Faculty Advisors

The MasteringPhysics Faculty Advisor Program is built upon the proven effectiveness of peer-to-peer advising. Faculty Advisors are available to relate success stories, share best practices, and provide tips for successfully integrating MasteringPhysics into your curriculum.

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  Delena Bell Gatch
  Georgia Southern University
  Statesboro, GA

  Courses Taught:College Physics I and II, and University Physics I and II
  Course Format:Traditional; Studio Course (integrated lecture and laboratory); Currently developing a fully online course
  Student Success Stat:The DFW (drop-failure-withdrawal) rate has been dropping over last two years, but I attribute this to the studio physics method of course delivery. (ActivePhysics Activities are a large portion of new delivery method.)
  "I currently teach a course of 150+ introductory trig-based physics students. MasteringPhysics serves as my course management tool. MasteringPhysics handles all of my grade book needs for both online and offline activities, allowing me to easily monitor each student's progress. Additionally, MasteringPhysics facilitates communication with my students. I am able to post files for my students to access, as well as send emails to the entire class with one click of a button. I frequently use the ActivPhysics computer simulations in MasteringPhysics for laboratory and/or supplemental instruction activities."
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  Scott Hildreth
  Chabot College
  Hayward, CA

  Courses Taught:Physics 4C (Waves, Thermodynamics, Optics), and a third-semester Calculus-based class.
  Student Success Stat:The retention rate in my online classes has risen over the past 10 years, certainly in part to changes in my teaching, but also I believe due to the use of the online Mastering system and the interactive tutorials. When class after class ranks those tutorials as better than my lectures, better than homework, and better than the books in helping students understand the material more effectively, I have to believe that they are substantial, important assets.
  "In the online class, my retention rate is 5-10% higher using the online tutorials and Mastering platform than it was 10 years ago. And while there are surely other factors at play here, I believe the system has helped retain students who find the textbook too difficult to handle. At least at the community college level in California, far more students are entering my class unable to read the book effectively - no matter how well it is written or how friendly its layout, but they can access and learn from the tutorials."
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  Gary Buckley
  Cameron University
  Lawton, OK

  Courses Taught:College Physics I & II; University Physics I & II; General Chemistry I & II
  Course Format:Traditional
  "I have used Mastering (both physics and chemistry) since 2008. Having previously used paper homework, I was apprehensive about losing some personal contact by shifting to the electronic format. However, I have found the students are more engaged in doing the homework and are more likely to communicate with me during the process than with the paper format. Combining tutorial problems with selected book problems, I am able to lead them to areas we may not cover explicitly in class. The objectivity of the computer has led to much better performance."
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  Jeff Loats
  Metropolitan State College of Denver
  Denver, CO

  Courses Taught:College Physics I & II; University Physics I
  Course Format:Traditional
  "MasteringPhysics is one aspect of a highly interactive class that incorporates the techniques of Just-in-Time Teaching and Peer Instruction (among others). My teaching philosophy revolves around offering students many chances to fail in low-stakes situations, and MasteringPhysics offers an excellent extension of that to the realm of homework. Despite the fact that I deliver a decidedly harder class compared to others, students consistently seek out my courses as places where the concepts rule and "equation hunting" is a failing strategy."
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  John McClain
  Temple College
  Temple, TX

  Courses Taught:College Physics I & II; University Physics I & II
  Course Format:Traditional; Hybrid
  "I use Mastering to continuously challenge my students and keep them engaged in the course throughout the semester. Using Mastering to keep students focused results in better retention. By varying the types and difficulty of assignments, I maintain interest in the course. I make particular use of ranking and categorizing problems, which give feedback to correct students' misconceptions. Sometimes I will give group assignments and set my students in competition against each other. The algorithmically generated questions are especially well suited for this activity and provide tremendous motivation to excel. It would be difficult to teach the way I do without the aid of Mastering."
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  Richard Sonnenfeld
  New Mexico Tech
  Socorro, NM

  Courses Taught:University Physics I & II
  Course Format:Traditional
  "In a perfect world, students would have patient, individual human tutors who knew their weaknesses. In this world, MasteringPhysics does a credible job of "Just in Time" teaching, providing feedback and hints to my students as they do their homework. The MasteringPhysics team has for many years demonstrated their commitment to the technical support and massive IT investment required to deliver the promises of computer-augmented instruction. MP's answer-specific feedback to my students buys me about a week of teaching time over a semester, because they need no longer wait days for a human grader to point out their misconceptions."
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  Angela Biselli
  Fairfield University
  Fairfield, CT

  Courses Taught:General Physics I and II (for physics majors and engineers, and for biology, chemistry and premed students)
  Course Format:Traditional
  Student Success Stat:There is a fairly good correlation between homework grades and test grades.
  "MasteringPhysics is an essential tool for my classes. The immediate feedback gives students a continuous assessment of their understanding and encourages them to ask questions about the homework. Having additional attempts after submitting incorrect solutions allows for deeper student involvement with the material as compared to written, one-time submission of solutions. MasteringPhysics allowed me to shift my time from grading homework to effectively helping students on a personal basis. Everybody should use an online homework system, and MasteringPhysics is simply the best on the market. Since using MasteringPhysics, I have a good correlation between homework scores and test scores."
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  Richard Gelderman
  Western Kentucky University
  Bowling Green, KY

  Courses Taught:University Physics II
  Course Format:Traditional
  "The flexibility and power of the Mastering programs exceed any other online homework system that I've experienced. My single favorite aspect of Mastering is the tutorial exercises."
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  Beatrice Rasmussen
  University of Texas at Dallas
  Dallas, TX

  Courses Taught:College Physics I & II; University Physics I & II
  Course Format:Traditional, large lecture
  "MasteringPhysics is a wonderful resource for my classes. The feature I like best is the advanced editor. This gives me the ability to write my own problems (based on current events) or take problems from the book and change them to fit topics I am trying to emphasize in the class. I can add hints to end of chapter problems or add randomized values in problems that don't have that feature. Randomized values is an essential feature for online homework. My students enjoy having several chances to get a problem done, and they like the hints and answer-specific feedback."
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  Charles Buchanan
  University of California, Los Angeles
  Los Angeles, CA

  Courses Taught:University Calculus
  Course Format:Traditional
  "I'm particularly interested in the MasteringPhysics tutorials. Their hints, guiding comments, and summary analyses seem to be a modern way for students to learn. Test results suggest a 10-15 point average boost (out of 100 points maximum) with a cyclic structure involving an assignment of tutorials preceding a TA-led discussion section, a regular end-of-chapter homework assignment, and additional medium-to-hard problems for students who want more recommended problems."
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  Cindy Schwarz
  Vassar College
  Poughkeepsie, NY

  Courses Taught:University Physics I & II; Modern Physics
  Course Format:Hybrid
  "I have found MasteringPhysics to be the best online homework system for physics. It was so good for our intro courses that we now also use it for a sophomore level modern physics class. The students warm up to it if you give them the reasons why you use it and if you use it well. It's important to check on your students' work regularly to inform your teaching and help them make the best of the system for learning."
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  Ramon Lopez
  University of Texas at Arlington
  Arlington, TX

  Courses Taught:College Physics I; University Physics I & II; Modern Physics
  Course Format:Traditional
  "MasteringPhysics simplifies homework administration for large introductory classes, and the statistical information (like average difficulty and time to complete problems) is very useful. I use tutorials to reinforce lectures, followed by application problems. I typically post assignments a couple of weeks in advance to allow students to budget their time. I use Peer-Instruction and question-feedback cards to determine student difficulties so I can quickly modify assignments to stress concepts with which the class has had problems, and I use MasteringPhysics' diagnostics to adapt subsequent lectures and clarify any lingering misconceptions."