Yet I take pause when considering the concept of adaptivity. Of course it sounds rosy- the software adapts to your skill level as you go along. If you're not doing so well in a certain area, it will focus on that so you can get better. Yet I can imagine that this could actually limit learning for some. There were many times when I did not get a concept in school, but only when I went ahead to the next concept or the one after did I gain further understanding of the previous concept. I use this thinking when I teach; I usually have a strong belief of the level I can get each student to, and try to push them toward that level. I consistently make links between current lessons and prior lessons to try to fill any blanks and solidify understanding. I do not necessarily base this on any previous work they've done. I put more of the pressure on myself to get them where I think they should go, with solid understanding, by keeping them moving while stressing the ongoing connections between everything we learn.
If adaptive learning personalizes the learning according to what your students have done before and how they've performed in the past, I'm not sure if such a thought process could be used. It seems you could get students to be really solid at everything, but maybe not truly exceptional at certain things, if you use adaptive learning. Am I off with this?
The NYT and Audrey Watters articles reaffirmed something I've been thinking a lot about lately. While the data issues themselves are big, what's more troubling is how technology is moving too fast for education. I don't think this is education's fault; at the end of the day, I think it all comes down to money. Everyone seems to have the answer to solve all of education's "problems." And then they create a tool to try to address this. And through that tool, they push forward their platform and agenda. So all of the adaptive learning platforms are pouncing on the notion that adaptive learning is the way to go. It could be, but we don't really know! But companies are flourishing because of the speed at which edtech is moving, which creates a competitive marketplace. Education tries to catch up, creating more problems and more people with their idea of the solution.
After my years in GSE, and now in VOLT, I almost think we need to just go back to just teacher, students, paper and pencil, and good books (not textbooks haha).
