What is adaptive learning technology? How does it work? Why is it being used?

1. Adaptive Learning Technology:
What it is, how it works, and
why it‟s being used
Tim Hudson, PhD
Senior Director of Curriculum Design
DreamBox Learning
@DocHudsonMath
December 3, 2013

2. Session Overview
• Share results of the first K-12 survey to focus
exclusively on adaptive learning technology
• Define characteristics of adaptive learning
• Examine the pedagogical implications of
adaptive technologies
• Consider how digital experiences can empower
students to think independently, receive specific
feedback, and self-direct their learning.

3. Survey Goals
• Determine how many educators are currently
using programs they believe to be adaptive
• Assess the general understanding and
perception of adaptive learning technology by
professionals considering ed-tech products
• Clear up confusion about level of adaptivity in
available learning programs
Note: Survey conducted by Tech & Learning
(www.techlearning.com) and commissioned by DreamBox
Learning

4. Survey Definition
―Adaptive learning systems are softwarebased technologies that automatically
customize curriculum to the knowledge level
of the learner. The algorithms actively track
and access student performance to provide
feedback to the teacher and student about
the student‘s progress on an ongoing basis.‖

5. Why Adaptive?
Why Differentiated?
Why Individualized?
Why Personalized?

6. Logistical Classroom Reality
March 1:
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Division

7. If teachers could work 1-1 with ALL…
Decimal
Long
Division
Basic
Multiplication
Requires More:
• Assessments
• Time for Testing
• Time for Scoring
• Data
• Content Knowledge
• Resources
Step-by-Step
Scaffolding
Partial
Quotients
Fraction
Division

8. Differentiation Defined
• Educators‘ Purpose…
• All students must master important content.
• Make specific and continually evolving plans to
connect each learner with key content.
• Expect differences in the nature of scaffolding.
• Therefore we Ask…
• What does this student need at this moment in
order to be able to progress with this key
content, and what do I need to do to make that
happen?‖
Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom
by C.A. Tomlinson & M.B. Imbeau, ASCD, © 2010, pp. 13-14

9. Survey Respondents
• 3,000 educators, technology
directors, administrators
• 2/3 are in public school systems
• 40% reported using adaptive learning
software (1,200 users)

10. Findings
cite
use adaptive learning software
to

11. Findings
use it for
use adaptive learning software as
a
use it as

12. Findings
use adaptive
use adaptive
software
software

13. Use Ranking by Grade
1. Grades 3-5
2. Grades 6-8
3. Grades K-2

14. Perceived ‘Features’
Rank Average
9.25
9.12
8.92
8.79
8.72
6.45
Feature
Offers personalized or individualized learning
Provides intervention for struggling students
Improves overall student achievement
Unique pacing for every student
Offers enrichment for advanced students
Lowers cost of instruction

15. Perceived ‘Bugs’
Value
Too much screen time for students
Doesn’t engage students
Teachers have too little control
Not aligned with Common Core
Not rigorous enough
Other
Count
219
210
202
132
102
287
Percentage
26.32%
25.24%
24.28%
15.87%
12.26%
34.50%

16. Type of ‘Adaptivity’
Value
Linear lesson sequence and assessment preand post- lesson
Real-time and continuous adaptivity
(instantaneously within and between lessons)
Recommending lessons after direct
instruction.
Other
Count
Percentage
403
43.71%
344
37.31%
126
13.67%
49
5.31%

17. Most Important Aspect?
Rank Average
8.94
8.04
7.89
6.65
Feature
Real-time & continuous adaptivity
(instantaneously within & between lessons)
Recommending lessons after direct
instruction
Linear lesson sequence & assessment preand post-lesson
Other

18. Obstacles or Challenges
Value
Lack sufficient budget
Don’t have necessary tech infrastructure
We’ve tried software before & it didn’t help
Don’t philosophically agree with use of tech
or learning software
Other
Count
950
Percentage
55.43%
443
25.85%
51
2.98%
39
2.28%
624
36.41%

19. The “Other” Challenges
Value
Lack of information or awareness
Can’t give a reason/don’t know
Not ready
Don’t want
Investigating it now
Count
155
114
73
48
47
Percentage
25.29%
18.60%
11.91%
7.83%
7.67%

20. Infrastructure Barriers
• Insufficient high-speed bandwidth
• Hardware and technology
infrastructure challenges
• Lack of professional development

21. Confusion about „Adaptive‟
Programs have elements of adaptive
learning but are not fully adaptive:
•
•
•
•
Adaptive testing only
Assessment only
Test prep only
Differentiation depends on teacher
assignment of content
• Pedagogical understanding

22. Adaptive
Learning
Platform or Program

23. Adaptive
Learning
Platform or Program

24. Learning Requires Adaptivity
―…pay close attention to the
individual progress of each
student and devise tasks that
are appropriate…‖
―Present students with ‗just
manageable difficulties‘ – that
is, challenging enough to
maintain engagement, but not
so difficult as to lead to
discouragement.‖
p. 24
Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (2nd ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

25. Learning Requires Feedback
―…assessments should
provide students with
opportunities to revise and
improve their thinking, help
students see their own
progress over [time], and
help teachers identify
problems that need to be
remedied.‖
p. 25
Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (2nd ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

26. Learning is not Linear
DreamBox Learning: Intelligent Adaptive Learning Engine
© DreamBox Learning

27. Wiggins on “Mastery”
―Indeed, many modern
software solutions now
exist to help educators
track endless small
objectives, in the name of
"mastery," "proficiency," or
"competency." In some
units, students cannot
advance to the next level
until they test out on
interim assessments of
such bits of knowledge.‖
―How Good is Good Enough?‖ G. Wiggins, ASCD © 2013

28. Learning to Drive?
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Friday
Thursday

29. Adaptive
Learning
Platform or Program

30. Adaptivity Alone Doesn‟t Result
in Learning & Understanding
Math
Packet
2
Math
Packet
3
Math
Packet
4
Math
Math
Packet
Packet Math
1
2 Packet
3
Math
Packet
3
Math
Packet
8
Math
Packet
7
Will County, Illinois One-Room Schoolhouse, http://polarbearstale.blogspot.com/

31. Wiggins on “Mastery”
―…the original sin in
curriculum design: Take
a complex whole, divide
it into small pieces, string
those together in a rigid
sequence of instruction
and testing, and call
completion of this
sequence "mastery."
―How Good is Good Enough?‖ G. Wiggins, ASCD © 2013

32. “Adaptivity” as “Behavior Reinforcement”
• Conditioning the mind to
remember information using
tiny, incremental skill steps given
to students in repetitive feedback
loops
http://teorije-ucenja.zesoi.fer.hr/doku.php?id=instructional_design:programmed_instruction

33. Similar Approaches
• Programmed Instruction (PI)
Skinner‘s ―Teaching Machines‖
• Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI)
• Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI)
• Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI)
―Benny‘s Rules‖

34. Learning Design Limitation
• Programmed Instruction (PI)
Skinner‘s ―Teaching Machines‖
• Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI)
• Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI)
• Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI)
―Benny‘s Rules‖

35. Plan Curriculum Backwards
1. Identify desired
results
2. Determine
acceptable
evidence
3. Plan learning
experiences
and instruction
Understanding by Design, Wiggins & McTighe, ©2005

36. Replacing textbooks?

37. Instructional Approach
From a 5th grade teacher in NY:
―I had a lot of good people teaching me math when I
was a student – earnest and funny and caring. But
the math they taught me wasn‘t good math. Every
class was the same for eight years:
‗Get out your homework, go over the
homework, here‘s the new set of exercises,
here‘s how to do them. Now get started. I‘ll be
around.‘‖
p. 55, Teaching What Matters Most, Strong, Silver, & Perini, ©2001

38. Common Teaching Cycle
Whole
Class or
Small
Group
Instruction
Use Data
Summatively
Guided
Practice
Use Data
Formatively
to Plan
Whole
Class
Assessment

39. Teaching as Content Delivery
Whole
Class or
Small
Group
Instruction
Use Data
Summatively
Guided
Practice
Use Data
Formatively
to Plan
Whole
Class
Assessment

40. Instruction
Let Me
Show You
How To Do
X
Now You
Go Do
X
Maybe You
Need to Be
Shown X
Again
You Know
X
Can You
Independently
Do
X?

41. Who is doing the thinking?
Let Me
Show You
How To Do
X
Now You
Go Do
X
Maybe You
Need to Be
Shown X
Again
You Know
X
Can You
Independently
Do
X?

42. Learning Outcomes?
―They were so concerned with making
sure we knew how to do every single
procedure we never learned how to think
mathematically. I did well in math but I
never understood what I was doing. I
remember hundreds of procedures but
not one single mathematical idea.‖
p. 55, Teaching What Matters Most, Strong, Silver, & Perini, ©2001

43. Types of Learning Outcomes
A-M-T
Acquire Knowledge and Skills
Information, Facts
Procedures
Make Meaning
Concepts, Ideas
Contexts, Situations
Transfer
Independent Use
Unfamiliar Situations
© Authentic Education

44. Fullan: Alive in the Swamp
―Technology–enabled innovations have a different
problem, mainly pedagogy and outcomes. Many of
the innovations, particularly those that provide online
content and learning materials, use basic pedagogy –
most often in the form of introducing concepts
by video instruction and following up with a series of
progression exercises and tests. Other digital
innovations are simply tools that allow teachers to do
the same age-old practices but in a digital format.‖ (p.
25)
Fullan & Donnelly, Alive in the Swamp: Assessing Digital Innovations in Education, © July 2013, www.nesta.org/uk

45. Digital Content Delivery
Explicit
Input, Video
Lecture,
Textbook
Reading,
Record it in
the
Gradebook
Dependent
Practice, Ho
mework, W
orksheet
Independent
Mistakes on
the Quiz or
Test
Practice,
Quiz,
Test

46. No Pedagogical Change
Explicit
Input, Video
Lecture, Textbo
ok Reading,
Record it in
the
Gradebook
Dependent
Practice,
Homework,
Worksheet
Independent
Mistakes on the
Quiz or Test
Practice,
Quiz,
Test

47. Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)
―Each MOOC varies in content, requirements,
prerequisites and length, Tarte said. Some will
contain video lectures, some might have
selected readings, and some courses provide
quizzes periodically so students can test their
understanding of the material.‖
High School to Offer College Courses Online
www.emissourian.com, November 27, 2013

48. Curse of the Familiar
―You, hungry entrepreneur…are going
to take some familiar feature of
classroom experience – the textbook,
the flashcard, the lecture, the
worksheet, the sticker, the behavior
chart – and you will digitize that
feature.‖
-Justin Reich on EdWeek
November 20, 2013
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/edtechresearcher/2013/11/edtech_start-ups_and_the_curse_of_the_familar.html

49. School & Home Work
At School:
Explicit
Instruction &
Problem
Solving
Use Data
Summatively
At Home:
Practice
Problems
Maybe you
need to be
shown X
again
Whole
Class
Assessment

50. Meaningful Flip?
At Home:
Explicit
Instructional
Videos & Online
Practice
At School:
Guided
Practice &
Problem
Solving
Maybe You
Need to
Watch the
Video Again
Use Data
Summatively
Whole
Class
Assessment

51. Fullan: Alive in the Swamp
―While these innovations may be an
incremental improvement such that there is
less cost, minor classroom efficiency and
general modernisation, they do not, by
themselves, change the pedagogical
practice of the teachers or the schools [or
learning programs and platforms].‖ (p. 25)
Fullan & Donnelly, Alive in the Swamp: Assessing Digital Innovations in Education, © July 2013, www.nesta.org/uk

52. Common “Adaptive” Design
Explicit Input,
Video Lecture,
Textbook Reading,
Data inform
the Adaptive
Engine
Dependent
Practice, ―Workshe
et‖ Problems
Mistakes on the
Quiz or Test Items
Digitized
Quiz/Test
Items

53. Curse of the Familiar
―If our problems are mere inefficiencies
– if we need students doing basically
exactly what they've been doing before
but faster – then the gambit of building
apps that mirror typical classroom
practices will work out great.‖
-Justin Reich on EdWeek
November 20, 2013
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/edtechresearcher/2013/11/edtech_start-ups_and_the_curse_of_the_familar.html

54. Curse of the Familiar
―If you think that the problems in
classrooms are not just about kids
doing things a little faster, but doing
different things than is current
practice, then you need to build things
that will be unfamiliar.‖
-Justin Reich on EdWeek
November 20, 2013
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/edtechresearcher/2013/11/edtech_start-ups_and_the_curse_of_the_familar.html

55. SAMR Model by Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura, www.hippasus.com/rrweblog

56. Active and Passive
"The old teaching method — you know, where a
teacher says something and you write it down and
then take a test — that's about as passive as it
gets… This idea pushes kids to be more actively
involved since, by and large, it's something we're
both learning together. That leads to a lot of
innovative teaching — and a lot of innovative
learning, for that matter.‖
―Coding in the Curriculum‖ September 2013
http://mashable.com/2013/09/22/coding-curriculum

57. Learning Principle
“Understandings cannot be
given; they have to be
engineered so that learners
see for themselves the
power of an idea for
making sense of things.”
p. 113, Schooling by Design, Wiggins & McTighe, ©2007

58. DreamBox Approach to Adaptive
Student‘s
Own
Ideas &
Intuition
Engage with
& Make
Sense of a
Situation or
Context
Engine
Adapts &
Differentiates
Student
Independently
Transfers
―Offline,‖ Too
Specific, In
stant, Cust
om
Feedback

59. Engineered for Realizations
Student‘s
Own
Ideas &
Intuition
Engage with
& Make
Sense of a
Situation or
Context
Engine
Adapts &
Differentiates
Student
Independently
Transfers
―Offline,‖ Too
Specific,
Instant,
Custom
Feedback

60. Don‟t Start by Telling
―Providing students with opportunities
to first grapple with specific information
relevant to a topic has been shown to
create a ‗time for telling‘ that enables
them to learn much more from an
organizing lecture.‖
How People Learn, p. 58

61. This student
doesn‟t know
anything about
fractions.
How should
she start?

62. “Unfamiliar” Print Resource
Contexts for Learning
• Cathy Fosnot & Colleagues
• ―10 day‖ Units based on 1 or 2
contexts per unit
• Building a mathematical
community
• Young Mathematicians at Work

63. Classroom Learning Experience: Field Trip
4
3
8
7
5
4
5
3
Field Trips and Fund-Raisers: Introducting Fractions, C.T. Fosnot, Heinemann © 2007, used with permission

64. Dewey, 1916
Democracy & Education
Chapter 12: Thinking in Education
―…thinking is the method of an
educative experience. The essentials
of method are therefore identical with
the essentials of reflection.‖
Democracy and Education: an Introduction to the Philosophy of Education, J. Dewey, 1916

65. Dewey, 1916
―First that the pupil have a genuine situation of
experience—that there be a continuous activity in which
he is interested for its own sake.‖
Field trip + Lunch = Interest
Democracy and Education: an Introduction to the Philosophy of Education, J. Dewey, 1916

66. Dewey, 1916
―Secondly, that a genuine problem develop within this
situation as a stimulus to thought.‖
Is it fair?
Democracy and Education: an Introduction to the Philosophy of Education, J. Dewey, 1916

67. Dewey, 1916
―Third, that he possess the information and make the
observations needed to deal with it.‖
Time for sense-making, modeling,
manipulatives, & conversation
Democracy and Education: an Introduction to the Philosophy of Education, J. Dewey, 1916

68. Dewey, 1916
―Fourth, that suggested solutions occur to him which he
shall be responsible for developing in an orderly way.‖
How do we know when something
“occurs” to a student?
5th grader in intervention: “So it
looks like a half of a fifth is a tenth.
That‟s easy!”
Democracy and Education: an Introduction to the Philosophy of Education, J. Dewey, 1916

69. Dewey, 1916
―Fifth, that he have opportunity and occasion to test his
ideas by application, to make their meaning clear and to
discover for himself their validity.‖
Convince yourself through inquiry,
exploration, feedback
Democracy and Education: an Introduction to the Philosophy of Education, J. Dewey, 1916

70. Learning Science
is more important than
Data Science

71. Improve Learning
―Contemporary school reform efforts…
typically focus too much on
various means: structures,
schedules, programs, PD, curriculum,
and instructional practices (like
cooperative learning)‖
[or adaptive learning]
[or blended learning]
[or flipped classrooms]
[or iPads, hardware, etc]
p. 234-235, Wiggins & McTighe, © 2007

72. Improve Learning
―Certainly such reforms serve
as the fuel for the school
improvement engine, but
they must not be mistaken
as the
destination…[which is]
improved learning.‖
p. 234-235, Wiggins & McTighe, © 2007

73. Edtechdigest.com:
“Adaptive” Learning
Technologies:
Pedagogy Should
Drive Platform

74. Fully Adaptive Learning
Program Characteristics
• Content engages & motivates students
• Continual & ongoing assessment that
differentiates uniquely with varying
scaffolds
• Personalized learning path within and
between lessons in real time
• Student performance data immediately
available to teachers

75. Truly Adaptive Learning
Technology requires
dynamic content be built
from the ground up to
invite, analyze and respond
to initial conceptions.

76. Real-Time Formative Assessment
What incorrect answers would we expect on a
problem like 29 + 62?
19 Student adds all four digits
33 Student believes this is a subtraction problem
81 Student does not regroup to the tens place
92 Arithmetic error in ones place
811 Student adds each column independently
2962 Student combines digits
•
•
•
•
How would you ―score‖ each error?
How would you respond to each error?
What lesson(s) need to come before & after?
Which of these errors are ―naturally occurring?‖

77. This student
doesn‟t know
anything about
angles or
measuring
angles.
How should
she start?

78. Plan Curriculum Backwards
1. Identify desired
results
2. Determine
acceptable
evidence
3. Plan learning
experiences
and instruction
Understanding by Design, Wiggins & McTighe, ©2005

79. Angle Measurement – Common Core
4.MD.6
Measure angles in whole-number degrees using a
protractor. Sketch angles of specified measure.
4.MD.7
Recognize angle measure as additive. When an angle is
decomposed into non-overlapping parts, the angle
measure of the whole is the sum of the angle measures
of the parts. Solve addition and subtraction problems to
find unknown angles on a diagram in real world and
mathematical problems, e.g., by using an equation with a
symbol for the unknown angle measure.

80. Digital Substitution
When an angle is decomposed
into non-overlapping parts, the
angle measure of the whole is
the sum of the angle measures
of the parts.

81. Angle Measurement – Common Core
4.MD.5a
An angle is measured with reference to a circle with its
center at the common endpoint of the rays, by
considering the fraction of the circular arc between the
points where the two rays intersect the circle. An angle
that turns through 1/360 of a circle is called a ―onedegree angle,‖ and can be used to measure angles.
4.MD.5b
An angle that turns through n one-degree angles is said to
have an angle measure of n degrees.

82. Angle Measurement – Common Core
4.MD.5a
An angle is measured with reference to a circle with its
center at the common endpoint of the rays, by
considering the fraction of the circular arc between the
points where the two rays intersect the circle. An angle
that turns through 1/360 of a circle is called a ―onedegree angle,‖ and can be used to measure angles.
4.MD.5b
An angle that turns through n one-degree angles is said to
have an angle measure of n degrees.

83. Angle Measurement in DreamBox
© DreamBox Learning

84. What Occurs to a Student?
―The child doesn‘t have to be told
by a teacher whether he‘s right or
wrong. He can see for himself
whether it works. That‘s what
science and knowledge is about.‖
– Seymour Papert
© DreamBox Learning

85. Open-Ended
© DreamBox Learning

86. Angle Measurement in DreamBox
© DreamBox Learning

87. Common Core Standards for
Mathematical Practice

88. Instruction
Learning
Experience
―Let me explain how a
mathematician
thinks.‖
―As you independently
solve this problem,
you‘ll be thinking like
a mathematician.‖
―I‘ve shown you the
mathematical
structure.
Now go use it.‖
―On your own, you‘ll
need to look for the
structure. And find it.
Then use it.‖

89. Q&A

90. Thank you!
timh@dreambox.com
@DocHudsonMath
www.dreambox.com

91. DreamBox Combines Three Essential
Elements to Accelerate Student Learning
91

92. DreamBox Lessons & Virtual Manipulatives
Intelligently adapt & individualize
to:
•Students’ own intuitive strategies
•Kinds of mistakes
•Efficiency of strategy
•Scaffolding needed
•Response time

93. Robust Reporting

94. Reporting for Differentiation

95. DreamBox supports small group and whole
class instructional resources
• Interactive white-board teacher lessons
www.dreambox.com/teachertools
• Tutorials for virtual manipulatives
• Concept video introductions

96. Free School-wide Trial!
www.dreambox.com