A Case Study of Adaptive Learning Technology in the Humanities

‘A sea of endless opportunities’: Adaptive Courseware in English Composition

Gateway courses in English challenge students to strengthen skills in critical thinking, reading, grammar, and writing structure and strategies — skills that also help build competency in comprehension and composition. They can also prove to be a particular challenge to many community college students. A new case study examines the efforts at three of the seven ATD network colleges participating in the Every Learner Everywhere initiative that focused on English courses as part of their efforts to implement adaptive courseware into gateway courses to help more students persist and succeed. The study suggests that adaptive courseware helped students make connections between mastering discrete skills and their overall progress in writing, particularly when intentionally integrated into class activities.