Adaptive teaching with technology enhances lasting learning

A central goal in education is to productively handle heterogeneity among students. Adaptive teaching, which integrates formative assessment, differentiation, and individual support, is a promising model for addressing student diverse prerequisites such as prior knowledge. While educational technology is increasingly employed to implement adaptive teaching, there is limited knowledge on whether its effectiveness generalizes across different subjects and educational contexts. This study aims to investigate the immediate and long-term effects of technology-enhanced adaptive teaching on students’ cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational outcomes, and crucially, whether the effectiveness can be generalized across various educational settings. Additionally, we examined whether these effects depend on specific boundary conditions (prior knowledge, domain, degree of adaptivity). The study involved N = 656 students from grades 7 to 12 ( M = 14.91 years, 45 % female) across various subjects ( k = 12 teaching units) from six different schools in Germany. Using the Localize-Generalize-Transfer (LoGeT) framework, we adopted a comprehensive implementation approach combining co-design and ManyClasses approaches. We compared the effects of technology-enhanced adaptive teaching with a business-as-usual control condition, focusing on learning, monitoring accuracy, interest, and self-efficacy. We found that students in the technology-enhanced adaptive teaching condition outperformed students in the business-as-usual condition regarding delayed but not immediate learning outcomes. None of the other effects were significant. Interestingly, subject domain and the level of adaptive elements moderated the effect. This research addresses a gap in understanding the generalizability of technology-enhanced adaptive teaching, demonstrating its broader applicability and contribution to lasting learning outcomes. • Investigation of technology-enhanced adaptive teaching on school students' learning. • Quasi-experimental field study with pre-post-delayed test design ( N = 656 students). • Adaptive teaching led to higher lasting learning compared to regular lessons (CG). • Technology-enhanced adaptive teaching was most effective for languages. • More adaptive elements led to higher learning and self-efficacy in using technology.