Volume 5, Issue 1 (2018) Special Issue on Leveraging Adaptive Courseware

This special edition of Current Issues in Emerging eLearning comprises new empirical research focused on strategies for implementing and scaling personalized and adaptive courseware solutions. A special call for studies related to adaptive courseware implementation was announced broadly.

The Personalized Learning Consortium (PLC) at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) was solicited for research originating from institutions who participated in a postsecondary success initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As evidenced in the research in this edition, high-enrollment foundation or gateway courses are of particular interest for pioneering initiatives regarding adaptive courses, given these courses have been identified as obstacles to degree completion.

The research studies in this special edition share findings from five institutional implementations of adaptive courseware solutions and one additional study delves into motivations that drive faculty members to adopt adaptive learning technologies. The findings are particularly valuable for institutions currently implementing a digital courseware platform who may be stymied by barriers to adoption addressed in this research. Similarly, this special edition offers significant findings to institutions planning an implementation and seeking strategic advantage through access to peer-reviewed research.