Introducing WebAssign for Chemistry – The Cengage Blog

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Are you looking for ways to improve your chemistry students’ online learning experience? We think it’s a great time to let you know that six new and revised chemistry titles are coming to WebAssign, our online learning platform used by over a million students each year in STEM courses. WebAssign provides students with comprehensive online learning tools and assessments alongside eBook and study resources. In addition to proven Cengage content, chemistry students and instructors can now take advantage of all the great features available in WebAssign, such as the LockDown browser, enhanced Mastery capabilities, and Class Insights, along with unique content and features built just for chemistry.

In preparation for launching WebAssign in chemistry, we consulted with dozens of faculty members about their students’ needs and how WebAssign can help. Here’s what we learned.

Helping students understand core concepts

We heard from many instructors whose students try to memorize their way through chemistry courses without developing a full understanding of chemical concepts. WebAssign for chemistry invites students to actively engage with core concepts. Resources include:

• Chemistry Concept Videos offer animated, engaging introductions to key topics.
• Digital Workbooks combine textbook narrative with interactive elements and assessments.
• Mastery activities help students develop conceptual understanding; students are given a set of questions and must answer a set number correctly to receive full credit.

 

Developing problem-solving skills

We know providing students with the right tools makes all the difference when it comes to helping them learn to solve chemistry problems. Chemistry students often do well on homework, but face difficulties on higher-stakes assessments, like exams. WebAssign provides students with tools they can utilize to work through chemistry problems they might regularly encounter in class, on exams and in future coursework.  Students can develop their problem-solving skills with:

 

• Algorithmically generated questions promote academic honesty and offer students the opportunity to practice different versions of the same problem.
• Master It tutorials offer step-by-step guidance in reasoning through selected problems.
• College success modules and Readiness Bootcamps, included for free with WebAssign, help students develop the math and study skills needed to succeed in chemistry.

 

“I liked the multi-part questions because they get students to work through multiple steps and have to think about each step. Visualization are great for conceptual question or things that need a demo, like preparing a solution.” –Angela Perkins, University of Minnesota

 

Learning from mistakes

Your students have a lot on their plates. Between studying and juggling course work, taking advantage of office hours doesn’t always make it onto their schedules. WebAssign is designed to provide students the help they need, whenever and wherever they need it. When students struggle on assignments, WebAssign provides the targeted support they need to get back on track. WebAssign provides students with:

• Targeted feedback and detailed solutions. As the instructor, you have the flexibility to decide when and if students see these help resources.
• Watch It videos offer guided walkthroughs of the reasoning behind and solutions to selected problems.
• eBook access: Nearly every textbook question links to the eBook, encouraging students to review material when they get stuck.

 

“Oftentimes students like to watch the instructor solve a problem, thinking along the way that they ‘totally got it.’ They don’t know that they don’t know and this is where a robust homework system fills in the gaps.” –Anne Vonderheide, University of Cincinnati

 

Chemistry titles available in WebAssign

Are you ready to take advantage of all WebAssign has to offer for Cengage chemistry? Explore our offerings below:

Currently available in WebAssign:

Coming soon:

• Ebbing, General Chemistry, 12e
• Brown and Holme, Chemistry for Engineering Students, 5e
• Zumdahl, Introductory Chemistry: A Foundation, 10e
• Stoker, General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry, 8e

 

With additional titles coming soon, we encourage you to learn more about chemistry in WebAssign and all the ways your students can benefit.