Adaptive Learning
Technology in the
Classroom
Lectures by themselves
result in less learning.*
•
•
•
•
Why?
Students rarely read the text
Students often are not prepared for class
No active learning is required
• Students seldom have any prior knowledge
Jensen, J.L., Kummer, T.A., & Godoy, P.D. (2015). Improvements from a flipped
classroom may simply be the fruits of active learning. CBE Life Science
Education, 14, 5. doi:10.1187/cbe.14-08-0129
Wait!…Why Am I Still Lecturing Then?
Background of Adaptive Learning
-
Apprenticeships
Home-school classrooms
Very small classrooms
Oxford University tutorials
One-on-one learning situations
** Bloom (1984) found that students
learn more in personalized formats.
Creating Personalized Formats?
- Cost prohibitive
- Lackluster technology options
- Accessibility barriers
But… times change and so did technology.
Algorithms to the Rescue!
- Algorithms? Do they really work?
- Are they adaptive?
- Can technology support their use?
- Can education benefit from them?
Can
Make Your
Students Better?
Yes!
uses algorithms!
Algorithms have been proven to
be better predictors of future events
than humans in many situations!
• Weather predictions
• Human behaviors
• Gaps in a student’s knowledge
Dietvorst, B.J., Simmons, J.P., and Massey, C. (2014, July 6).
Algorithm aversion: People erroneously avoid algorithms after seeing them error.
Forthcoming in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Algorithms determine future
movie recommendations.
Algorithms are often more correct than humans.
Metacognition is
knowing what you know…
You know which movies you like
once you watch them.
•
Your ratings drive
future predictions!
Chew, S. L. (2010). Improving classroom performance by challenging student
misconceptions about learning. APS Observer, 23, 51-54.
But, what if you don’t know:
Which movies you like?
OR
What material you know
in the chapter?
-
What if you have poor metacognition?
Then algorithms to the rescue!
Students perform better when
they have metacognitive data
and are told what to study!
McGraw-Hill’s LearnSmart uses
algorithms to inform students!
Chew, S. L. (2010). Improving classroom performance by challenging student
misconceptions about learning. APS Observer, 23, 51-54.
Current data for instructors so they can “change the future!”
But, does the ALT, LearnSmart, really work?
- McGraw-Hill reports a 10% increase in scores
- Increases have been reported by various ALTs
across disciplines: Accounting, Math, Languages,
Computer Science
- My current classroom performance: 10% increase
- An empirical study was needed
Empirical ALT Study: Fall 2015
- Three colleges in the Midwest
- Nine sections of an Introduction to Business
course
- Group 1: No LearnSmart (LS) prior to exam
- Group 2: 20-minute LS prior to exam
- Group 3: 40-minute LS prior to exam
Results of One-Way ANOVA
Statistically significant difference between
(α=.05; N=112):
Group 1 (no LS) & Group 3 (40 min LS)
- A 13% increase in exam scores
- Increases noted at all three colleges
Metacognition results:
- Moderately-strong correlation (.41) between
Students who had higher-levels of
metacognition and their exam scores.
Adapt to Changing Technology and…