Returning to the Hawkes Nest: A Guest Blog by Hunter Chandler

Hawkes Learning has almost 40 years of experience in educational courseware; in fact, Hawkes Learning forged the first educational courseware that used precursor models of artificial intelligence joined with research-based pedagogical approaches in mastery-based learning. In Hawkes Learning, you get trustworthiness from years of experience, unparalleled care from customer support, and exceptional courseware that considers the student before the dollar. My time with Hawkes spans only 10 years of their student-centered history, but my experience is unique with them. I experienced Hawkes Learning as a tutor, adjunct faculty, and full-time tenure track faculty. For many years, I was a part of the Hawkes family, but I had to leave in 2021 when I joined a new college.

For the last 3 years, I used other educational platforms, and I want to tell you why I have finally returned to the Hawkes Nest.

               I’ll never forget my first experience with Hawkes Learning. I was a freshman at Morehead State University in Morehead, KY studying mathematics, and I began tutoring students who used Hawkes in College Algebra and Precalculus. I was amazed at the modernized look of the system even back in 2014. As a tutor, I was able to assist students through Learn and Practice. With Practice, there were so many questions that I could work with a student on before they went to Certify. I also worked with faculty who used an emporium-style classroom with Hawkes; the instructor helped students, I helped students, and students helped students! The flexibility of Hawkes Learning provides autonomy to an instructor’s dream of their perfect classroom. The courseware never held you back on the possibilities of elevating the student success in your courses. When I transitioned from tutor to adjunct faculty, I was certainly worried that there were a lot of complicated processes behind the scenes that my instructors weren’t showing.

               Well… I was wrong. As an adjunct, I found the Hawkes Learning Teach accounts to be easily navigable and also offered insightful reports on student progress.

               These reports were essential to reporting student progress in our Early Alert System. Coordinator/Administrator templates made for an easy start where I was able to focus on course design, activities, and more! Each semester, Hawkes Learning hosted a Getting Starting Session for all faculty using Hawkes on campus. Additionally, if I had a question while working late into the night (which was/is common), Hawkes Learning was there. The 24/7 chat was available for both students and me. My last time using Hawkes was Spring 2020, and I believe we can all remember what happened in March. Since Hawkes already has dedicated Learn and Practice modules, the quick transition to online did not seem as abrupt as some of my other colleagues who did not use Hawkes. Now, I hope we never experience another pandemic, but there are other personal challenges that can cause us to shift our classrooms. Consistency is important during these times, and Hawkes provides exactly that with Learn, Practice, and Certify. When interviewing for my current role, one of my first questions was, “Do you all use Hawkes Learning as your educational courseware?” The answer was an unfortunate “no,” and I started in January 2021 with brand new, never-seen-before, courseware which was a huge challenge to get acclimated to platforms very different from Hawkes in my first year.  

               I have been with my current college for three years, and I have now been promoted to Assistant Professor from Instructor. After talking several times with the Educational Courseware Representative for my region at conferences over the years, it was finally time to return to Hawkes Learning! Also, shoutout to Debra for being the most supportive and energetic rep out there; a great part about Hawkes Learning is that every person who works there believes in the company’s mission and puts student success first. For Spring 2024, my college is piloting Hawkes Learning, and a colleague and I are the pilot instructors for College Algebra. Although I am “piloting,” it is clear I have a long history with Hawkes Learning, and I plan to use Hawkes Learning for my mathematics courses from now on. So, why did I return? I certainly got comfortable with the other platforms; my students were doing fine; my division continued to use them; Why return to Hawkes? 

               My teaching philosophy considers failures and mistakes a part of the learning process, but I felt that I was not creating an environment where students could recover and learn from failure without Hawkes. With the mastery-based learning approach, students may not pass their first or second attempt at Certify, and that is okay because the system will adapt to them. When students do not pass Certify, they are redirected to Practice where problems are adapted to their most immediate needs from the Certify. Students are spending more time on topics they have not mastered and gaining confidence in preparation for their next Certify attempt, Quiz, or WebTest. Parenthetically, there are curricular advantages that really impact student learning and understanding of more rigorous mathematical concepts.

               I have noticed that the chapters in College Algebra by Paul Sisson appropriately develop a student’s mathematical maturity. Recently, I have been covering Functions and Relations which includes the difference quotient. In the past, the difference quotient was a common challenge for my College Algebra students because the algebraic manipulation and skillset was not well defined early enough for them to attempt some of these problems. With Hawkes this semester, my students seem to take on challenging mathematics with a higher level of confidence. This is a great development in student learning because I can create projects, problems, or activities that require deeper critical thinking and algebraic skills that would have previously taken up too much cognitive load for the students. These curricular advantages are continuously unfolding as the semester progresses.

               I was tired of getting the chatbots, the hour-on-hold phone calls, or the email exchanges that don’t help immediate issues. With the 24/7 chat feature, 3 rings or fewer phone calls, and the customer support team, you are in the best hands to get your semester started. I cannot wait to work with the Customer Love team which will help me design my course to better fit the needs of my classes. For Spring 2024, my pilot colleague and I were guided every step of the way to set-up. The ease of setting up your courses is excellent for any faculty member, whether part-time or full-time. Since the last time I used Hawkes, there have been many changes that highlight Hawkes’ ability to adapt to evolving student and instructor needs.

               Finally, with my return to Hawkes Learning this Spring 2024 semester, how’s it going? My students are engaged in the content, working productively through the Certifys, and developing mathematical skills faster than anticipated. I can change the format of my class from mini-lectures and worksheets to projects to an emporium-style workday in Hawkes. Sure, students still get frustrated when they don’t pass a Certify, but they aren’t getting stuck as much. Features like Tutor, Explain Error, and Solution assist students in a variety of ways that meet them where they are. Misconceptions in mathematics lead to common errors, and Hawkes Learning can guide a student out of those misconceptions and into mastery of the content. I am so happy I have returned to the Hawkes Nest, and I look forward to exploring the variety of ways my teaching will evolve while using Hawkes Learning.

About the Writer

Hunter Chandler is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Bluegrass Community & Technical College. Chandler is a Ph.D. student at the University of Kentucky in STEM Education, and he holds master’s degrees in Mathematics from Central Methodist University and Adult & Higher Education from Morehead State University. He has been teaching mathematics since 2017 and has many years of experience using Hawkes Learning. His research interests include undergraduate and technical mathematics education using project-based learning and other active learning techniques for college and adult learners.