Every seasoned teacher knows how to adapt a lesson to the individual learner and their learning needs, and research shows that students in schools implementing these personalized practices are making greater progress than their peers over time.
It happens in classrooms all the time when an instructor patiently explains something, especially to learners that might be struggling with understanding a certain concept.
That’s all well and good for in-person tutoring and small groups.
But what do you do when you’re training dozens, or even thousands, of people online?
There is a solution and it’s called adaptive learning.
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What is adaptive learning?
Adaptive learning is an educational approach that uses technology to automatically adjust content, pacing, and instruction based on each learner’s individual needs, performance, and knowledge level.
Adaptive learning platforms use algorithms and artificial intelligence to deliver personalized experiences at scale.
The goal isn’t to replace instructors but to make personalized instruction scalable across hundreds or thousands of learners.
Here’s why it works:
Addresses different learning paces: Some learners grasp concepts quickly while others need more time and support
Keeps everyone engaged: Advanced learners stay challenged while struggling learners get the help they need. In fact, a scoping review of 69 studies on adaptive learning found that 36% of them reported increased student engagement.
Delivers different paths: Each person follows a customized journey based on their performance and needs
How does adaptive learning work?
Adaptive learning systems use data and technology to adjust the learning experience in real time. Think of it as a GPS for learning that constantly recalculates the best route.
The system tracks multiple signals:
Performance data: Assessment scores and quiz results
Engagement patterns: Time spent on content and interaction frequency
Confidence levels: Self-reported understanding and readiness to progress
This data feeds into the platform’s decision-making about what content to present next.
There are two main ways adaptive learning systems make these decisions:
Designed adaptability: Instructional designers decide the teaching sequence using if/then statements
Algorithmic adaptability: Automated algorithms use signals from students’ learning activity (performance, behavior, learner feedback) to guide the teaching sequence
So, in what ways can adaptive learning systems adapt the lessons and learning processes?
Here’s a short overview:
Real-time feedback: Offering appropriate help at the point of need, hints, feedback pop-up windows, encouraging messages, etc.
Differentiated learning pathways: Offering different content sequences to each learner, e.g., fast-tracking the advanced students and giving extra help to those struggling.
The beauty of adaptive learning is that it happens automatically once you’ve set up the system. Learners don’t need to manually select their path; the platform does the heavy lifting based on their demonstrated knowledge and skills.
Types of adaptive learning approaches
Adaptive learning systems use different methods to personalize the experience. Here are the four main approaches:
Content-based adaptation: Adjusts what materials learners see based on demonstrated knowledge level
Assessment-driven adaptation: Uses quiz results to determine next steps and provide targeted instruction
Pace-based adaptation: Lets learners move through content at their own speed without falling behind
Learning style adaptation: Presents content in formats that match individual preferences like visual, reading, or interactive
Most modern platforms combine several approaches to create comprehensive personalized experiences.
Three benefits of adaptive learning
Adaptive learning isn’t just an educational technology buzzword. It offers some real benefits, both for learners and organizations that choose to implement it in their digital learning initiatives.
Benefit #1: Time-efficiency
Getting a training program off the ground takes time. Whether it’s professional development or sales training, learning doesn’t happen overnight.
So, anything that ends up saving time is beneficial.
How does adaptive training save time? By allowing learners to skip the parts of online learning lessons that they’re already familiar with. That’s what we meant when we mentioned “fast-tracking” the advanced learners.
There’s no point in going over something you already know, and what’s more, forcing learners to do so will lessen their engagement.
Adaptive learning often uses a confidence-based approach where learners answer questions on content they claim to understand, and if they pass, they skip ahead immediately. This aligns with research showing that pre-knowledge quizzes are the most common indicator for activating adaptive content delivery.
This time savings translates directly to productivity gains for both learners and organizations.
Here’s a practical example: Create a pretest for your training course. If an employee gets just one answer wrong, they only revisit that specific question in the next test rather than repeating the full quiz. This reduces cognitive clutter and improves retention.
Benefit #2: Personalized learning
Today’s workplaces are very diverse, and learning environments need to reflect that. Using adaptive learning is great when you have a diverse group of learners with different experiences and knowledge levels.
Adaptive learning provides individualized learning paths tailored to a learner’s unique needs and knowledge level.
L&D professionals do this by collecting analytics as employees advance through the different learning modules. From this, you can personalize the training content and learning goals for each employee.
While all learners benefit from this approach, those who can see the most improvement are the ones struggling with the learning materials. Adaptive learning can provide real-time intervention for those having difficulty getting through e-learning courses.
In addition to this, personalized learning increases engagement because it can adapt to a student’s learning style and enables them to learn at their own pace. With adaptive learning, no learner will ever feel like a training program is progressing too fast for them.
Research from Stanford has proven that learner engagement is a powerful predictor of achieving desired learning outcomes. Personalization and learner autonomy are key components of engagement, and adaptive learning enables both. A RAND study confirmed the impact of this approach, finding that student achievement growth in schools using personalized learning exceeded that of a comparison group in both math and reading over two years.
Benefit #3: Scalability
We should mention that adaptive learning isn’t actually a new concept. It did take off with the introduction of digital learning, but teachers have always been adapting their lessons and approaches.
The only problem with this is that it’s hard to scale that approach in a traditional classroom setting. Teachers simply don’t have enough time to dedicate that level of attention to each student.
A Learning Management System (LMS) solves this scalability issue, making it easy to roll training out across your whole organization.
Employees can access custom learning pathways from any device and choose the training mode that best suits their needs.
Paired with a high-quality learning experience design, the adaptive approach results in effective learning across the whole organization.
By now, you must be wondering how you can take advantage of adaptive learning in your company. If you’d like to know, then keep reading the next section of our guide.
Three adaptive learning tips to implement
So you want to make your learning adaptive? We don’t blame you, the benefits are pretty great.
We’ve rounded up our top three tips to help you on your way.
Tip #1: Encourage continuous learning
The first step toward adopting adaptive learning is to establish a culture of continuous learning.
One of the things that companies tend to struggle with when implementing new learning and development initiatives is employee engagement, which may be tied to a broader strategic issue: McKinsey research shows only 40 percent of companies say their learning strategy is aligned with business goals. Supporting continuous learning is a way to break through that barrier.
If your employees feel supported and encouraged to learn and develop themselves professionally, they will take to any new learning initiative more easily.
The best way to promote continuous learning is to give your employees opportunities for informal and social learning. This approach is supported by the popular “70:20:10” framework, which suggests that 20 percent of learning happens through interaction and collaboration with peers. These can be mentorship programs or just having channels to share interesting videos, podcasts, and blog posts.
Here are some more ways to encourage continuous learning:
Provide microlearning content
Build personalized employee development plans
Deliver informal learning content through your social media channels
Use collaborative learning tools to let subject-matter experts from your company share their knowledge with others
Doing this won’t just make it easier to roll out your adaptive learning strategy, it will also turn you into a company with a proper learning culture.
Tip #2: Find relevant learning materials
Before you can use your adaptive learning technology (your LMS), you’ll have to create (or source) some learning materials.
Any kind of learning object can be a part of an adaptive learning course—videos, images, infographics, presentations, quizzes, games, etc.
Ensure that your LMS is filled with interesting and engaging content. This learning content should be industry-specific and relevant to the jobs of your employees.
An L&D professional’s work is never done. Once you have created (or curated) learning materials, you’ll need to make sure they are organized into logical catalogs for learners. These catalogs can be organized by skill, role, or knowledge level.
The main goal is to create a system that makes it easy for employees to browse training, creating a Netflix-style experience. More advanced LMSs will then suggest similar content to employees based on their activity and the skills they want to hone.
Take SCORM compliance into account too. You’ll want all the learning material to be easily searchable, discoverable, and reusable too. Since SCORM is a widely accepted standard, you’ll also be able to integrate in-house content with any learning content you’ve purchased from external providers.
The most important thing is that you have a variety of content so that the adaptive learning system can draw from a lot of options. Think of it like this: if Netflix only had a handful of movies and shows, nobody would be a subscriber.
Tip #3: Focus on personalized learning
Personalized and adaptive learning aren’t precisely the same thing, but they do go hand in hand. Or, to be more specific, adaptive learning is the tool that makes personalized learning possible.
So, personalized learning is an individual student’s learning journey that consists of adaptive learning courses.
Adaptive learning helps make customization the norm in your training programs.
For instance, if you want to focus on upskilling a particular team, you should prepare an employee development plan based on:
Their current skill gaps that you’ve detected
Their preferred learning modality
Areas of improvement you want to see
Targeting the preferred learning styles of your employees will go a long way toward engaging them and achieving the desired learning outcomes.
By now, you’re an adaptive learning sage. So, let’s finish up with a quick review of the key takeaways.
Transform your training with adaptive learning
Adaptive learning uses advanced educational technology, such as algorithms and artificial intelligence, to deliver customized learning experiences that engage learners.
An LMS is one of the best ways to deliver custom learning experiences that adapt to individual learners’ needs. This can be done at scale, through just-in-time feedback, personalized learning pathways, and using a wide range of training resources that cater to different learners.
With adaptive learning, it’s possible to keep advanced learners engaged while at the same time helping those who are struggling to master the learning material.
Companies that adopt adaptive learning see benefits such as time efficiency, better engagement and knowledge retention, and easy scalability of learning experiences.
Top LMSs, such as Docebo, leverage AI to promote adaptive learning at scale. From identifying skills gaps to suggesting relevant training content that builds individual skill sets. All of this empowers employees to learn at their own pace and develop the skills they need the most.
Ready to see how adaptive learning can work for your organization? Explore why more than 3,800 companies across the world trust Docebo. Book a demo today.
FAQs about adaptive learning
What is an example of adaptive learning in corporate training?
A sales manager with strong data privacy knowledge would skip basic compliance concepts and jump to advanced customer interaction scenarios, while a new hire would receive foundational content with extra support.
What’s the difference between adaptive learning and personalized learning?
Adaptive learning is the technology that automatically adjusts content based on performance, while personalized learning is the broader goal of tailoring the entire learning experience to individual needs, goals, and preferences.
How long does it take to implement adaptive learning?
Most organizations have adaptive learning fully operational within two to three months, though you can start pilot programs within a few weeks using a modern LMS with built-in capabilities.
What types of content work best with adaptive learning?
Modular content like short videos, interactive simulations, and microlearning modules work best, especially for skills-based training, compliance, technical training, and onboarding where competency levels are clearly defined.
