Course: General Psychology
Quick Stats:
- Since adopting Hawkes’ Introduction to Psychology, pass rates for General Psychology now average 96% per semester, which reflects a 29.73% improvement from the previous format and materials.
- The campus test anxiety clinic saw the rate of students seeking help for anxiety over psychology courses drop from 18% to 6%, an almost 67% decrease.
“Hawkes is a learning system, not just a textbook or software. Students are immersed in their learning from the moment they start to the very end of the course. The system has so many intuitive elements that even students who are not very computer literate find working in it easy and fulfilling.”
Professor Mark Johnston teaches General Psychology with Hawkes Learning’s Introduction to Psychology materials at Neosho County Community College. When initially considering adopting Hawkes’ materials, Professor Johnston described specific challenges the psychology department hoped to improve.
The first of these was the students’ pass rates when taking General Psychology. Before implementing Hawkes’ materials, Professor Johnston reported that his course’s average pass rate was at 74%, averaging a high “C.” The biggest concern was that students taking the course were not psychology majors, which often led to struggling to master the concepts and terminology associated with the field.
To improve his own course pass rates as well as the others, the department decided to find out the “why” behind students’ performance, hoping to identify common factors that may be causing students to retake the course. They discovered that a significant factor affecting students’ pass rates was the anxiety associated with class assessments. Students expressed feeling overwhelmed due to their unfamiliarity with the material and lack of prior exposure to psychology in high school. This combination of factors intensified the pressure they felt when trying to succeed in the course.
Upon expanding their investigation to also include students who passed the course, Professor Johnston reports that anxiety related to assessments and course material was common, even among those who performed well. As the coordinator of a campus test anxiety clinic, Johnston observed that prior to implementing Hawkes, 18% of clinic visitors specifically reported anxiety about psychology courses, with General Psychology being the most frequently mentioned. This highlighted a broader challenge: to boost pass rates, it was crucial to enhance the overall learning experience and students’ perception of the course.
"Hawkes is a learning system, not just a textbook or software. Students are immersed in their learning from the moment they start to the very end of the course. The system has so many intuitive elements that even students who are not very computer literate find working in it easy and fulfilling.”
-Professor Mark Johnston
Professor Johnston has since investigated the stress levels of all students taking the course since now only a small minority need to retake the class. Evaluations have indicated that stress associated with the course and assessments is now quite low. Additionally, many students who had early reservations about taking General Psychology reported that by the end of the semester, it was one of their most liked classes! Students attributed this positive shift in sentiment largely to the mastery-based approach which helped alleviate their initial anxieties and encouraged them to persist through challenges.
This improvement is also reflected in the campus test anxiety clinic’s data. Now, less than 6% of the students seeking help report anxiety specifically related to psychology classes; that’s 2/3 of the original number of cases since implementing Hawkes. The vast majority of visitors to the clinic now come for generalized test anxiety rather than concerns tied specifically to psychology courses.
Overall, since moving to Hawkes, the department has found that students’ reports of stress related to psychology classes are almost non-existent. Student feedback at the end of the course often cites mastery-based learning as both fun and freeing. Additionally, many students, even those not majoring in psychology, report that the course is one of their favorites compared to all their other classes. The department ensures thorough course reviews at the end of each semester and as a result, General Psychology now ranks as one of the top classes for learning and student satisfaction at Neosho County Community College!
“The students also report great satisfaction with the support they receive from the Hawkes team. This is especially helpful early in the semester, as students are just starting. With Hawkes Learning’s 24-hour support, they can get answers in minutes even if they’re doing their work at 2:00 AM.”
Webinar: Reducing Stress & Anxiety in the Classroom
As part of our Mental Health Webinar Series in May 2024, Professor Johnston addressed the critical issue of mental health in education with an emphasis on post-pandemic challenges. His insightful presentation explored methods for identifying stress and anxiety in students, and more importantly, strategies for designing coursework to alleviate these pressures.
Watch the recording to gain valuable insights from Johnston’s firsthand experience in reducing classroom stress and anxiety, supporting students’ mental well-being, and empowering them to succeed academically.