Effect of embedding a cognitive diagnosis into the adaptive dynamic assessment of spatial geometry learning

ABSTRACTTo achieve adaptive learning, a dynamic assessment system equipped with a cognitive diagnosis was developed for this study, which adopts a three-stage model of diagnosis-intervention-assessment. To examine how this system influenced spatial geometry learning, the study used a quasi-experimental method to investigate student learning outcomes between different groups. One hundred sixteen junior high school students participating in the experiment were divided into experimental and control groups. Experimental group engaged in adaptive learning as they corrected their misconceptions in the learning intervention stage by using learning content provided according to their cognitive diagnosis results. Control group engaged in nonadaptive learning; they corrected misconceptions using self-selected learning content and thus engaged in learning activities that were not focused on their misconceptions. The results revealed that the adaptive learning students exhibited learning performance and misconception correction ratios superior to those in the control group. Through analysis, we discovered that nearly half of the nonadaptive learning students failed to select appropriate learning content for correcting their misconceptions. In addition, the time spent on learning by the students in the two groups was significantly different; the adaptive learning students spent significantly less time on learning than the nonadaptive students, thus exhibiting higher learning efficiency.