The first few weeks of a term set the tone for everything that follows. It’s the window where students either build momentum toward mastery or quietly start to fall behind.
The good news? A few deliberate steps at the start can make a measurable difference.
The tips below come from the Hawkes Customer Success team and from Hawkes Faculty Consultants who teach with the platform every day, including Dr. Hillary VanSpronsen of Maine Maritime Academy, who has used Hawkes in Precalculus and Calculus for nearly 10 years, and Professor Brandon Ford of Navarro College, a long-time advocate of mastery-based learning.
1. Make the Student Training Tutorials & Quizzes Your First Assignment
Before students dive into their first lesson, give them a quick tour. Two short Assignable Tutorials & Quizzes cover everything they need to get started:
- Tutorial 1: Course navigation and key features
- Tutorial 2: Practice WebTests, including how to prepare for their first assessment and get more out of Hawkes
Each tutorial includes quiz questions, so students engage with the content instead of just clicking through it. By making these your first assignments, you can spend less class time explaining how the platform works, and experience fewer roadblocks (and support tickets) once graded work begins.
Ready to add them? Contact your Customer Success Specialist or email instructorsupport@hawkeslearning.com to add the Assignable Student Tutorials & Quizzes directly to your course.
2. Explain Learn, Practice, Certify on Day One
Mastery-based learning may be new to your students, and explaining how the mastery approach works can help them understand how they’ll be graded going into the semester. Take a few minutes on the first day of class to set expectations before the first assignment is due.
Hawkes is built around a three-step path to mastery: Learn → Practice → Certify. Students who skip ahead to Certify without working through the instruction first tend to struggle more and need more attempts. Take five minutes to walk through each stage.
|
Stage |
What Students Do |
|---|---|
|
|
Work through multimedia lesson content: concept builders, animations, instructional videos, and interactive skill checks. |
|
|
Solve algorithmically generated problems with step-by-step tutorials and error-specific feedback. AI Tutor is available in Practice, and students may choose to use it. Every attempt is different, so more practice builds skill, not memorization. |
|
|
Demonstrate mastery without tutoring aids. Students can miss a few questions but must answer enough correctly to reach the mastery level. If they miss too many, they return to Practice to review, then retake Certify with new questions, penalty free, before the due date. |
Learn 
A Tip on Explaining Mastery from Professor Ford
Professor Brandon Ford of Navarro College uses a memorable analogy with his students: Certify is like Super Mario Brothers. You get unlimited continues, but only a set number of lives per attempt.
“Make sure you know what you are doing before jumping into Certify to reduce frustration. Can you go into Certify without Practice and Learn? Sure, but you are risking getting frustrated quickly.”
Want language you can share directly with students?
3. Bring Practice Mode Into Your Classroom
One of the simplest ways to build student confidence is to pull up Practice Mode during class. Whether you teach in person, online, or hybrid, working through Practice problems together shows students how concepts apply in the same environment they’ll use for homework and assessments.
Unlike a static textbook example, AI Tutor appears automatically in Practice, so you can model how students choose to use it as a learning aid when they want support.
Instructors use Practice Mode in class to:
-
Model problem-solving strategies for a newly introduced concept
-
Show students how to interpret feedback and use learning resources
-
Introduce AI Tutor as a learning aid, not a shortcut
-
Review questions students frequently miss
-
Demonstrate answer-entry techniques that help students approach Certify with confidence
It also sends an important message: struggling with a problem is a normal part of learning. Students who get comfortable with Practice Mode and AI Tutor early are more likely to use them on their own, which leads to stronger preparation for Certify and better mastery overall.
4. Set Answer-Entry Expectations Early
Small details like rounding, formatting, and math symbols can be the difference between a right and wrong answer. Early in the term, let students know that success in Hawkes depends on following answer-entry instructions carefully. Practice Mode is the ideal place to build that habit, since students get feedback without penalty.
Share this guide with your students to help them enter mathematical expressions correctly and efficiently: Student Answer Entry Best Practices Guide
Students can also open the Keyboard Shortcut Guide right inside Practice and Certify.
Clear expectations up front mean less frustration and assessment results that reflect what students actually know, not formatting slip-ups.
5. Build a Hawkes Support Hub in Your LMS
Students are much more likely to use help when they know exactly where to find it. Create a dedicated Hawkes Learning Support area in your LMS course and include:
- Student Training Webinars: Share the Student Training Webinars link and encourage students to attend.
- Student Training Video: Link the Student Training Video, and consider playing it on the first day of class.
- Hawkes Customer Support: Link to Create a Ticket and 24/7 Live Chat.
- Support phone number: Encourage students to save 843-571-2825 (Monday–Friday, 8:00 A.M.–9:00 P.M. ET) in their phones.
- Answer entry help: Link the Student Answer Entry Best Practices Guide.
- Student access directions: Post them along with the Getting Started Videos on creating an account and navigating the dashboard, then talk through them with your class during the first week.
6. Use Reporting Data to Act Early
Hawkes reporting gives you a clear view of both student performance and activity, so you can spot learning gaps, offer timely support, and make informed instructional decisions.
🔗 How to Navigate Assignment Reviewer in Hawkes: Video | PDF
Pinpoint where students struggle
Review the exact questions assigned in homework and WebTests, and filter for incorrect responses to see which concepts need more attention. You can also create practice tests to uncover problem areas before they affect grades, then target your review sessions ahead of exams.
See how students spend their time
Track time spent in Learn, Practice, Certify, and AI Tutor, down to the lesson and question level. This context helps you identify students who aren’t using available resources, or who may need guidance on studying more effectively.
Reach out with Message Assistant
Message Assistant helps you send personalized messages based on each student’s performance and activity. Remind a student about outstanding assignments, point them to learning resources after an unsuccessful Certify attempt, or check in before an exam, all while saving time.
A Tip on Time Savings & Being Proactive
Dr. VanSpronsen uses Hawkes’ automatic reminders to stay ahead of late work. She schedules a reminder 24 hours before each assignment is due, and another when an assignment is more than five days overdue, making it easy to spot students who may need outreach.
She also recommends completing assignments in Student Mode at least once; it’s a quick way to see the student experience firsthand and pick up tips to share with your class.
Most importantly, reporting works as an early-warning system. Checking reports during the first few weeks helps you identify at-risk students before they disengage, and early, data-informed outreach is one of the most effective ways to boost confidence, engagement, and success.
7. Run a Diagnostic to Personalize the Start
🔗 How to Create and Manage Diagnostic Tests in Hawkes: Video | PDF
Every student walks in with a different level of prior knowledge. A diagnostic at the start of the term shows you what students already know and where they need support, before the first exam reveals it the hard way.
Hawkes makes this simple. Use a pre-built diagnostic or create your own to align with your course objectives. Students can then focus on the concepts they still need to master instead of reviewing material they already know, and you get actionable data to guide instruction from day one.
The Data Behind the Approach
These tips aren’t just good pedagogy in theory. Institutions that have structured their courses around Hawkes Learning have reported measurable results:
- Greenville Technical College saw average student success increase from 50% to 71% after redesigning courses with Hawkes Learning.
- At Dallas College Richland Campus, 33% of students using Hawkes finished with an A and course withdrawals dropped by 62% in a single semester.
- Genesee Community College reported that 63% of introductory algebra students scored 80–100% on the final exam, up from 34% before implementing Hawkes.
- The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Sheboygan Campus reported developmental math success increases of as much as 27% after its course redesign.
The common thread isn’t a single tactic. It’s instructors who set clear expectations, introduce the platform intentionally, and use their data to act early.
Getting Started
Ready to set your students up for success this term? Contact your Hawkes Learning Customer Success Specialist to add the Assignable Student Tutorials & Quizzes to your course. It takes one quick request, and the payoff lasts all term.
Your Customer Success Specialist can also help you configure assignments, review diagnostic options, and ensure your course is set up and ready to go for the term!
Recent posts