“Adaptive Learning” Technology in Elementary and Early Childhood Preservice Teacher Education

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Aspiring Teachers/Coaching Support (Table 8)

Abstract

This study examines how ECE preservice teachers experienced student teaching in classrooms affected by “adaptive learning” technology designed to assess children and personalize their learning. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews and collected personal interpretive drawings from 21 preservice teachers. Findings suggested that “adaptive learning” technology had a complicated role in classroom learning since it did not only extract data from children but reconstituted relations in the classroom. Although adaptive learning was intended to ease teacher recruitment and retention challenges, it had a mostly negative effect on preservice teachers’ opportunities learning opportunities. Considerations of communication, scheduling, and engaging dialogically with the “adaptive learning” tools are paramount to creating pedagogical thoughtfulness in affected ECE classrooms.

Authors

• Melissa Beth Sherfinski, West Virginia University

• WenJuan Mo, West Virginia University