Adaptive Learning in Higher Education

“Adaptive learning is an educational method which uses computers as interactive teaching devices. Computers adapt the presentation of educational material according to students' learning needs, as indicated by their responses to questions and tasks”.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_learning)

This is being introduced into our higher education system now.

“New Player in Adaptive Learning”

“Career Education Corp. has begun one of higher education’s broadest experiments with adaptive learning. Institutions in the for-profit chain have powered more than 300 online course sections with the emerging technology, and enrollments in those courses have topped 11,000 students”.

“Broadly defined, adaptive learning is the use of data-driven tools to design coursework that responds to individual students’ abilities. Courses featuring adaptive technology typically use assessments to constantly adjust content, giving students extra help to master concepts or to skip ones they already understand”.

 

“Many in higher education think adaptive technology has the potential to help students learn more efficiently. Individualized course content can lead to both automated and professor-led interventions with students. That in turn can lead to improved completion rates”.

 

“For example, American InterContinental University, which Career Education owns, saw a 13.6 percent decline in student withdrawals in a pilot group taking adaptive-powered English composition and mathematics courses. Student persistence was up 4 percent, and students scored 6.8 percent better in the final course score”.

 

Read the whole thing: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/29/career-education-corp-expands-major-adaptive-learning-experiment

 

What are your thoughts on this technology? The way of the future, temporary experiment, or is too much too soon?

 

 

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam