Special Webinar for MDR Customers
October 3, 2007
Supplemental Materials--The Inside Track

Question and Answer Session Recap

Questions About the Survey

Q: What states were surveyed?
The top 20 states based upon enrollment, which included:
Northeast – MA, MD, NJ, NY, PA
Southeast – FL, GA, LA, NC, VA
Midwest – IL, IN, MI, MO, OH, WI
West – CA, CO, TX, WA

Q: Is the spending on books alone or on multimedia materials as well?
All media including multimedia.

Q: Any data on vocational classrooms?
No, the study focused on core curriculum.

Q: Were high schools surveyed?
No, this was just on the K-8 market. We would be pleased to conduct a similar study for
the 9-12 market if companies were interested in sponsoring the study.

Q: Did you get any data on how the online orders are paid for--personal credit card,
p-card, purchase order?
No, we did not ask that question in this survey.

Q: There was information in the presentation about how frequently Web sites are visited. Did you gather information on where decision makers are finding out about the Web sites that they are visiting (i.e., where they are learning about new products)?
We did ask how they learned about new products. The top four sources are conferences, word of mouth, Web sites, and direct mail.

Q: Products ordered online, slide 63: Software category includes online products, right?
Correct

Q: Did any participants mention favorite publishers?
No, they didn't list any specific publishers.

Q: Did you ask which conferences or conventions were most influential in exposure to new supplements?
No, we didn't ask about specific conferences since it would be heavily influenced by the curriculum specialty of the participant. For instance, a science curriculum director is most likely going to mention NSTA, while a reading coordinator would mention IRA.

Q: Any plan from MDR to bring this survey to high schools?
See previous question about high schools.

Q: What was the price range used in the study for supplemental materials?
We did not put any limitation on the price range of materials. We used the broad general definition.

Q: In your surveys, are workbooks considered consumables (as opposed to textbooks, which have a multiyear life cycle)?
A workbook is considered consumable if it is designed to be used and written in by the individual student; then its life cycle is finished. Of course, some educators buy workbooks but use them every year and don’t let their students write in them or photocopy pages.

Q: I know there was a slide about spending, but did the survey touch on where funding is coming from for the supplemental purchases?
We did not talk about the source of funding. Usually it is from the regular school operating budget or any of the other sources of funding for instructional materials (federal, state, or local funding; special grants; PTA; teacher’s own spending).

Q: Did the survey sample focus exclusively on core curriculum subjects, or were other disciplines included, such as health and guidance?
When the question was specific to a curriculum, the areas were math, science, reading, language arts, and social studies.

Q: When do educators place their online orders--time of year, from home or at school?
We did not ask these specific questions about their online ordering habits.

Q: Thought for future surveys: How can we differentiate between what
formats--whether podcasts, ipods--are used by or with students or for the teacher to support how she teaches/information to support lessons?
Thank you. Good questions for the future.

Q: Another future question: What qualifies for, meets their expectations of scientifically-based research?  White paper (secondary research), case studies, gold-standard studies?
We discussed this in the Q&A session. We have found that usually white papers and case studies are adequate. They may be more stringent about requirements if they are using federal funds to pay for materials; we have not found high demands for gold-standard research for supplemental materials.

Q: Has a similar study been conducted for the College and University levels?
No

Definitions

Q: What is the meaning of Lead Teacher?
The Lead Teacher is a teacher, usually in elementary schools, designated as the "lead" for his or her area of expertise/curriculum or by grade level.

Q: Can you give an example of a manipulative?
Manipulatives are usually three-dimensional objects that students can manipulate and use to learn a concept, usually used in math or science. According to Wikipedia, "examples of commercial manipulatives include Tangrams; Cuisenaire rods; interlocking cubes; base ten blocks; pattern blocks; colored chips; links; fraction strips; circles, blocks, or stacks; and geoboards. Examples of teacher-made manipulatives used in teaching place value [in math] are beans and bean sticks or bundles of ten popsicle sticks and single popsicle sticks."

Q: What is a big book?
A big book is just that--an oversized (approximately 2' x 3') version of a book, usually used in early elementary schools. The teacher uses the big book in front of the classroom for group reading sessions.

Market Trends and Insight

Q: Any knowledge of whether the vendor lists are specific to approved company or approved product?
Can be both but usually starts with approved company.

Q: What are you seeing in the marketplace regarding early childhood education--trends toward more curriculum-based programs for Pre-K?
Yes, there appears to be more interest in using materials that focus on learning in Pre-K.

Q: We have many small, single-school districts with student populations of less than 800. How applicable are your results/findings to these kinds of smaller, rural districts?
I'm assuming that most of the findings would be similar, but we can't guarantee it since our study was done in districts with more than 2,500 students.

Q: Basal publishers have increasingly developed their own supplemental materials they bundle with their textbook adoptions. Any information on what percentage of supplemental purchases come from textbook publishers as opposed to dedicated supplemental publishers?
No, we don't have that information.

Q: Are you finding districts are looking for packaging of those materials, not in your standard form of cardboard book displays but other ways of developing classroom kits?  Along those lines, are they looking for inventory control ability?
We didn't address this question so can't answer it specifically. We have found that educators seem to like classroom kits and materials that are easy to store and keep together if there are many parts. We can't speak to the inventory control question but assume that if it makes the educator's life easier and saves time, that it would be of interest.

Q: Can you speak to the timing and quantity of emails and catalogs on the last slide?
We didn't ask about timing or quantity--their comments were in response to a general question about what could publishers do better. The comments were that some felt publishers were mailing too many catalogs too often and needed to manage their lists better (mailing to the same person or mailing to people who had been gone for years), and they felt it was important for companies to manage their databases better.

Q: Are schools more likely to purchase materials with special pricing or discounts?
Special offers that include discounts or special pricing are often very helpful in terms of creating a sense of urgency and getting the educator to place the order. Overcoming inertia is one of the biggest hurdles in selling to the K-12 market.

Q: How frequently are supplemental materials included with the textbook series? Are core curriculum publishers addressing the need for supplemental?
Yes, basal textbook providers are including and adding more supplemental materials to their textbook offerings.

Q: Who provides the supplemental materials?
There are hundreds of supplemental materials' publishers and providers.

Q: What would you say the best approach to a district would be in regard to discussing supplemental materials if they are textbook heavy and leery of supplemental items?
I would engage in a conversation with the curriculum director to find out what textbook they are using, and I would want to learn what additional materials they use to work with students who may be either ahead or behind the textbook. Most educators are using some type of supplemental materials in their classrooms.

Q: What effect, if any, does NCLB have regarding supplementals?
It appears to us that it has made educators focus on whether a program is proven or not. They seem to ask more questions about efficacy and to request more information about who has used it, where has a program been used, and what were the results.

Q: Online live tutoring is increasing across the country and the world. How can we find out if and how educators are using this type of technology in their schools?
We would be glad to talk with this person about conducting market research to learn about online tutoring!

Q: Could manipulatives be considered items that can be manipulated on an interactive whiteboard or on a computer screen?
I don't think this would fall in the usual definition of manipulatives. See previous definition for manipulatives.

Q: How does the funding break down within supplemental purchasing? Is it typically separated out between print versus technology, for example? Or does it come out of a single pool of funding?
In most states, the breakout is funding that is targeted specifically for textbooks and then the rest is targeted for instructional materials. In some states, the definition of what qualifies as a textbook has been expanded quite a bit. And some funding programs are targeted for technology only.

Q: The districts that require formal vendor approval, do they have a profile? Big city school districts, etc.?
Many major metropolitan school districts require it, and in some instances, it is more by state. In our study, the majority of the participants who said you had to be on an approved vendor list were in California, Texas, and Florida.

Q: Can I get the contact information for speakers so that I can speak directly to them?
Here's the contact information for the speakers: