Codon translates the most impactful, evidence-based learning practices in a single courseware platform.
The Study Path helps less-prepared students catch up
with their peers.
In a recent study of introductory biology students, less-prepared students had just over a 50% chance of earning passing exam scores when they used the Study Path infrequently (Figure 1, left side). When students used the Study Path regularly, gaps in passing rates were greatly reduced between students with different levels of preparation (Figure 1, right side).
Figure 1: Students were binned into four quartiles of prior preparation based on their Week 1 pre-test scores. The chart shows the results of a logistic regression model testing whether high versus low Study Path use predicted passing exam scores, controlling for initial preparation level.
The analysis includes data across three semesters in a first-year Molecular Biology and Genetics course (IRB-approved). See full study here: Hazlett, Z. S., Jimenez, P. C., & Knight, J. K. (2025). Self-Testing and Follow-Through of Learning Strategies Supports Student Success. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 24(1), ar16.
The Study Path improves course grades for all students.
Data from the same study reveal that high Study Path use leads to improved learning outcomes for all students, regardless of prior preparation (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Across all four pre-test score quartiles, students with high Study Path use earned higher grades than their peers with low Study Path use. Using the same dataset as above, we disaggregated student data by letter grade rather than a pass/no pass binary.
Evidence behind the Codon student framework
The Codon Learning student platform was designed from scratch using evidence from the learning sciences to promote metacognition, self-testing, and spaced learning.
Self-testing and spaced learning have been shown to:
significantly boost student performance (Roedinger & Pyc 2012; Dunlosky et al. 2013).
Decades of research have shown that learners with self-regulated learning skills are more likely to succeed in STEM courses. These skills:
support early academic success and long-term persistence in STEM (Sebesta and Speth, 2017; Rodriguez, et al., 2018),
strengthen students’ ability to transfer their learning to new settings and events (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Barak, et al., 2016), and
improve student performance, especially for students who are struggling (Zhao, et al., 2014).
