Integrating Adaptive Courseware into Broader Efforts to Improve Teaching and Learning

A Case Study of Indian River State College

Indian River State College considered adaptive courseware a potentially powerful tool in its ongoing efforts to improve teaching and learning in online instruction and overall engagement and outcomes for students in math, physical sciences, and English. Tapping into existing efforts to improve student outcomes at the college, faculty led adaptive courseware implementation in these three disciplines, reporting potentially significant improvements in engagement and student performance. To provide additional supports to students, peer tutoring and other supports were coordinated with the use of adaptive courseware, including providing courseware shells and training for tutors. The work also supported broader efforts to address state reforms in developmental education and a shift to a flipped classroom model, providing students with corequisite practice and preparation in advance of in-class instruction and support.

This case study of Indian River State College is part of a series of studies conducted by Achieving the Dream (ATD) examining how adaptive courseware is being implemented at those institutions, as well as how courseware is used in particular disciplines to better serve students. Case studies are based on interviews with college leaders, faculty, instructional designers, developers, technology specialists, and students who were enrolled in classes using the courseware.

ATD is one of 12 higher education and digital learning organizations that make up the Every Learner Everywhere (Every Learner) Network, whose mission is to help higher education institutions improve and ensure more equitable student outcomes through advances in digital learning, particularly among poverty-impacted, racially minoritized, and first-generation students.

Every Learner partners are addressing high failure rates in foundational courses through the provision of scalable, high-quality support to colleges and universities seeking to implement adaptive courseware on their campuses. As part of its ongoing effort to help community colleges develop effective teaching and learning practices, ATD is working with seven community colleges in Florida, Ohio, and Texas on this initiative, providing coaching and direct support to the colleges, fostering collaboration within and among the participating institutions, and serving as a liaison to the Every Learner network.