Quick Guide: Class Testing

At Cognella we have a unique three-tiered approach to content development for our textbooks:

1. Authors have personalized consultations with our in-house developmental editor;
2. Authors receive feedback on their work through our peer review process; and
3. Authors have the opportunity to class test an early, un-marketed version of the book in their own courses to gather valuable student feedback.

This guide will focus on the third tier, successfully collecting reactions and feedback from your students.

To increase the chances of receiving robust feedback on your preliminary edition, it helps to ensure that students understand the importance of the book to your class.

We have found that it helps tremendously when students understand that their professor has assigned the text as a vital learning tool on which they will be basing assignments and some level of grading. Students generally feel good about purchasing the learning materials if they are aware that their success in the course is tied to the text.

We have also learned that it helps students to feel engaged with the book if an instructor highlights early on in the term that they will be soliciting students’ input on the preliminary edition’s structure and pedagogical features, as well as on the accessibility of the content it includes.

Indicating that the book is required course material can signal its importance to your students, as well as letting students know that you created the book specifically for them. When they perceive how highly you value their educational experience, they are more likely to because equally invested in their participation.