Strategies for implementing adaptive learning

Adaptive learning has revolutionized online learning by offering personalized experiences. It enhances learner engagement, supports content mastery, and fosters lifelong learning by tailoring instruction, providing continuous assessment and feedback, and leverage data-driven insights.

A well-developed single course can cater to various employees, providing unique training based on their roles and responsibilities, real-life experiences, and applied knowledge. As technology evolves, adaptive learning holds tremendous potential to shape the future of the Ethics & Compliance function, ensuring genuinely personalized and impactful learning journeys for every learner.

What is adaptive learning?

Adaptive compliance training leverages data and algorithms to provide users with more opportunities to engage with the course content and ensures that the course intelligently responds to their individual needs. This approach aims to replicate a personalized, one-on-one learning experience, emphasizing experiential learning. For example, the course content dynamically adjusts based on the employee’s role and performance within the course. If an employee struggles to apply the information in real-life scenarios, they receive targeted coaching and are presented with alternative scenarios to practice, ensuring mastery through simulation.

As employees progress through the course, the cloud-based portal captures their interactions. Unlike traditional training methods that only track completion status or final quiz scores, adaptive training provides compliance teams with valuable insights into employees’ understanding of compliance concepts and company policies as they relate to their roles and responsibilities. By collecting these actionable insights across the entire compliance training program, organizations can proactively identify and address areas of risk in simulation before they escalate into actual issues. Additionally, this approach enables compliance teams to report on training ROI and refine their compliance program strategy and implementation. Not only is this approach considered best practice, but it also aligns with expectations from the Department of Justice, emphasizing the importance of leveraging data to measure program effectiveness.

Strategies for implementing adaptive learning

1. Scenario-based learning

Scenario-based learning immerses learners in real-world situations that are likely to happen at their organization—or have happened in the past. Learners are given the opportunity to positively interact with the course and reinforce key compliance principles and everyday good choices. In fact, one of the questions in the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs is: Has the training addressed lessons learned from prior compliance incidents? Customizing scenarios for your organization can help your employees connect the dots from compliance training to their role.

2. Microlearning modules

Instead of a lengthy course that gives a deep dive into a particular risk area, microlearning modules break complex topics down into bite-sized chunks. This presentation ensures that information is easier for the learner to digest, retain, and apply to their role and responsibilities. Microlearning modules are excellent tools to reinforce appropriate behaviors throughout the year. They can be easily deployed outside of a learning management system and put where your employees normally find guidance and information about their roles—even shared by managers and supervisors, a best practice for compliance programs.

3. Adaptive content

Adaptive content represents a paradigm shift in traditional, linear learning models. This modern approach leverages advances in technology to personalize the learning experience, recognizing that no two learners are the same and each have unique training needs. The power of adaptability lies in the ability to meet each learner where they are at and tailor content delivery, assessments, and feedback to match the needs of each learner.

Adaptive learning is revolutionizing online learning by offering personalized experiences. Download our latest eBook, Target, Tailor, and Humanize Compliance Training Using Adaptive Learning Principles to find out more.