Adaptive teaching with technology enhances lasting learning

2025/06/13 by Leonie Sibley, Armin Fabian, Christine Plicht +5 · 1 voice
Computer Science · Psychology · #Intelligent Tutoring Systems and Adaptive Learning #Online Learning and Analytics #Educational Games and Gamification

paper · doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102141

openalex publication_date 2025/06/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23

Abstract

Background A central goal in education is to productively handle heterogeneity among students. Adaptive teaching, which integrates formative assessment, differentiation, and individual support, is a promising model for addressing student diverse prerequisites such as prior knowledge. While educational technology is increasingly employed to implement adaptive teaching, there is limited knowledge on whether its effectiveness generalizes across different subjects and educational contexts. Aims This study aims to investigate the immediate and long-term effects of technology-enhanced adaptive teaching on students’ cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational outcomes, and crucially, whether the effectiveness can be generalized across various educational settings. Additionally, we examined whether these effects depend on specific boundary conditions (prior knowledge, domain, degree of adaptivity). Sample The study involved N = 656 students from grades 7 to 12 ( M = 14.91 years, 45 % female) across various subjects ( k = 12 teaching units) from six different schools in Germany. Methods Using the Localize-Generalize-Transfer (LoGeT) framework, we adopted a comprehensive implementation approach combining co-design and ManyClasses approaches. We compared the effects of technology-enhanced adaptive teaching with a business-as-usual control condition, focusing on learning, monitoring accuracy, interest, and self-efficacy. Results We found that students in the technology-enhanced adaptive teaching condition outperformed students in the business-as-usual condition regarding delayed but not immediate learning outcomes. None of the other effects were significant. Interestingly, subject domain and the level of adaptive elements moderated the effect. Conclusions This research addresses a gap in understanding the generalizability of technology-enhanced adaptive teaching, demonstrating its broader applicability and contribution to lasting learning outcomes.

Citations

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Discussions

• Sibley et al. (2025) studied technology's impact on student outcomes. Results show technology improves lasting learning but not immediate learning. 💡🧐 No effects were found on self-efficacy, interes [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]