific to the student's individual knowledge gaps. GapFinder Modules are assignable in Mastering as Dynamic Study Modules, but are completed and graded differently, and available to students for self study in Mastering.
While students can struggle with course content, the lack of study skills may also be hindering their success. New Study Skills Modules in Mastering Biology help them to become better learners through:
GraphIt! Coaching activities help students read, interpret, and create graphs that explore real environmental issues using real data. All 10 activities explore current topics such as the carbon footprint of food, fresh water availability, and ocean acidification in an entirely new mobile experience with accessible design.
Enable students to interact with real data through Visualize the Data and Interpret the Data tutorials. Students get to practice analyzing graphs and interacting with other data. These are assignable in Mastering.
BIAS Test guides students as they face countless messages in the media and shows them how to evaluate sources based on four criteria: Backed Up, Intent, Authority, and Source. Students read an article, and BIAS Test questions guide them in assessing the source regarding the article’s authority, motivation and reliability. Article topics include COVID-19, vaccines, ocean garbage patches, and more.
Scientific Thinking Activities help students develop an understanding of how scientific research is conducted. Topics include research questions such as “Can Scientists Use Gene Expression Data to Personalize Cancer Treatment?” and “Do the Microorganisms in Our Digestive Tract Play a Role in Obesity?”
Offering course content through the Pearson Inclusive Access model can help students achieve more by providing affordable, high-quality digital course materials on or before the first day of class. Because all students have access by day one, faculty can start teaching and students can start learning. Learn more about Inclusive Access.
Mastering provides a rich and flexible set of pre-built courses and assignments to get you started quickly. These assets can be used as is or customized to fit your specific teaching needs. The Calendar View on the course home page displays upcoming assignments and due dates, so you can easily stay organized. Questions are now easy to edit and delete for assignments and courses.
The Mastering gradebook records all scores for graded assignments. Struggling students and challenging assignments are highlighted in red, giving you an at-a-glance view of potential hurdles in the course. The robust diagnostics within Mastering provide unique insight - with a single click, you can view charts that summarize the most difficult problems, identify vulnerable students, and indicate grade distribution and score improvement.
With Learning Catalytics™, you'll hear from every student when it matters most. You pose a variety of questions that help students recall ideas, apply concepts, and develop critical-thinking skills. Your students respond using their own smartphones, tablets, or laptops. Watch a video and learn more.
You can now link from Blackboard Learn, Brightspace by D2L, Canvas, or Moodle to Mastering Microbiology.* Access assignments, rosters, and resources, and synchronize grades with your LMS gradebook. For students, single sign-on provides access to all the personalized learning resources that make studying more efficient and effective. Learn more about our LMS integration services.
*Note that LMS integration is available only for Modified Mastering Microbiology.
Using data gathered from all of the students using the program, Mastering offers wrong-answer feedback that is specific to each student. Rather than simply providing feedback of the "right/wrong/try again" variety, Mastering guides students towards the correct final answer without giving the answer away.
Mastering provides hints of two types that help students work through, and ultimately solve, problems. Declarative hints provide advice on how to approach the problem, guiding students to the final answer. Socratic hints break a problem down into smaller sub-problems, which makes it easier for students to complete the original problem.
Mastering is continually improving based on data generated through classroom use, resulting in content that is driven by the performance of actual students. We make corrections to improve problems that have ambiguous answer choices, ineffectual detractors, or tricky language, and continue to strengthen each problem through ongoing review of the data generated by Mastering students.
