organisation
Intelligent tutoring
Using adaptive learning in an organisation Vaughan Waller I
magine the situation where an e-learning programme adapted itself to the skills and capabilities of the learner, enabling them to move beyond the sheep-dipping approach
(everyone treated the same) and instead to a new level of proficiency. This is adaptive learning or, as it is sometimes called, intelligent tutoring because this program would have to act intelligently. A possible example would be that each time the learner answered a question, their answer would indicate to the programme what knowledge they already had on the subject. So if they responded correctly they would then be asked something more advanced. If they failed that one, appropriate learning would be provided to get them there. To some, this could sound like a university research subject that is all very interesting but that has little or no practical value in the real world. But, if you think about it, there could be many applications in a workplace environment. This approach would only work where an
individual’s knowledge or skills would need continuous enhancement. Subjects common to most organisations (compliance, time management, presentation skills, process or task training) would not apply as once you have learned these you do not need to keep getting better and better. These subjects certainly need practice, regular updating and refreshing but you could not continuously improve your ability to complete an expenses claim for instance. Where this really would work is in management training where getting better and better at your job is the desired result. Here, it is not about being able to do a task effectively – that’s a given. It is being able to interpret the actions of others
Where this really would work is in management training where getting better and better at your job is the desired result.
correctly, make rational decisions under pressure and the ability to see order within chaos. How you find people with these attributes is what every major organisation wants to know. If you have got this far you may be thinking why would you bother to do a computer-based programme when a face-to-face tutor led programme would be preferable anyway; tutors are intelligent aren’t they? True, most management training is tutor-led but is it always adaptive? Even if the course had been custom written and only had five delegates, some may not benefit at all and some may struggle. Would the tutor then customise their material for each delegate on the day? I don’t think so. The costs of this sort of training are invariably colossal and a major investment by the organisation but if it only works for a few then much of that money can be wasted. Perhaps blending the two (e-learning and tutor led) would be optimal. The initial adaptive part would act like any other pre-course exercise but it would do a lot more than just introduce the subject. Usually, everyone is subjected to the same pre-course exercises which are intended to bring everyone up to the same level but this seldom happens. The adaptive version would be ‘real hard learning’ tailored to this elite group, but which would not only identify where these people are on the subject in hand but more importantly get them
all to the required level for the course that follows. Examinations or tests can narrow the field but would not produce the same result. A delegate could write a brilliant response to a scenario based question or score highly in a carefully designed set of test questions but this would still not necessarily indicate whether you were real C-level material. There would still have to be some further interpretation of their answers. Admittedly, humans can do this work but we can all be swayed by thinking traps or cognitive distortions making our decisions frequently flawed. Some manufacturers of e-learning software
Using technology in learning is not always about exploiting the latest developments … but about applying technology in ways that will enable us to do what we could not have done without it.
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claim to enable anyone to create adaptive learning programmes but this may not be what we are talking about here. To be able to adequately define a particular quality of an individual that you would want to find is difficult enough but to then devise an exercise that would expose it would be quite a challenge. A range of subject matter experts would need to be on hand who would cover everything from cognitive development through to global senior management. Despite the many difficulties however, there is little doubt that it could be done given the will and the means. The technology required to realise a programme of this nature is available now and it would just be a case of testing it exhaustively and repeatedly until the desired results were seen. Using technology in learning is not always about exploiting the latest developments (much as Oculus Rift is exciting and fun) but about applying technology in ways that will enable us to do what we could not have done without it. Adaptive learning is one of those.
Vaughan Waller is a regular contributor to e.learning age
e.learning age september 2015
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