Learning from Instructor-Endorsed Peers: Cengage Learning and Flashnotes.com Introduce the Cengage Learning Scholar Program
"I've never seen anything like this" -- improvement of full letter grade via enhanced engagement with peer-to-peer learning
BOSTON, March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to provide new and more effective ways for students to study and learn, Cengage Learning, a global education company, and Flashnotes.com, an online student-to-student study materials marketplace, today announced the Cengage Learning Scholar Program. The preferred seller program enhances peer-to-peer learning and empowers instructors to support better learning outcomes, while allowing scholars to profit from their exceptional note-taking, and other students to find varied ways to learn and understand course concepts.
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Instructors using a Cengage Learning product, such as MindTap, the company's personalized digital learning platform, will have the opportunity to recruit one student as a Cengage Learning Scholar within Flashnotes.com. Each selected student will be responsible for posting weekly summaries using notes, study guides, flashcards, video tutorials and/or offering live help on Flashnotes.com. The scholar will set their own price and earn 70% of each sale.
An instructor at Arkansas Tech University, Carey Roberts, noted that with the use of MindTap and Flashnotes.com, "Student's learning improved dramatically, and their grades improved by a full letter – from a C- average to a B- average. I've never seen anything like this."
Similarly, student and Cengage Learning Scholar Emily Schumacher of Ohio University said, "It really motivated me to go to class and to study even harder. I had a new sense of responsibility to help my classmates. I knew I had to take the notes to share with my classmates, and I knew I had to understand the material really well, so that I could answer their questions or put good examples into my study guides. It pushed me to do even better, and I also made a lot of connections with my peers that I sold my notes to. They were so appreciative."
"The learning environment is highly individualized – the ways in which students learn are never the same – requiring different teaching tools to ensure that all students are engaging with the material," said Jim Donohue, chief product officer, Cengage Learning. "The Cengage Learning Scholar Program within Flashnotes.com provides instructors with another tool that can close the gap between the material covered in class and the material students understand. Ensuring student success is more important than ever before, and this partnership with Flashnotes.com grants students access to study materials as seen through the eyes of other successful students."
According to the results from a survey issued to participants in a Fall 2014 pilot of the Cengage Learning Scholar Program, 73% of Scholars said they were more engaged with the course than they would have been otherwise and half of them reported improved academic performance as a result of participating in the program.
"Our partnership with Cengage really solidifies our commitment to work within the community of academic instructors and administrators to recognize the power students can have in helping each other succeed," said Mike Matousek, founder, Flashnotes.com. "We're complementing and reinforcing the in-class experience by offering supplemental, student-created study materials that are available to help their classmates learn in real-time - and in a way that works best for them."
To ensure all study materials posted to Flashnotes.com adhere to a high standard of originality, the company has instituted a rigorous internal review process and also employs plagiarism detection software. Flashnotes.com is in full compliance with all DMCA guidelines and has a zero tolerance policy for any exams or homework posted to the site.
For more information, please visit www.cengage.com/flashnotes and www.flashnotes.com.
About Cengage Learning
Cengage Learning is a leading educational content, technology, and services company for the higher education and K-12, professional and library markets worldwide. The company provides superior content, personalized services and course-driven digital solutions that accelerate student engagement and transform the learning experience. Cengage Learning is headquartered in Boston, MA with an office hub located in San Francisco, CA. The company operates in more than 20 countries around the world. www.cengage.com.
About Flashnotes.com
Flashnotes.com is the student-to-student study materials marketplace. On Flashnotes.com, college students sell and buy course-specific study materials -- study guides, notes, flashcards, video tutorials, and live video help. College students need two things -- more money and better grades. Flashnotes.com Pays2Study™ approach empowers smart college students to make money from their own study material while helping other students study smarter to get better grades. For further information, visit www.flashnotes.com. Flashnotes.com is headquartered in Boston, Mass.
SOURCE Cengage Learning
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