Initiatives: Adaptive Learning

Adaptive learning is an educational method which uses computers as interactive teaching devices to orchestrate the allocation of human and mediated resources according to the unique needs of each learner. Computers adapt the presentation of educational material according to students' learning needs, as indicated by their responses to questions, tasks and experiences. The technology encompasses aspects derived from various fields of study including computer science, education, psychology, and brain science.

Most recently, the Kirwan Center sponsored a 1-day virtual conference to explore adaptive tools, entitled, Adaptive Tools for High-enrollment Online Courses: Improving the COVID-19 Learning Experience for Students and Faculty. This convening introduced participants to the ins and outs of adaptive courseware. Sessions included lessons learned from faculty users, vendor demos, “birds of a feather” break-outs by discipline and role, and a closing plenary focused on pedagogical uses of adaptive courseware. 

Our Work in Adaptive Learning

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2017
November 15, 2017

Call for Participation: ALT-Placement Project
Adaptive Learning

The Kirwan Center is seeking institutional partners from across Maryland to participate in a Kresge Foundation funded project starting in Spring 2018 that will pilot the efficacy and feasibility of replacing the high-stakes mathematics placement exam process currently in use with a process that empowers students to assess and remediate their mathematics knowledge using adaptive learning tools instead. Our hypothesis is that these adaptive tools will deliver just-in-time skills remediation while also providing better diagnostics that will be a more reliable measure of students’ knowledge, thus enabling more accurate mathematics course placements that will increase persistence and lower costs.

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May 31, 2017

ALiS: Adaptive Learning in Statistics Project
Adaptive Learning

Completion of college-level requirements in the mathematical sciences is one of the most common and vexing impediments to college completion rates, especially for students from lower-income families and underrepresented minorities, where high-school preparation in mathematics is often insufficient. For this reason, important efforts to improve student outcomes in higher education have focused on the application of learning science and use of digital learning platforms to improve the delivery of mathematical sciences content, and on the identification of common learning outcomes and broadly accepted standards in foundational courses—especially introductory statistics.

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