Gates Foundation Awards $2.5 Million to UMD-led Adaptive Learning Platform Project

College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences

Department of Mathematics to develop and expand an individualized, textbook-free teaching and learning software platformA new adaptive learning platform—software that replaces textbooks with individualized coursework based on students’ grasp of the concepts within a course—is coming to the University of Maryland.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently awarded $2.5 million to Ithaka S+R, a not-for-profit academic consulting firm, to fund the expansion of an adaptive learning pilot project at UMD and Montgomery College. Students in introductory statistics courses at both institutions will use an adaptive learning platform named Acrobatiq instead of traditional textbooks starting in the fall of 2017.
“I’m very excited to be working with what I think represents the first wave of a whole new generation of teaching software,” said Scott Wolpert, professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics at UMD.
The project leaders are William ‘Brit’ Kirwan, recently retired Chancellor of the University System of Maryland, and Catharine Hill, Managing Director of Ithaka S+R. Kirwan is also Executive Director of Transforming Post-Secondary Education in Mathematics, a non-profit group that will provide advice and support for the project.
Unlike static textbooks, learning platforms like Acrobatiq can adjust their content based on individual students’ needs. For instance, in UMD’s introductory course, STAT 100, one student might need help on standard deviations while another needs practice on binomial distributions. Those students, when they engage with the adaptive learning platform, would see different content.
By allowing students to spend more time on their weaker areas instead of wasting time on areas they have already mastered, adaptive learning software can help a wide range of students with different needs.
“Because STAT 100 has so many students—about 500 this semester, from a wide variety of majors—we’re hoping to impact a large cross-section of campus,” Wolpert said.
That is part of why STAT 100 is an ideal course for the ...

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