Adaptive courses come in many forms, but generally respond to the learner’s existing knowledge and skills: thereby optimizing the time to completion. But do they improve learning outcomes? 

In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Owen are joined by Roy de Vries, Learning Innovator at aNewSpring, to explore the results of an experiment they ran to compare adaptive vs linear courses. 

We discuss: 

• Forms of adaptive learning content; 

• The potential advantages of adaptive learning; 

• The results of an experiment carried out by aNewSpring. 

Details of the study we discussed are online at: anewspring.com/articles/adaptive-learning-reduce-study-time  

During the discussion, Ross referenced our AI-powered difficult conversation simulator: AI Conversations. It gives your people an opportunity to practice a variety of off-the-shelf or custom scenarios. You can find details on our website: mindtools.com/business/products/ai-conversations 

In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Owen recommended the book Smart Swam, by Peter Millers. 

If you want to hear The L&D Dispatch jingle again (and why wouldn’t you?), it’s available from Suno.com.  

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.   

For aNewSpring, visit anewspring.com  

Connect with our speakers    

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers: 

• Ross Garner 

• Owen Ferguson 

• Roy de Vries