Traditional corporate learning and corporate e-learning teaches content and then asks questions to establish which parts the learner absorbed.You can expect there will be parts the learner remembers. But there will also be parts they don’t remember, and they’ll get many of the answers right simply by guessing (not because they truly have mastered the topic well enough to apply the information in a real setting). So how, in a corporate training environment, can you remediate these knowledge gaps which could be the very gaps you set out to solve in the first place?

The proprietary adaptive technology created by Area9 Learning sets out to resolve this widespread problem in corporate education. As a computer-based learning system, with algorithms that personalize to every learner (in real-time), learners are asked questions (formative assessment probes). Then, based on what they know, don’t know, or aren’t confident about, their learning program adapts.

One of the most common questions we hear is: That sounds like taking a test, not learning. Isn’t that a problem?

Here’s our answer:

3 Ways Adaptive Technology Is Different From a Test

1. Adaptive Learning Is Engaging: It’s hard to keep a learner’s attention with a slideshow displaying content they already know or a video they’re playing in the background. But research has shown, time and again, that asking questions in a non-threatening way (i.e. outside the context of a test) actually drives engaged learning.
2. Questions Are Designed for Learners, Not Instructors: The purpose of the questions asked on an Adaptive Learning platform are not for the instructor to assess knowledge. The questions asked in Adaptive Learning platforms are designed to give the learner feedback. The point of the questions is to help guide the learner’s efforts and help the adaptive engine decide what learning content they need next.
3. There Is No Pass or Fail, Only Learning, to Advance Your Employee’s Career: “Scores” - the data collected by the Adaptive Learning engine based on a learner’s answers - are only used to optimize the learning experience and help a learner master the subject. Answers aren’t used to hold an employee back based on someone else’s conclusions of where their weaknesses are. What’s important to the adaptive technology is that they’ve learned the content necessary for them to bring that knowledge back to their job.

There’s a lot of fear around taking tests. Tests, exams, and quizzes stress learners out. They’re high stakes. None of this is conducive to learning. Adaptive Learning is different. It provides a safe environment for your employees to explore what they know and don’t know, and to improve. When your learners use an Adaptive Learning platform, they’re not taking a test. They’re just learning.

Can Your Corporate Learning Platform Benefit From Adaptive Technology?

Find out the other ways Adaptive Learning differs from traditional corporate learning methods and decide if adaptive technology is right for your workplace with this free ebook, What’s Broken About Corporate E-Learning (& How Adaptive Learning Heals The Gap).