How can you identify students who would benefit from adaptive learning?

1 Differentiated readiness levels

One of the main indicators of adaptive learning potential is the variation in readiness levels among your students. Readiness refers to how prepared a student is to learn a new skill or concept, based on their prior knowledge, skills, and motivation. Some students may be ahead of the curriculum, while others may be behind or struggling with gaps in their understanding. Adaptive learning can help you tailor the instruction to each student's level, by providing them with appropriate challenges, scaffolds, and feedback. To identify the readiness levels of your students, you can use pre-assessments, formative assessments, or adaptive learning platforms that adjust the difficulty and content of the questions based on the student's performance.

3 Specific learning needs and goals

A third aspect that affects adaptive learning potential is the specific learning needs and goals of each student. Learning needs refer to the challenges or barriers that a student faces in their learning process, such as learning disabilities, language difficulties, or emotional issues. Goals refer to the aspirations or expectations that a student has for their learning outcomes, such as academic achievement, career development, or personal growth. Adaptive learning can help you address the specific learning needs and goals of your students, by providing them with customized support, guidance, and feedback. To identify the learning needs and goals of your students, you can use interviews, portfolios, or adaptive learning platforms that monitor the student's progress, strengths, and areas for improvement.

4 High levels of engagement and motivation

A fourth sign of adaptive learning potential is the high level of engagement and motivation that a student demonstrates in their learning process. Engagement refers to how actively and deeply a student participates in the learning activities, such as attention, interest, and involvement. Motivation refers to how strongly and persistently a student pursues their learning goals, such as intrinsic, extrinsic, or self-regulated. Adaptive learning can help you enhance the engagement and motivation of your students, by providing them with relevant, meaningful, and rewarding learning experiences. To identify the engagement and motivation levels of your students, you can use observations, feedback, or adaptive learning platforms that track the student's behavior, attitude, and satisfaction.

5 Responsive and reflective learners

A fifth indicator of adaptive learning potential is the responsiveness and reflectiveness that a student shows in their learning process. Responsiveness refers to how quickly and effectively a student adapts to the changes and feedback in the learning environment, such as self-correction, improvement, and mastery. Reflectiveness refers to how critically and creatively a student thinks about their learning process, such as self-awareness, self-evaluation, and self-improvement. Adaptive learning can help you foster the responsiveness and reflectiveness of your students, by providing them with frequent, timely, and specific feedback, and by encouraging them to monitor, analyze, and optimize their learning strategies. To identify the responsiveness and reflectiveness of your students, you can use quizzes, journals, or adaptive learning platforms that measure the student's performance, progress, and metacognition.