Voice from the Industry
The “X Factor” in Student Success: Student Ownership Inspired by Intelligent Adaptive Learning™
Jessie Woolley-Wilson, CEO, DreamBox Learning — Monday, February 06, 2012
Queen Anne Elementary prides itself in being “A School for 21st Century Learners.” Administrators and teachers strive to effectively integrate technology to enhance the curriculum and inspire creativity and learning. This is abundantly evident when you drop in on teacher Katie Cryan-Leary’s first- and second-grade classes. You’ll see a blended learning environment of traditional classroom instruction paired with adaptive learning technology.
In the case of math, the school uses DreamBox Learning Math™, a platform that adapts to any student—struggling, on-level, or advanced—and motivates each individual to become a proficient, mathematical thinker. This powerful combination of teacher- and student-driven instruction is a huge win for everyone. It demonstrates the commitment to continuous improvement through real-time integrated instruction and assessment. For students, it accelerates learning in a highly engaging way, and for teachers, like Katie, it allows them to maximize every instructional minute in the day.
Blended learning models empower students to take more ownership of their own learning. Everyone likes to be in the driver’s seat—even elementary school kids. Increased student ownership combined with adaptive learning technology introduces an educational “X Factor”—a high-impact motivation that encourages students to persist through challenge, then progress toward mastery. This student-driven ownership can dramatically impact learning outcomes for every student.
DreamBox Learning Math enables students to shape their learning experiences by demonstrating what they know through the use of virtual manipulatives. This approach optimizes every learning moment to support their self-directed learning. In essence, they’re architecting their own learning path through the use of intelligent adaptive learning.
This nimble technology adjusts to the learner’s needs as the learner uses it. The resulting “X Factor” guarantees individual students are working in their optimal learning zone, consistently engaging in new challenges, all while remaining motivated to continue progressing toward ultimately achieving proficiency. Releasing this “X Factor” is no small feat. Three key elements are required to attain this goal: (1) providing access to intelligent adaptive learning tools, (2) presenting a rigorous curriculum, and (3) fostering a dynamic and motivating learning environment.
Adaptive Learning and the Optimal Learning Zone
One of the most challenging issues facing administrators and teachers as they evaluate technology in today’s marketplace is that there’re so many definitions of adaptive learning. As with any technology sector, there’s always one that leapfrogs the pack, setting new benchmarks for excellence.
Enter intelligent adaptive learning™, a new class of adaptive learning from DreamBox Learning. It’s student-driven, student-architected learning that is relevant to each individual student’s level of understanding as well as his or her engagement level.
An intelligent adaptive learning platform is one that “learns the learner as the learner learns”—real time and continuously within a learning environment, such as DreamBox Learning. If a student doesn’t get the right answer, it’s not considered failure. It’s a valuable and real-time opportunity to teach and customize the educational experience to keep the student in his or her optimal learning zone—not too easy, not too hard.
As students progress through lessons, intelligent adaptive learning technology is able to meticulously collect rich data with every move a student makes in order to evaluate the speed, accuracy, efficiency, and strategy a student uses to solve problems to determine the next step in that student’s learning path. It enables every teacher to have infinite patience, unlimited data, and perfect memory. Because of its ability to automate differentiated instruction, this technology is the ideal partner for teachers with diverse learners in their classrooms, ensuring that the entire class is on a path of accelerated learning and proficiency.
Rigorous Content Is Key
It’s essential that all students be presented with rigorous content that requires critical thinking in mathematics. The DreamBox mathematics curriculum develops deep understanding in mathematics by engaging students in analyzing patterns and thinking critically about relationships between numbers and operations. Students come to understand the number system so deeply that they exhibit true fluency in operations with the base ten system and fractions. Students not only learn multiple computation strategies but also how to choose the most efficient strategy for a particular problem and solve more problems mentally.
Engagement Leads to Perseverance
By giving kids the power to personalize their learning environment through avatar icons, wallpapers, and music, DreamBox puts kids in charge, increasing student ownership and maximizing motivation. Technology is a core part of today’s student DNA, and gaming and entertainment companies set the bar high for digital engagement. But education needs to do more than entertain.
DreamBox Learning Math leverages the fundamental, proven principles of gaming and repurposes them for learning. DreamBox uses story progression, characters, animation, and more to weave together rich, memorable moments that teach core concepts. And with kids in charge, DreamBox students have the motivation to persist. As a result, they persevere and succeed. It’s where the “X Factor” comes into play.
Now step back into Katie Cryan Leary’s classroom where first and second graders have taken the wheel of their learning journey, eagerly asking when they can play DreamBox again—the purest example of how student-driven engagement leads to persistence and ultimately to mastery. When great teachers are provided with the three core elements—intelligent adaptive learning technology, a rigorous curriculum, and an engaging and motivating learning environment—everybody wins as this combination accelerates student learning and meets teachers’ needs.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jessie Woolley-Wilson brings nearly two decades of experience in K-12 education technology to DreamBox Learning where, since September 2010, she’s been leading the team that created an adaptive learning program that accelerates learning through a rigorous curriculum, a motivating learning environment, and an intelligent adaptive learning engine. Prior to joining DreamBox Learning, Ms. Woolley-Wilson held leadership positions in general management, sales and marketing, operations, and business development for a number of prominent education technology companies, including Blackboard and LeapFrog SchoolHouse, the schools division of LeapFrog Enterprises. Ms. Woolley-Wilson received her MBA from Harvard Business School and her BA in English from The University of Virginia.
