“Imagine that you could give every learner their own personalized course, made specifically for their strengths, weaknesses, goals, and engagement patterns. Imagine a course that adapted in real-time to their activity and adjusted moment by moment to their performance and interest level. That’s adaptive learning.” – McGraw-Hill Education
What is Adaptive Learning?
The goal of adaptive learning is to harness computer algorithms to create a learning experience for students that changes based on the user input it receives. For example, if a student misses a practice question, the program will adapt to provide remedial work for that student. Each students’ experience is individualized based on how they perform within the program.
Check out this video from Pearson Higher Education
Why Adaptive Learning?
Adaptive learning is able to differentiate for individual students, assessing each person’s background knowledge and addressing their specific instructional needs. The student is able to work at his or her own pace while receiving targeted, real-time feedback and instruction. This results in students who do not spend time on material they already know, which leads to boredom and disengagement. Similarly, they are not pushed to a point that is too challenging for them, which can result in frustration and a reluctance to continue learning. Instead, the program is able to identify precisely what content they are intellectually prepared to work with, while scaffolding them towards the curricular goals. Teachers then have access to aggregate data on each of their students, as well as the ability to identify general class trends. The use of adaptive learning enables true mastery learning, resulting in a more solid understanding of the curriculum.
Adaptive Learning Programs
Dreambox Learning (Math)
NoRedInk (Grammar & Writing)
Istation (Reading, Math & Spanish)
MyLab and Mastering (Science & Engineering)
SmartSparrow (Design Your Own)
Guest Blogger
Raina Burditt