The opportunities for adaptive and personalized learning are promising. The project "Linked Data", which was carried out in 2013, combines the common core curriculum for several subjects, the items from the national final secondary school examinations and its test and item analysis (TIA), and the learning materials from several educational publishers and open educational resources. A web-based tool was developed in which the linked data can be shown graphically in relation to examination scores from students who practice their knowledge and skills on previous examinations. The study examines whether the web-based tool with the linked data results in a) a sufficient overview for the teachers and students of how the students scored, b) if this leads to actions by the teachers to give more personalized and adaptive guidance, and c) if this offers the students support to work independently on their personalized learning path.

1. SLO ● nationaal expertisecentrum leerplanontwikkeling
Petra Fisser, Allard Strijker, Anne Muller
SITE, 20 March 2014
Using ICT for personalized
and adaptive learning
the case of Linked Data

2. About SLO
• National Institute for Curriculum Development
in the Netherlands
• Task: design and validation of national
curricular frameworks
(core objectives,
attainment levels,
examination programs)

3. About SLO
• The projects of SLO are conducted within the
following departments
– Primary Education/Special Education
– Lower Secondary Education
– Upper Secondary Education
– Vocational Education
– Research & Consultancy

4. The Dutch curriculum
• Until the 1990’s hardly any regulation at the national level
regarding the goals and contents for primary and secondary
education
• The only exception: the examination system at the end of
upper secondary education
• High level of school autonomy: a prominent article in
legislation declares the so-called ‘freedom of education’
– the freedom to found schools
– the freedom of school policies
– freedom of school organization
• In other words… the principle of freedom of education
provides schools with more than enough room for school-
specific curricular choices

5. The Dutch curriculum
• In 1993 attainment targets (‘goals to strive for’) for
primary and junior secondary education were
formulated (upper secondary education uses the
examination program as goal)
• At this moment it is a mixture of common attainment
targets (‘goals to strive for’) covering the whole range
of subject domains and common standards (‘goals to
attain’) for literacy and numeracy
• But: there is not one curriculum framework that
provides a common, comprehensive and cohesive
answer to the question of what is of most worth
learning and teaching (freedom of education!)

6. What does this have to do with
technology in education?
• Everything..
• If we want to integrate technology in education
(and thus in the curriculum), the technology
should be aligned with the curriculum
– Small-scale technologies often have an added value
for a specific (small) part of the curriculum, but are
too expensive to be used in only 1 school, 1 course, 1
lesson
– Large-scale technologies are also expensive, but offer
opportunities for large-scale use if they have an added
value in the curriculum

7. Aligning the curriculum
• We have attainment targets
• Schools have freedom of education
• Dilemma: schools appreciate the freedom, but
also need (and ask for) more guidance
“things that
schools do”
Attainment
targets
primary
education
“things that
schools do”
Attainment
targets
lower
secondary
education
“things that
schools do”
Examination
program
upper
secondary
education
freedom
freedom freedom

8. Aligning the curriculum
• Defining an (unofficial) common core curriculum with
core topics and objectives based on the examination
programs, and lined up in possible learning trajectories
• The common core curriculum describes
– the subject’s core and subcore
– a short description of the core
– specific concepts that are important in that specific core
– Intermediate attainment targets
– final attainment target
– cohesion with other subjects and levels
(primary/secondary education)
“things that
schools do”
Attainment
targets
primary
education
“things that
schools do”
Attainment
targets lower
secondary
education
“things that
schools do”
Examination
program
upper
secondary
education
Learning trajectory

9. Example: Geography
• Core: Water
• Subcore: Netherlands, waterland
• Short description: danger of flood and spatial planning
• Attainment targets:
– primary education: children learn about the
measures/actions taken in the Netherlands to live in areas
that are threatened by water
– lower secondary education: the student learns to
recognize the effect of specific choices in the field of living
and recreation, in their own living context
– Upper secondary education: the student knows about
present-day spatial and socio-economic issues of urban
areas in the Netherlands

10. Example: Geography
• primary education: children learn about the
measures/actions taken in the Netherlands to live in
areas that are threatened by water
• Specific concepts:
• Ages 4-5: sea, beach, dunes
• Ages 6-7: sea, beach, dunes & rivers, canals, lakes
• Ages 8-9: …& … & defense against the sea, dike, mills
• Ages 10-12: …& … & … & river management, polders,
mounds,
peat excavation

11. Digitizing the curriculum
• The specific concepts can be used as a language
to describe
– the curriculum from primary to upper secondary
education
– all educational materials (learning materials, school
test items and national examination questions,
technology applications, etc.)
• By using one (1) language everyone has to speak
this same language
• We can use the concepts as “metadata” to label
(tag) all educational materials

12. How does it work? An example..
Concepts from 8
subjects for upper
secondary education
(economics, management &
organization, biology,
physics, English,
mathematics, geography,
chemistry)
National examination
questions (2008 – 2013)
Learning
materials
from open
educational
resources
Learning
materials
from
educational
publishers

13. Conceptx
Conceptx
Conceptx
• Labeling
national
examination
questions with
concepts

14. • Labeling
Learning
materials
from
educational
publishers Conceptx
Concepty
Conceptz
Concepta

15. Linking all data
• By linking
– the common core curriculum
– the items from the national final secondary school
examinations from 2009-2013
– the test and item analysis (TIA) of the national final
secondary school examinations from 2009-2013
– the learning materials from several educational
publishers and open educational resources
• and making this available in an online tool for
teachers and students
• the curriculum is aligned and digitalized

16. Online application
• Students can practice questions from previous
national final examinations
• Teachers get a graphical overview of the average
examination results of his/her class and individual
students in relation to:
– the common core curriculum
– the table of contents of the learning materials, text
books or open educational resources they use at their
school
– the national average P-value (benchmark)
– a profile of their students in terms of progress

17. Online application
• different
starting
points for
students
Table of
contents
learning
materials
Chapter
Paragraph
Section
Related examination questions
Question type & level
Question type & level

18. Online application
• different
starting
points for
students
Examinations
(practice a
complete
examination)
Question type
(practice by
question type,
such as
knowledge,
mathematical,
apply)

19. Online application
• scores
Examination question
Question type (here: mathematic)
Question level (here: easy)
Subject disussed in Chapter 6 & 3
Other questions to practice , here:
1 easy
2 medium
Compare score
with classmates
Compare score with
national score

20. Comparing class
results with
national results
• Overview for the
teacher
• Linked data for
– overview
– actions to be
taken
– personalized
learning

21. Lesson observation
• Secondary education, final examination year
(ages 16-17)
• 30 students
• 2 teachers
• Lesson observation
• Structured focus group interview with
teachers and students

22. Lesson observation
• Economics, 8.10 – 9.00 hours, in the computer lab
• Usually at that time preparing for the final
examination
– Explanations/instruction
– Practicing with paper examinations
• Teacher writes the “to do’s” on the whiteboard

25. Lesson observation
• Most students do work in the online application
• Two students had to be “motivated”
• Students practice examination question
• Students fill in the scores
• Students see the smileys: “wow-effect”
• Some students only use the online application,
others also use the textbook

29. Interviews
• Positive aspects according to the students
– Many examinations available
– Smileys for comparing scores
– Possibility to search per chapter, paragraph, type
of examination question, level of question, etc.
– Not just economics, but also 7 other subjects
– Anytime, anywhere
– Good preparation for the final examination

30. Interviews
• Positive aspects according to the teachers
– Time efficiency
– Personalized learning
– Possibility to search per chapter, paragraph, type
of examination question, level of question, etc.
– Quick overview of scores and problems
– Having a core curriculum

31. Interviews
• Negative aspects according to the students and
teachers
–Some technical errors
–Getting used to the system

32. More research
• Pre- and post test questionnaire
– Pre: high expectations with regard to effect and
personalized learning
– Post: after the final examinations in May
• More lesson observations and focus group
interviews
• Interviews with other stakeholders

33. What we do know
• Teachers need more support, especially
related to (T)PCK:
– “how can we integrate this in our current teaching
practice”
– “how can we use this during the whole academic
year, and not just before the final examinations?”
– “is personalized learning the same as
individualized learning?”
– etc.

34. More information?
• Do you have experience with these kind of
systems? Please let us know!
• Petra Fisser, p.fisser@slo.nl