WIP: An Evidence Gap Map Analysis of Personalized Adaptive Learning in Undergraduate Mathematics

This work in progress research paper presents preliminary results of a meta-analysis using an evidence gap map that examines personalized adaptive learning (PAL) in undergraduate mathematics. Personalized adaptive learning (PAL) implements intelligent learning systems, integrates learner preferences, and analyzes individual learning data to create a unique learner path personalized to the needs of students. PAL may benefit students in mathematics courses such as college algebra which serves as a gatekeeper course, especially for those majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Our comprehensive meta-analysis of group design studies examines the average effect of PAL on undergraduate mathematics outcomes broadly and specifically on algebra. Thirteen databases were searched. At the first stage, titles and abstracts were screened. Articles violating one or more inclusion criteria were excluded. The second stage of screening was full-text review. Retained studies will have data extracted that will allow the effect size results to be meta-analyzed (which is beyond the scope of the evidence gap maps). Results to date: The search identified 12,734 studies and of those, 44 met inclusion criteria, four of which were merged into two studies resulting in 42 included studies. Of the 42 studies, 19 were published in the previous ten years and constitute the analytic sample for the EGM. Of these 19 studies, two (11%) incorporated a randomized design. The EGM of the number of studies by publication outlet and publication year indicates that of the six journal publications, about two-thirds were published in 2020 or more recent. In comparison, of the 13 non-journal publications, 69% of the non-journal publications were published between 2015–2019. The EGMs suggest the need for researchers to continue to seek rigorous designs for evaluating PAL to provide the strongest evidence. There is a growing and positive trend for PAL research to be published in journals which should assist in making results more discoverable. This project seeks to advance undergraduate STEM education research by meta-analyzing studies related to implementation of innovative technological advancements in instruction and how PAL intervention relates to students' success in mathematics-going beyond results from just one institution, one setting, one sample. As a Work-in-Progress, next steps include extracting and meta-analyzing data from the included studies.