Personalized, Adaptive Quizzing Improves Student Performance, Says Nursing Publisher Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

PHILADELPHIA, May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nursing students who use Lippincott Williams & Wilkins' online adaptive quizzing tool PrepU show a marked improvement in test scores and course performance.  Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. 

Working with an education researcher from UCLA, LWW found that students who use PrepU to support classroom and textbook learning frequently outperform both prior classes that did not have access to the tool, and current classmates who chose not use the tool.  LWW has been closely evaluating the use of PrepU in 16 undergraduate nursing courses involving nearly 700 students since launching the product in 2010.   

PrepU offers students custom online quizzes to support their coursework throughout the semester. The questions vary based on the student's prior performance, and students are directed to specific textbook content for review at the end of each quiz.

"Instructors in a broad range of nursing courses are finding that students who use PrepU have greater mastery of the course content, and tend to get higher results on tests than those who do not," said Julia Phelan, PhD, who directed the research, and works for UCLA's National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing.

At Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina, Assistant Professor of Nursing Debra Benbow noted that students who used PrepU as part of her nursing course averaged 15 to 20 points higher on course exams.

"My students are seeking tools that will help them improve their knowledge and focus their study time," said Ms. Benbow. "PrepU, used with the textbook and course materials, helps students stay on track and focus on the most critical concepts, all in a very personalized way."

Connie Houser, a nursing instructor at Central Carolina Tech College in South Carolina, also saw average test scores jump by 20 points in her Nursing 101 class, compared to prior classes that did not use PrepU.  Every student in the class accessed PrepU to support their work, and the students took between 20 and 30 quizzes throughout the semester. 

"While all students had access, some used it more than others," said Houser.  We noted that on average, students who answered more questions scored higher on the course final exam than classmates who used the tool less.

In her current classes, Ms. Houser is using PrepU for pre-class quizzes, which gives her a window into students' comprehension and enables her to adjust her class teaching time accordingly. 

"While faculty and students have relied on our textbooks for years, PrepU is helping faculty provide an even better learning environment," said Susan Driscoll, President of Wolters Kluwer Health Professional & Education unit, which includes LWW.  "Nursing students walk away with greater knowledge and more confidence in their skills, which is always the goal of an education publisher."

About PrepU
Built by educators, PrepU is a powerful quizzing engine that bridges the gap between what students know and what they don't know. PrepU's personalized, adaptive quizzes move students toward a better grasp of material—and better grades. Instructors can compare their class's individual and overall scores to those of classes that are using Prep-U for the same course across the country. PrepU is part of Macmillan New Ventures, a division of Macmillan, a leading global publisher in education. LWW is offering PrepU as a support tool for 27 leading nursing textbooks and e-books for the fall 2012 semester.  For more information, go to thepoint.lww.com/prepu.

About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher of trusted content delivered in innovative ways to practitioners, professionals and students to learn new skills, stay current on their practice, and make important decisions to improve patient care and clinical outcomes.

LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company with 2011 annual revenues of euro 3.4 billion ($4.7 billion).

SOURCE Wolters Kluwer Health