Ensuring Student Engagement and Equity with Personalized, Adaptive Learning

The department of Mathematical Sciences at Lincoln University uses ALEKS for placement assessment (ALEKS PPL-Placement Preparation and Learning) and as a supplemental tool for classroom instruction in our entry level math courses. ALEKS is a user-friendly product that can easily be accessible remotely on any device including smart phones. This has improved student engagement and preparedness especially during this time of remote learning caused by the pandemic. It was challenging both for faculty and students to quickly switch to virtual environment when the pandemic hits in mid spring. However, adapting to the virtual environment was easier for the courses that were already using ALEKS as a supplemental tool. Besides providing smooth transition, ALEKS has also helped in ensuring test integrity by providing inbuilt test proctoring tool (lockdown browser with responds monitor) without additional cost during this pandemic. This talk will focus on the role of ALEKS in facilitating smooth transition, maintaining student engagement, and ensuring test integrity in such a way that maintains equity during this time of social distancing and virtual instruction.