Best Adaptive Learning Technology

What is Adaptive Learning Technology?

Last decade’s baby boom has meant that classroom sizes have been increasing. And when there are 20+ students in one physical room, it can be quite a challenge to ensure you’re providing a learning experience that’s meeting the unique needs of each and every student.

With the power of adaptive learning technology, educators have the ability to create far more engaging learning environments, where each student feels like the teaching material is personalised to them. 

In a nutshell, adaptive learning technology empowers teachers with the ability to create custom learning experiences for all of their students – any time, anywhere.

How Does Adaptive Learning Technology Actually Adapt?

Adaptivity factors are used to determine how the learning program adapts to each individual’s unique needs.

Student data is collected by the learning program to enable it to adapt the course content in the best possible way. The data collected is usually segmented into the following adaptivity factors:

• Performance
• Knowledge
• Demographics
• Misconceptions

The learning technology will form a custom pathway for the student based on their unique set of adaptivity factors. It will then adapt the teaching material, in real time, around the student in a numbers of ways.

For example, if the student is displaying misconceptions around a specific subject matter, then real-time hints and tips might be shown on the screen to help guide them to the correct answer.

Students may also be presented with different pathways through the program. For instance, a struggling student may be given more material to learn and subsequently more questions to answer around that specific area until it is mastered. 

Whereas a student who has demonstrated a thorough understanding will be fast-tracked to a new area to advance their learning. 

Why Use Adaptive Learning Technology?

1. Students Can Learn At Their Own Pace

Adaptive learning ensures no student is left behind.

The adaptive learning program will slow down to a pace every student is comfortable with, enabling them to grasp every bit of content before moving on. The student can even pause and replay the program at a speed they feel comfortable with. 

For a student who already understands the material, the adaptive technology will speed up and take them to a more challenging area of study. This ensures they are not left waiting around for other students to catch up.

2. Increased Student Confidence

Since students can learn at their own pace, it removes the fear of feeling left behind – particularly when an individual is taking longer than their peers to grasp certain concepts during class. 

Students can often feel disheartened when the lesson moves beyond their pace of learning. This can have a detrimental effect on their self-confidence, eventually leading to them becoming disengaged. 

With adaptive learning, the student only progresses to the next question or topic once they have fully grasped the previous set of questions. 

The adaptive learning program must be satisfied that the learner has understood the material before moving them onto the next phase. This can have a big impact on student confidence.

What’s more, due to the personalised nature of the learning process, the student can also feel like they are receiving one-to-one attention, which can have a positive affect on their self-esteem.

3. Increased Student Engagement

It is often assumed that asking students lots of questions can be intimidating due to the association with tests. Whereas asking lots of questions in a non-threatening way can create a much deeper connection to the content, and drive better engagement with the course material.

The current generation are also much more accustomed to using technology in their personal lives. As a result, using adaptive learning technology in the classroom will feel natural – and most likely feel more engaging than reading a traditional paper-based textbook.

4. Frees Up Time For Teachers

Wouldn’t it be great if you had a super-efficient personal teaching assistant at your disposal? Well, with adaptive learning technology, you kind-of do.

Generating teaching material that addresses every student’s unique needs takes a lot of preparation – time that most teachers don’t have. Adaptive learning technology can perform the same task, but much faster than any human. This frees the teacher to focus on classroom dynamics, assessing personal character and wellbeing – important areas that may not have been given sufficient attention under normal circumstances.

5. Emotions Can Sometimes Cloud Our Judgement

Adaptive Learning programs are not tied to any preconceived judgments about students. Sadly, as humans, we can sometimes form biased opinions about students based on past situations and events. This can inevitably influence what we think our students can and cannot do, and can consequently affect how we teach them.

Adaptive learning technology is completely impartial and doesn’t hold any bias towards students. This means their teaching material can be delivered in a consistent and unbiased manner.

6. Data Collection

Students are often told to “show your working” so that the teacher can understand the student’s thought process and identify appropriate teaching material. This process can take a considerable amount of time, especially for a whole class.

An adaptive learning program collects highly valuable data at a granular level, enabling the teacher to hone in on a specific student’s progress and areas of need.

Adaptive learning technology can also present the teacher with a panoramic view of the whole class, surfacing common strengths and weaknesses in real time reports.