(15 Jan 2020) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:JWa) (NYSE:JWb), a global leader in research and education, today announced the launch of Knewton Alta Calculus, a fully-digital, mastery-based adaptive learning product. Built on Knewton Alta – an affordable, integrated, personalized learning platform – the new courseware is designed to deliver a tailored learning experience to improve students’ comprehension and performance. This is the first new course offering since Wiley acquired Knewton in May 2019.
At least one semester of calculus is required for almost all science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers, yet it is one of the most difficult foundational courses. More than one quarter of students do not receive a passing grade, according to the Mathematical Association of America, and often pivot to other majors after difficulty with the subject.
Developed to address these barriers, Knewton Alta Calculus provides an interactive experience tailored to each student’s learning process, skill-level and syllabus requirements. It also offers teachers the flexibility to adapt the courseware based on their preferences and class needs.
“Wiley is committed to providing students with the tools needed to succeed in the high-demand, high-growth fields that are driving our world forward,” said Matt Leavy, Executive Vice President of Education Publishing for Wiley. “The new Knewton Alta Calculus course empowers instructors and their students to troubleshoot common hurdles and build a knowledge base in calculus that’s essential to pursuing a lifelong career in STEM – and does it at an affordable price.”
While all students using Knewton Alta Calculus start on the same assigned topic, each path to mastery is unique. With more than 100,000 assessments with instructional and hands-on content, the courseware pinpoints any skills gaps and intervenes with instructional support and prerequisite materials in-line, at the moment the student needs them. This ensures students are mastering the foundational skills before proceeding to more complex topics.
Knewton Alta Calculus also provides teachers line of sight into their students’ overall performance with a dashboard to assess in real-time where students are excelling or struggling, and adapt their lectures and syllabus accordingly.
In 2019, Wiley acquired Knewton and its courseware solution to expand its offering in adaptive learning technology and affordable courseware. “The goal of the acquisition was to provide more highly-personalized learning experiences that drive superior outcomes, and Knewton Alta Calculus delivers,” added Leavy. “This product is a new high water mark in the implementation of the Knewton Alta technology. It is right on target with what the market is demanding to help students bridge from classroom to career.”
The press release is here.
