McGraw-Hill Education, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., US, has announced that it will make McGraw-Hill LearnSmart, its adaptive study tool, available for students in high school. The aim is to provide teachers and schools with a digital solution that has been proven to increase student engagement and improve learning outcomes.
LearnSmart, originally developed by McGraw-Hill Education with Area9 for the higher education market, will assist schools and teachers in overcoming one of K-12 education's biggest challenges: better preparing students for their current coursework as well as success in college and their future careers.
The tool seeks to personalise learning by using algorithmic technology to continually assess students' knowledge, skill and confidence levels and design targeted study paths based on the resulting data to bolster students' understanding in the areas where they need to improve the most. By allowing students to focus their outside-of-class study time on the topics and concepts that are most challenging to them, LearnSmart has been shown to help students study more efficiently, develop greater proficiency and earn better grades.
According to a study released last year, college students using McGraw-Hill LearnSmart were transformed from C students to B students, and B students into A students. This is stated to be a true testament to the power of adaptive learning technology and LearnSmart's ability to help students study smarter.
LearnSmart's ability to adapt to students' individual learning needs and styles reportedly stems from the vast amount of student data already in the system. Since the launch of the tool into the higher education market in 2009, more than 1 million students have already answered more than 1 billion questions through LearnSmart, giving McGraw-Hill Education a deep understanding of how students learn and perform within an adaptive learning environment.
LearnSmart supports the 'flipped classroom' model of education. Because it is assigned as homework to help students strengthen their knowledge in areas where they demonstrate weakness, it encourages students to come to class better prepared to focus on higher-level learning. By doing so, LearnSmart allows teachers to focus more on leading rich class discussions or facilitating collaborative learning experiences. With direct access to students' LearnSmart progress, teachers can use the results to tailor their lessons accordingly at the class and individual level.
At launch, LearnSmart will be available for Biology, US History, Spanish and a variety of AP & Honors level subjects, with additional courses to be added in the coming months. At the high school level, LearnSmart is available on any computer and accessible via McGraw-Hill Education's ConnectED platform.
