SNS College of Engineering
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Adaptive Learning
Presented By
[Link]
AP/CSE
Adaptive Learning
Agenda
• What Is Adaptive Learning?
• What Does AL Look Like?
• How Does It Differ?
• What Are The Reported Benefits Of AL?
• What Are The Outcomes Using AL?
• What Are The Risks (General)?
• What Are The Risks (Faculty/Student)?
• Who Offers AL – Publishers?
• Who Offers AL – Others?
• Learnsmart Overview – Video
• Current Pilot Overview
• Current Pilot What We’ve Learned So Far
• Current And Future Opportunities
• Discussion
What Is Adaptive Learning?
“Adaptive learning takes a sophisticated,
data-driven and in some cases, non-
linear approach to instruction and
remediation,” the report said, “adjusting
to a learner’s interactions and
demonstrated performance level and
subsequently anticipating what types of
content and resources learners’ need at
a specific point in time to make
progress.”
Education Growth Advisors, 2013
How does AL Differ?
Differentiated Personalized
Adaptive
What Does AL Look Like?
Source: RealizeIT
What Does AL Look Like Pt 2?
Source: AdaptIT
Source: RealizeIT
What Are The Reported Benefits of AL?
Increased control: Students can move quickly through areas of
mastery to immediately address those areas where they need
to improve, which helps prevent students from falling behind
in the coursework.
Higher confidence: Students report feeling a stronger sense of
confidence as they proactively address learning gaps.
Better engagement: Students say classes are “more fun” and,
as a result, they engage in the learning process at a deeper
level.
Long-term learning: Students retain knowledge and skills that
can be applied in practical ways both in and out of the
classroom.
Improved results: According to faculty, students perform
better in class because they get extra support in the areas they
find most challenging
[Link]
papers/september-2013/learning-gets-personal
What Are The Outcomes Using AL?
Preliminary findings from A study consisting of nearly 700
Arizona State University’s students across two state
partnership with Knewton on re- universities and four community
designed emporium and colleges indicated that the
mastery-based math courses community college students
have revealed an 18 percent using McGraw-Hill Education’s
increase in pass rates and 47 LearnSmart, as compared to
percent drop in student those using end-of-chapter
withdrawals. ASU leadership testbank questions, achieved
estimates that the institution has higher course pass rates across
retained $12,000,000 in what all students – i.e., 7 percent
would have been lost tuition average increase – and an
revenue to date. average increase of 8 percent in
retention rates.
Data provided by Arizona State McGraw-Hill Education,
University and Knewton, [Link]
February 2013 [Link]/for-
educators/success-stories
What Are The Risks (General)?
Poorly conceived and executed implementations will likely yield underwhelming
results.
The long-term potential for these solutions could also be undermined if they are
relegated solely to use in entry-level courses.
Suppliers of adaptive learning solutions have achieved limited scale thus far, as a
result, evidence of their effectiveness in improving student learning outcomes is
limited.
Institutions must avoid over-reach yet plan for extensibility. This balance
requires a roadmap for adaptive learning projects that identifies key milestones
from inception to maturity.
Institutional leaders should make sure that pathways for future progress and
expansion have been cleared.
If you are using Publisher’s AL, the data is not shareable.
What Are The Risks (Faculty/Students)?
• May well conflict with the prevailing teaching paradigm at a given institution.
• Not all students will take to learning models that represent such a significant
break with their past.
• For some students, adaptive approaches to instruction may well increase
disengagement rather than foster deeper engagement, particularly if those
students feel uncomfortable in a learning context that is not characterized by
close oversight, continual monitoring and frequent feedback from a trusted
instructor.
Who Offers AL - Publishers?
Who Offers AL - Others
Adapt Learning
•Whole Course Delivery
•Small
Cogbooks
•LMS Module
•Small
Knowillage
•LMS Module
•Small
LoudCloud Systems
•LMS and eReader Platform
•Small
Open Learning Initiative
•Whole Course Delivery
•Moderate
Smart Sparrow
•Homework Tool, Interactive Labs, Simulations
•Small
Realizeit
•LMS Module
•Small
Current And Future Opportunities
• Other LearnSmart Pilots
• Other Publisher Pilots
• A Platform, While Desirable, Out of the Question at
Present
• Still requires too much effort or cost to set up on
a broad scale
• Too many vendors at present given the market
LearnSmart Overview
Current Pilot - Overview
• Adoption of digital content and
Learnsmart AL began in Summer 2013
with Biology 116
• In Fall of 2013, expanded to Biology 116,
120, 121, 241
• Approximately 1000 students
• In Spring of 2014, expanded again to
include Biology 116, 120, 121, 241, 320
and 324
• Approximately 700 students
BIOL120 Demographics
Classification
Gender
BIOL120 Demographics
Racial Identity
Have you previously taken this course?
BIOL120 eBook data
Did you purchase a hard copy version of the course textbook?
How often do you read the eBook or hard copy textbook?
Learnsmart data
Before starting to work on a Learnsmart assignment, do you
FIRST read the content in the chapter?
On average, how long does it take you to complete a
Learnsmart homework assignment?
On average, how long before the due date do you start
working on a Learnsmart homework assignment?
# Answer Response %
1 begin working the same day of the 14 13%
assignment due date
2 begin working 1 day before the 26 25%
assignment due date
3 begin working 2 days before the 38 36%
assignment due date
4 begin working more than 2 days 28 26%
before the assignment due date
Total 106 100%
Learnsmart Data
After completing Learnsmart as a homework assignment, how often do
you go back into Learnsmart to study/review content in the course?
BIOL 120 Pass/Fail/Withdrawal
Rates
Withdrawal
Semester # of Students Pass (%) Fail (%)
(%)
Fall 2011 368 55 36 9
Spring 2012 286 31 61 8
Fall 2012 386 43 31 26
Spring 2013 330 41 48 11
Fall 2013 446 44 39 17
Spring 2014 246 40 46 13
Average 344 42 44 14
Average Time Spent in LearnSmart
Activities
60.00
Average Time Spent in LearnSmart
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
A B C D F
Final Grade
Relationships between Cumulative Time
Spent in LearnSmart Activities and Average
Exam Scores
90.0
80.0
70.0
Average Exam Score
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Cumulative Time Spent in LearnSmart
Current Pilot – What We’ve Learned So Far
LEARNSMART is not having the desired impact on
learning outcomes.
We need to change student engagement with AL.
• Students often wait until last moment for initial
activity.
• Students often only proceed through it once to meet
course requirement and seldom revisit for knowledge
acquisition.
• Majority of students are not using Learnsmart
effectively.
Changes to Classroom Implementation
Recommendations from faculty, students and
McGraw-Hill representatives:
• Mandate “Meet Your Teacher” office hour visits.
• Review individualized Learnsmart student
report.
• Identify specific weaknesses and useful study
tips.
• Provide intervention within 3 – 4 weeks of the
semester.
• Emphasize Learnsmart class-wide challenging
learning objectives during lecture.
• Utilize Learnsmart student ambassadors for peer-
to-peer encouragement of effective use.
Changes to Classroom Implementation
• Adopt Smartbook to encourage reading of the text.
THANK
YOU
