Adaptive learning, instruction, and teaching in schools: Unraveling context, sources, implementation, and goals in a systematic review

Adaptivity allows for meeting diverse students' needs. Building on the Ada-LIT framework, this review systematically investigates 1) in which contexts, 2) based on which sources and types of assessment, 3) through which operationalizations and types of delivery, and 4) with which targeted outcomes adaptations are made in schools. We identified 69 publications double-screening 555 empirical research articles published between 2018 and 2022. Most research was conducted in elementary schools, particularly in math, and adaptivity was mainly delivered by systems. Performance was the most frequent adaptive source and targeted outcome, with less emphasis on emotions or demographic characteristics. Assessment of the adaptive source relied primarily on trace data. Operationalizations were mainly on a micro-level, specifically adaptive navigation, support, and difficulty progression. Studies typically do not report on all six components of adaptivity as outlined in the framework. The Ada-LIT framework can guide rigorous designs and reporting of studies investigating adaptivity in schools. Educational relevance The Ada-LIT framework integrates six essential components of adaptivity in schools: context, source, assessment, delivery, operationalization, and outcome. The review showed adaptivity is primarily based on performance and implemented to improve performance, delivered mainly by systems, and mostly investigated in math. This highlights underexplored areas, accentuating an agenda for future research that taps into other essential components of adaptive learning, instruction, and teaching (LIT) in schools. The framework can guide consistent and comprehensive reporting of future research, fostering the clarity and comparability of findings and, thus, enhancing a collective understanding, robust evidence generation, and an actionable implementation model of adaptive LIT in schools.