When College of Southern Nevada Professor of English, Debra Berry, first heard about Cerego, she immediately knew how she would apply it to her work. While the LMS she was using offered ways to resurface content to her students, she was looking for an adaptive solution that would engage the students in a more effective way than simple re-study or re-reading.
The problem: Creating an adaptive experience for students to help them better engage with and understand the course content, without having to build everything manually
“For me, Cerego solves the problem of making sure students are re-exposed to the course material, and re-assessed at intervals along the way to make sure they’re building an understanding of it,” Berry explains. When she discovered Cerego, it was through a search for a scalable, adaptive solution to this issue.
“I was having trouble coming up with a cognitive science-based system. Yes, I could have just created multiple assessments in my LMS, but then it wouldn't be adaptive—it wouldn’t have solved the problem.”
An integrated solution built to scale
“As an instructor, one of the most valuable components of Cerego for me is the Canvas grade book integration—it’s the most reliable I've seen,” she says. Since Berry’s campus was already using an existing LMS tool, a key for her from the outset was to find something that would easily integrate with Canvas, while also streamlining the assessment process.
Also, it’s easy to see if things are working as they should. “If I want to double-check and verify that it's integrating correctly, it's simple to verify,” she adds.
Going forward, it’s a system that Berry had been using well before the COVID-19 pandemic, and one that she’ll continue to use afterward, particularly for distance learning—the engagement that Cerego fosters via online tools not only makes it ideally suited to handle the present social distancing measures, but also means it will continue to scale Berry’s ability to offer adaptive, personalized learning alongside regular classroom instruction.
In addition to solving the adaptive learning problem for Berry, Cerego also offers a window into her students’ study habits.
“As an instructor, one of the most valuable components of Cerego for me is the Canvas grade book integration—it’s the most reliable I've seen.”
- Debra Berry, Professor of English, College of Southern Nevada
“You learn about your students from their response to Cerego,” she says. “Usually, relatively few of them don't like it, and the issue is invariably either that they just wanted to ‘vomit’ back the content and be done, or that they don't have the time management skills to plan ahead.”
Because of Cerego’s emphasis on mastering the subject matter, not just tests or one-time assessments, students must use the platform over the course of several weeks—something that automatically helps address study habit issues like cramming. And, tellingly, those who most consistently make use of the Cerego platform also enjoy it the most.
“The students who were really engaged like Cerego, and I think it helps some who were sort of on the fence become more engaged.”
Thanks very much to Professor Debra Berry for the interview! You can learn more about College of Southern Nevada via their official website. Photos courtesy of College of Southern Nevada.
