With origins in the machine age and a feel most suited to the 19th century factory model, linear instruction is outdated and no longer meets the needs of today’s educational systems. Learning is not one size fits all, and instruction should not be either. What schools need today is a dynamic, non-linear approach to learning – one that is data-driven and tailored to the unique needs of each individual student.
While personalized learning on a superficial level has been taking place in classrooms for decades, today’s technology now makes it possible for educators to personalize at scale. Adaptive learning does just that, offering different content to learners based on interactive assessment of where they are in their understanding of the content. Some programs adapt based on assessment at the end of a unit, whereas others monitor student responses as they move through the subject material.
Adaptive learning has been attracting growing attention in recent months for a number of reasons, including a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation initiative, new partnerships, and a rising number of vendors. In this post, I’ll take a look at the benefits of adaptive learning and several of the technologies available.
First, let’s drill into some of the benefits of adaptive learning from both a student and instructor perspective.
Engages students – In today’s digital age, technology has become commonplace in the lives of students. As a result, students are increasingly engaged when afforded the opportunity to spend part of their class time interacting with the subject content via adaptive learning programs on the computer.
Allows students to progress at different speeds – It’s no mystery that students learn at very different and variable paces. The real-time visibility provided by adaptive learning enables students to progress at their own rate, and ultimately achieve subject mastery, the best possible academic outcome.
Adapts to different abilities – Not all students shine in the same subject areas. Someone who is very strong at math may struggle with English. Adaptive learning technology recognizes this and can immediately alter instruction accordingly based on what the student is mastering or struggling with. It provides supplemental teaching content only when needed.
Individualized attention – With today’s wide-ranging class sizes, adaptive learning technology enables teachers to address students’ needs in a one-on-one or small group setting while other students are using the computer-based instruction. Even with large class sizes, where it can be challenging to address the needs of each student, the technology enables teachers to provide personalized attention.
So what does adaptive learning technology look like? In the table below, I’ve highlighted eight different technologies that meet different institutional needs.
Product
Overview
Features
Adapt Courseware
Measures students’ mastery progress relative to a defined set of learning objectives
Adaptive Stack – ordered stack of learning interactivities that optimizes the challenge level for each student
Mastery Meter – demonstrates the degree to which students achieve higher performance levels
Performance Dashboards – enable instructors to view performance at class or individual level
Cerego
Memory management platform that creates a more efficient learning process
Tracks individuals’ memory strengths on an item-by-item basis
Creates personalized learning pathways based on individual profiles, memory maps and time to demonstrate mastery
Allows for third party and user generated content
CogBooks
Creates a default path for student learning. Struggling students receive an optimized path
Enables dynamic adjustment of learning sequence and experience for individual students
Open platform
Allows instructors to create and edit content, and view reports to identify potential issues
Jones & Bartlett Learning
Creates a completely personal learning pathway through several domain sets
Domains include: Hierarchical Domain, Learning Profile Domain, Data Domain, Goal Domain and Adaptation Domain
Instructors have access to a host of reporting functions and dashboards
LearnSmart by McGraw-Hill
Interactive study tool that adaptively assesses student skills and knowledge level
Accounts for memory degradation
Instructor reports available to faculty using McGraw-Hill Connect
Knewton
Infrastructure platform allows others to build proficiency-based adaptive learning applications
Partners create adaptive experiences for any type of content and subject matter
Analyzes which lessons resonate best, for whom, and why
Open Learning Initiative
Provides questions of learner focus as well as targeted feedback and rich hints
Not a fully developed cognitive tutor; rather, it complements faculty expertise
Embeds assessment within course activities
Provides instructor-focused learning dashboard with access to a gradebook
Smart Sparrow
Delivers tools and technologies that allow professors and instructors to integrate adaptive elements into their courses
Authoring tool – allows instructors to create their own adaptive content
Professional services – assist institutions in developing adaptive programs, content and curriculum
One size does not fit all in education – there is a need for variety and personalization. While educators have been working to achieve this for years, it is clear that adaptive learning technology is now helping them do so.