Implementation of Smart Sparrow Adaptive Learning Technology in an Online B.A. Psychology Program

Audience Level: 
All
Session Time Slot(s): 
Institutional Level: 
K-12
Strands (Select 1 top-level strand. Then select as many tags within your strand as apply.): 
Abstract: 

 The Chicago School of Professional Psychology recently launched an online B.A. Psychology program.  With a focus on pedagogical innovation, Smart Sparrow adaptive learning technology was introduced into the program. This session will discuss the implementation of Smart Sparrow technology in two general education courses.

Extended Abstract: 

This session will use The Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s pilot with Smart Sparrow adaptive learning technology as a case study for implementing an advanced pedagogical innovation. The Chicago School’s most recent Strategic Plan included a goal to advance psychology education through pedagogical innovation. The Strategic Plan work group created a team that consisted of faculty, academic staff, and instructional designers, to support the advancement of this goal. The team gathered research on personalized and adaptive learning technologies and led a vendor selection process. Ultimately, Smart Sparrow’s adaptive learning technology was selected for a pilot study in the school’s online Bachelor of Arts in Psychology program, specifically within algebra and biology courses.

In collaboration with members from the Smart Sparrow team, the work group moved to include additional instructional designers and faculty subject matter experts.  A new series of weekly Zoom meetings were scheduled and milestone deadlines were developed to drive the pace of the team’s work. Google Docs were used to collaborate on the development of learning outcomes, student personas, avatars, lesson outlines, storyboards, and graphics.

This presentation will outline the project management and project team support that supported the development and implementation of adaptive learning technology on time and on budget. Preliminary results from the summer 2017 pilot will be shared. Based on our experience, we will provide suggestions for content creation and the implementation of adaptive learning technology.

Session Outcomes

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

  • Apply lessons learned into their own educational setting.
  • Identify the project management and project team requirements needed for success.
  • Decide how Smart Sparrow and adaptive learning can be used with institutions in a variety of ways.
Conference Session: 
Concurrent Session 5
Session Type: 
Education Session