Adaptive Learning
The Power of Adaptive Learning
Adaptive Learning is a customised experience which ‘adapts’ according to the needs of the learner (Patsy, Carter, & Johnson, 2017).
The field of adaptive learning utilises artificial intelligence to tailor content while tapping into other domains such as machine learning, cognitive science, predicative analysis and educational theory in order to serve the learner’s needs (Posner, 2017).
In Adaptive Learning, learners experience different learning journeys to one another as their experience is tailored to their unique requirements. Through this customisation, the learner reaches mastery as efficiently and effectively as possible spending time on the concepts they do not know more than the concepts they already know (Patsy, Carter, & Johnson, 2017). It enables the learner to see mistakes as an opportunity for learning as opposed to a failure and to practice until the content is committed to long-term memory.
As a learner centred approach to learning, the learner experiences the benefits like that of one on one instruction because mastery occurs in a personalised way. This leads to improved engagement, proficiency rates and efficiency as mentioned earlier (University of Maryland Global Campus & Yu, 2017).
The Potential Impact of Adaptive Learning (in brief)
Adaptive learning has the potential to revolutionise the way teaching and learning is delivered. In the workplace for example, adaptive learning adapts to the vastly different knowledge and skills of the workforce by serving the learning opportunities most relevant to each individual so that they can achieve the level of knowledge and skill required to fulfill their roles more quickly. This has positive financial ramifications on the cost of delivering teaching and learning to the workforce and reduces disengagement among the workforce by respecting their prior knowledge and reducing gaps in their learning (Patsy, Carter, & Johnson, 2017).
In school-age learning, adaptive learning enables the teacher to individualise learning for each student in their class to provide the appropriate challenge for learning to occur and increase engagement in their studies (McGraw Hill Education, 2016).
How I Plan to Utilise Adaptive Learning
I plan to utilise adaptive learning principles in my signature assignment to improve engagement and efficiency among healthcare professionals wishing to change the way they view vaccine administration in adults.
Their knowledge and skill in working with needle fear in adults will differ and the need for this knowledge with the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccination en masse lends towards a faster approach to learning or consuming the content. Therefore, an adaptive approach to delivering this content will enable the learners to focus on the areas that they need most for greater efficiency in learning and faster application.
In the course structure, I will use granular learning objectives to help the learner target the areas they are struggling with more easily so that they can hone in on those areas for practice (Haldeman, n.d.) and gain mastery more quickly.
References
Haldeman, M. (n.d.). Why do granular learning objectives matter? [Web log post]. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from http://www.edx.org
McGraw Hill Education. (2016, November 08). Six Insights on Adaptive Learning Technology in Education. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.mheducation.com/ideas/thought-leadership/adaptive-learning-technology-insights.html
Patsy, M., Carter, D., & Johnson, D. (2017, January 04). 7 Things You Should Know About Adaptive Learning. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://library.educause.edu/resources/2017/1/7-things-you-should-know-about-adaptive-learning
Posner, Z. (2017, January 11). What is Adaptive Learning Anyway? Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.mheducation.com/ideas/what-is-adaptive-learning.html
University of Maryland Global Campus (Producer). (2017, August 02). Christina Yu Q2 [Video file]. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://youtu.be/TKEfHmy1ltE