Why 84% of Students Were Satisfied with This Custom Top Hat Interactive eText
694
Explanatory videos embedded in the eText
579
Interactive questions included in the eText
84%
Positive rating given to Top Hat by students
The Challenge
Noting low preparedness rates partly due to a static print textbook
Mike Christiansen is an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Utah State University. Like many of his colleagues, he has his hands full with teaching responsibilities, delivering lectures and leading labs across General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry. Christiansen takes an empathetic approach to teaching first-, second-, and third-year students who may not have a solid foundation in math. In his eyes, addressing knowledge gaps starts with open discussion. It’s what prompted him to flip his Organic Chemistry classroom in 2012. He recorded lecture videos for students to watch on their own time, reserving class periods for students to complete problem sets in groups. Unfortunately, the print textbook he was using at the time did not contain all of the exact material he wanted to teach in lectures, and its content did not exactly match his lecture videos. “Students complained that there was no interactivity whatsoever,” Christiansen shares.
The print textbook he used also cost $250, an unwanted price tag for his students. A pervasive question stuck in his mind over the years: ‘What if I had a text that was a digital and interactive version of my lecture videos?’ When Christiansen first encountered Top Hat’s custom authoring platform in 2017, he saw potential for interactive, high-quality and affordable learning and began to consider its potential for his classes.
School background
Utah State University is a public institution that was founded in 1888. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 28,063 as of fall 2023. USU boasts more than 240 academic programs ranging from Art History and English to Social Work and Technology Systems. Prospective students may choose to study at one of USU’s 25 statewide campuses.
About the professor
Mike Christiansen is an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Utah State University. He earned his Chemistry B.S. from USU in 2004, received his PhD at BYU in 2010, did postdoctoral work at CSU, and joined USU Uintah Basin in 2011. Christiansen has a passion for teaching that infuses his students with an enthusiasm for Chemistry. “Teaching isn’t just what I do. It’s who I am,” he often says. Christiansen’s research interests center on developing new ways of teaching Chemistry more effectively. These have grown to include flipped learning and embedding student-designed research projects into undergraduate lab courses. He currently has 13 peer-reviewed publications, books, or book chapters in these two areas.
Mike Christiansen Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Utah State University
The Solution
Crafting a highly interactive and always up-to-date Organic Chemistry eText in Top Hat
Christiansen knew that in order to deepen engagement, he had to take a careful look at his existing lecture videos. He immediately saw an equally exciting opportunity to embed these videos into his custom Top Hat text. Starting in 2019, Christiansen embarked on the process of designing his ideal eText in partnership with Top Hat’s Custom Solutions team. The team helped Christiansen and his undergraduate assistants identify interactive elements such as polls, discussions, and multimedia that could be peppered throughout the text. “Together, we designed 228 in-chapter questions and another 351 for the end of each chapter,” he says. He also added roll-over definitions to demystify complex jargon and embedded interactive hyperlinks that would promote further reading. Plus, 115 refreshed in-chapter videos allowed students to familiarize themselves with the material before coming to class.
The selling point for Christiansen was Top Hat’s ease of use and the constant support provided by the Custom Solutions team. “We created the entire textbook in about eight months. I don’t have any coding knowledge and I didn’t have to worry about that with Top Hat. The authoring process was seamless,” he says. Christiansen also has peace of mind that his students are learning from the most up-to-date case studies and advancements in chemistry. “I’m adding a new section in Chapter 7 on substitution and elimination, and students who have purchased the text will automatically get access to this new material. They’ll never have to purchase a second edition,” he explains.
The Results
Using Top Hat custom content led to soaring student satisfaction rates, improved affordability and boosted grades
Introducing Top Hat’s interactive and customizable content to students made a noticeable difference to their success—and Christiansen has the data to prove it. In partnership with three faculty members and one undergraduate researcher, Christiansen compared student evaluation feedback from 2012–2019 (when he used a static print textbook) against the 2019–2022 period (when he began using his custom Top Hat eText). The impact his new text has made on student satisfaction couldn’t be more clear. “I reviewed 1,200 pieces of feedback from students who referenced the Top Hat textbook. 84 percent were positive: students liked the sample questions, the videos throughout and how consistent the text was with lecture content,” he says.
As part of the study, students shared what sets Top Hat apart from other textbook solutions in their own words. “The Top Hat textbook was valuable because of the content you have embedded in it. I especially loved the practice problems with answer videos to prepare for tests. The option to watch lectures instead of reading was great too,” wrote one student.
Students were also thrilled by the difference in price point. Today, the custom Top Hat Interactive eText is available for $50. As an additional benefit, Christiansen has seen a stark improvement in exam performance before and since using his custom eText. “Our preliminary data indicates that students who used Top Hat may have performed statistically better on a year-end national exam, though we are still doing analysis. But the majority of the feedback I have received from students is overwhelmingly positive,” he says.
“I reviewed 1,200 pieces of feedback from students who referenced the Top Hat textbook. 84 percent were positive: students liked the sample questions, the videos throughout and how consistent the text was with lecture content.”
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