Changing the paradigm? Creating an adaptive course to improve student engagement and outcomes in introductory political science classes

Abstract

Adaptive learning (AL) courseware holds promise for helping break down challenges students face in college. In 2016–2017 we developed an AL Political Science course, Global Issues, implemented it across 51 classes and more than 5,200 students over the next two academic years, and initiated a study to assess student perceptions and performance. In each semester, except spring 2018 when half the sections used non-AL courseware, all sections were taught using the AL courseware. Across these AL sections and on every question in a survey of student perceptions, students gave highly positive perceptive ratings of the courseware. In the spring 2018 assessment of the AL courseware versus non-AL courseware, the perceptive differences between the adaptive and non-adaptive sections were statistically significant on 12 of 14 questions (though the difference in online classes was not significant and we found significant differentiation based on instructor rank). As for student performance, the difference between AL and non-AL classes again showed overall significance, though with marked between-instructor differences and again not in online classes. It is also important to note that first-year status informed the performance results, and the average DFW rate fell significantly once the AL courseware was introduced. Our findings support the case that AL courseware can be one tool that helps provide a useful foundation for student progression, satisfaction, and performance.

Keywords:

• Adaptive learning
• DFW rates
• student perceptions
• student performance
• student success

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christopher L. Brown

Christopher L. Brown is a principal senior lecturer in political science, teaching political economy, comparative politics, and global issues (online and F2F). Since 2016 he has co-directed an award-winning project, funded by the Gates Foundation, bringing adaptive learning to a large introductory class (Global Issues). He is also the creator/director of the Robinson Country Intelligence Index (RCII), a unique teaching and research tool, and the author of the extensive pedagogy tied to it. The RCII and RCII pedagogy have been incorporated into undergraduate and graduate classes and are used by roughly 3,000 students annually across disciplines, cultivating global, data, and digital literacy, as well as critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The RCII has also served as a key foundation for several dissertations. From 1994 to 2009, Brown was research director at SCIS, playing a central role in 20 PBS television specials and co-authoring 12 books in the World in Transition series. This series includes wide-ranging content and pedagogy and is used in classrooms across the country. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-brown-725a48a/

Jeannie Grussendorf

Jeannie Grussendorf is a principal senior lecturer in the Political Science department at Georgia State University (Atlanta campus) where she teaches a variety of international relations courses (Global Issues, U.S. Foreign Policy, Introductory International Relations, and Politics of Peace). Her research is focused on the scholarship of teaching and learning and in this, she examines the effect of different pedagogical approaches on critical thinking. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannie-grussendorf-21ba526/

Michael D. Shea

Michael D. Shea is a PhD candidate and graduate instructor, the Robinson Country Intelligence Index Research Team Manager, and a George M. Sparks Award winner (2017) at Georgia State University. His dissertation focuses on country adoption of same-sex marriage as a contested human rights norm. Shea has a Master of Arts in Political Science from Georgia State University. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-shea-70724a43

Clark J. DeMas

Clark J. DeMas is a PhD candidate at Georgia State University. He was the recipient of the Dissertation Research Mobility Fellowship from the University Ca’ Foscari in Venice, Italy (2018). DeMas’ dissertation explores the world of criminal politics, parsing the links between black markets and local governance. He received his Master of Arts in Political Science from Georgia State University. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clark-demasi-23bb6613b/