Creating and testing adaptive guidance for thermodynamics classroom instruction

IF 5.7 1区教育学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Learning and Instruction Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-01 DOI:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102261

Sarah Bichler , Libby Gerard , Brian Riordan , Jonathan Lim-Breitbart , Marcia C. Linn

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Adaptive instruction tailors learning to individual students by responding to their evolving ideas.

Aims

This study uses principles of Knowledge Integration (KI) and cognitive activation to inform the design of adaptive instruction that integrates system-driven and teacher-led activities and examines how students’ conceptual understanding and disciplinary ideas progress during implementation.

Participants

Two middle school science teachers and 272 students.

Method

In regular classrooms, students engaged with an adaptive thermodynamics unit. Based on real-time formative assessment scores (T1), students received condition-specific activities featuring three adaptive elements (example response, guiding question, and interactive model), revised their explanations (T2), participated in teacher-led instruction, and revised again (T3). Explanations were automatically scored for the level of knowledge integration and disciplinary ideas at three time points. A pre-post item is used to assess overall learning gains. Learning process data is quantified for additional insight.

Results

Linear mixed-effects models showed that students with emerging understanding at T1 benefited most from the adaptive activities. Students expressing connected ideas at T1 decreased their knowledge integration level across the revisions of the formative assessment but improved most from pre-to posttest. Analysis of student-generated improvement suggestions revealed that many students identified target domain ideas during the adaptive activity.

Conclusions

The adaptive design successfully integrated automated and teacher-led instruction and supported the development of condition-specific target ideas. However, students need help to retain, rather than replace, relevant ideas. Future studies should evaluate the design against a non-adaptive control group to determine the added value of adaptivity.

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创建和测试热力学课堂教学自适应指导

适应性教学通过回应学生不断变化的想法来为他们量身定制学习。本研究利用知识整合（KI）和认知激活的原则，为适应性教学的设计提供信息，该教学整合了系统驱动和教师主导的活动，并研究了学生的概念理解和学科思想在实施过程中的进展情况。参与者：2名中学科学教师和272名学生。方法在常规课堂上，学生们学习自适应热力学单元。根据实时形成性评估分数（T1），学生接受具有三个适应性要素（示例回答、引导问题和互动模型）的情境特定活动，修改自己的解释（T2），参加教师主导的指导，再次修改（T3）。在三个时间点，对知识整合水平和学科思想的解释进行自动评分。工作前项目用于评估总体学习收益。学习过程数据被量化以获得更多的见解。结果线性混合效应模型显示，初具理解能力的学生从适应性活动中获益最大。学生在T1表达相关想法时，其知识整合水平在形成性评估的修订中有所下降，但从测试前到测试后提高幅度最大。对学生提出的改进建议的分析表明，许多学生在适应性活动中确定了目标领域的想法。结论自适应设计成功地集成了自动化和教师主导的教学，并支持了特定条件目标思想的发展。然而，学生需要帮助来保留而不是替换相关的思想。未来的研究应该针对非适应性对照组来评估设计，以确定适应性的附加价值。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Learning and Instruction Multiple-

CiteScore

11.30

自引率

4.80%

发文量

109

期刊介绍： As an international, multi-disciplinary, peer-refereed journal, Learning and Instruction provides a platform for the publication of the most advanced scientific research in the areas of learning, development, instruction and teaching. The journal welcomes original empirical investigations. The papers may represent a variety of theoretical perspectives and different methodological approaches. They may refer to any age level, from infants to adults and to a diversity of learning and instructional settings, from laboratory experiments to field studies. The major criteria in the review and the selection process concern the significance of the contribution to the area of learning and instruction, and the rigor of the study.