Lessons from Adopting an Adaptive Learning Platform

Speakers

Jeremy AndersonDeputy Chief of Academic Technology

Heather BusheyDirector of SOUL & FIPSE Project Manager

Criss GuyOnline Course Builder

The American Women’s College

1,300 FTE90% onlineAccess institution

• 80% non-traditional• 74% first generation• 54% Pell eligible• 43% diverse

SOUL Model

Social Online Universal Learning (SOUL) is designed to accelerate and promote degree

completion for adult learners, particularly under-represented women. SOUL has been

developed to include key features that the research suggests are characteristics of effective

learning environments for adult students: engagement with personalized learning;

supportive mentoring relationships for students with peers, coaches, and instructors;

immediate, constructive feedback on performance; and clearly delineated pathways to

graduation.

Questions for audience

What’s your relationship with adaptive?• Brand new to it• Know about it• Thinking about trying it• Tried it• Mastered it

What’s your role?• IT administrator or support• Academic Tech administrator or support• Academic administrator or support

What are your questions? @ATechJAnderson

Objectives

1. Describe adaptive learning and its components

2. Identify challenges & methods to overcome challenges

to adoption of an adaptive learning platform

3. Identify rewards of adopting an adaptive learning

platform

Objective 1Describe adaptive learning and its components

Defining

Solutions that take a sophisticated, data-driven, and in some cases, non-linear approach to instruction and remediation, adjusting to each learner’s interactions and demonstrated performance level and subsequently anticipating what types of content and resources meet the learner’s needs at a specific point in time.

-Tyton Partners (2012)

Benefits – Learning Outcomes

Benefits – Frequent Assessment

Objective 2 Identify challenges & methods to overcome challenges to adoption of an adaptive learning platform

Challenge: Communication & Collaboration (staff)

• Communicating complexities of adaptive course creation to internal team members

• Encouraging collaboration and buy in of the unknown

How we address this challenge• KP Ramp Up team• Lunch and Learns• Student speaker panel

Challenge: Communication & Collaboration (faculty)

• Redefining faculty role

How we address this issue• SOUL for educators training• Lead KP instructor position• KP instructor VLC

Challenge: Technology

• Students• Instructors• Course Builders

Challenge: Technology (Students)

Barriers to adopting an adaptive skill set and mindset• Navigation• Vocabulary• Accelerated scheduleHow we approach this challenge for students• SOUL Connect (Canvas Course)• Online support ticketing system

KP Activity Lesson PathKP Assignment Learning Map

Challenge: Technology (Instructors)

Barrier to adopting an adaptive skill set and mindset• Navigation• Vocabulary• Using data to inform instructionHow we approach this challenge• SOUL Connect for Educators (Canvas Course)

• Introduction to KnowledgePath Module• Virtual Learning Community

Challenge: Technology (Course Builders)

Barriers to adopting an adaptive skill set and mindset• Vocabulary• Complex authoring-side software• Evolving, cutting edge technologyHow we approach this challenge

• RealizeIT onsite and virtual technical trainings• Internal Documentation• RealizeIT online support ticketing system

Challenge: Resources

Vendor landscapeHuman capitalCash

Vendor Landscape

70+ providersWhat do they mean when they say adaptive?Authoring model or off-the-shelf model?Whole course or supplemental materials?

Lessons: Vendors

Have vetting processExplore service portfolio

• Instructional design• Training, documentation• Content gen/ingest

Team up on content vendors

Human Capital

Systems thinkingDisaggregate KSAs

• Generate structure• Curate content• Write questions/challenges

Lessons: Human Capital

Communicate early, oftenDefine & hire competenciesDevelop specialized training

• SMEs• Instructional designers• Faculty, mentors

Keep an eye to SME retention

Cold, Hard Cash

PlatformContentDevelopmentTraining

Adaptive Platform

Content

Source A

Content

Source B

Content

Source B

Lessons: Cash

Recognize TCOLeverage vendorsSeek grantsJoin CoP

Objective 3Identify rewards of adopting an adaptive learning platform

Reward: Student Feedback

Reward: More Intentional Course Design

• Actionable Data to inform• Student performance• Resource performance• Instructor interactions

Reward: Bridging the Dividesan original haiku

A paradigm shiftIt disrupts models and rolesAll must have bought in

This is the end...

Questions?

For real this time...

Thank you!