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Using multi-stage adaptivity in an assignment

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Background

In a multi-stage adaptive assignment, the assignment parts are combined across different stages. As an author, you determine the paths participants can take across the stages based on their result at the end of each part:

Using adaptive paths in an assignment allows you, as an author, to create one exercise or exam that is suitable for participants of all levels. 

Participants can follow a personalised track. They can practice or be tested on their own level. 

The goal of the adaptive path is to see where participants are in the learning process or to measure their level. In the assignment reports, analysts can see which track a participant followed in the assignment and at which level he or she ended up. 

Note: In a multi-stage adaptive assignment, no passing scores are set on parts, only transition scores. As a result, reporting for multi-stage adaptive assignments is completely different from a standard assignment report:

  • A participant cannot pass or fail an adaptive assignment. 
  • A participant does not obtain a total score for an adaptive assignment. 
  • No end results or passed/failed status are returned to third-party platforms for adaptive assignments, for example in the case of LTI or API integrations. 

Process

Using multi-stage adaptivity in an assignment works as follows:

  1. Create a multi-stage adaptive assignment.
  2. Add parts to your assignment.
  3. Define the paths between the parts in your assignment.
  4. Define the assignment template for your assignment.
  5. Define the type of transition score for your assignment (optional).
  6. Define the result settings for your assignment.

Creating a multi-stage adaptive assignment

To create an assignment with adaptive paths, proceed as follows:

  1. Go to Authoring > Assignments.
  2. Select Assignments in the navigation bar on the left-hand side of your screen.
    Result: You see the list of assignments.
  3. Click +Add at the top right.
    Result: The Add assignment popup appears. 
  4. In the Add assignment pop-up:
    • Select the type Exam or Exercise.
    • Select Fixed or On the fly item selection.
    • Select Use multi-stage adaptivity.
    • Click Add.

    Result : The Overview tab of the assignment is shown.

Notes:

  • You cannot change an existing non-adaptive assignment to a multi-stage adaptive assignment. If you want to work with an adaptive assignment, you always need to create a new assignment.
  • You cannot create a multi-stage adaptive assignment starting from a scenario.

Adding parts to a multi-stage adaptive assignment

To add parts to a multi-stage adaptive assignment, proceed as follows:

  1. Open the Items tab of your adaptive assignment. 
    Result: You will see that your assignment contains one empty part by default.
  2. Select the part.
  3. If you are creating a multi-stage adaptive assignment:

Notes:

  • You can use a maximum of 20 parts in your adaptive assignment.
  • It is recommended to pay attention to the naming of the parts to facilitate the part selection in paths. Meaningful part names will also facilitate the interpretation of the report of your adaptive assignment. 
  • You cannot add a passing score to the parts in an adaptive assignment. Instead, you will have to set transition scores to determine the paths between the parts in your assignment, see below.
  • It is recommended not to add items that need grading to your parts, as the path the participants will take in an adaptive assignment is determined by the scores they obtain on the parts in their path. 

Defining the paths between the parts in a multi-stage adaptive assignment

To define the paths between the parts in a multi-stage adaptive assignment, proceed as follows:

  1. Open the Paths tab of your adaptive assignment. 
    Result: You see the Start and the Finish of the adaptive path. By default, the first part that you added to your assignment is added in Stage 1.  

    Note: The first stage of a multi-stage adaptive assignment can contain one part only. All participants will start with this part. 

  2. Click on the part in Stage 1.
    Result: The side panel of the part is opened on the right.
  3. Define the next parts for the part in Stage 1 in the side panel:
    • If you want to change the part in Stage 1, select another part via the dropdown at the top of the side panel.
    • Add one or more destination parts.
      Result: As soon as you select a destination part, Stage 2 is added and an arrow is added from the selected part to the destination part.

      By default, two placeholders are provided to add parts. To add additional parts, move the mouse  below or above the transitions and click the plus operator.

    • For each destination part, define the transition score (i.e. the score the participants have to obtain to pass to the destination part).

      Note: There are two options for the transition scores, see below.

    • If you want to show a message to the participants before they pass to a destination part, click the message icon next to the destination part and add your message. 
  4. If you have added the next parts for the part in Stage 1, define the next parts for the parts in Stage 2:
    • Select a part in Stage 2
    • Add one or more destination parts for this part and define the transition scores.
      Result: As soon as you add a destination part, Stage 3 is added.

      Note: When you add a part to a stage, it is no longer available for other stages. As a result, in the dropdown with parts, you will only see the parts that you have not added yet.

    • Repeat this for all parts in Stage 2.  
  5. Repeat step 4 for all parts in Stage 3 and so on until you have completed a Finish criterion for all parts in all stages. 

Note: You can set a finish criterion for each part regardless of the stage the part is in. So a participant does not necessarily have to go through all stages in the adaptive assignment.

Defining the assignment template for a multi-stage adaptive assignment

To define the template for a multi-stage adaptive assignment, proceed as follows:

  1. Open the Behaviour tab of your adaptive assignment. 
    Result: You see the behaviour settings of your assignment.
  2. Select the assignment template of your choice.
  3. If you want to change the template settings, click Modify Settings and make the desired adjustments. 

Notes:

  • When you do not want to show the part names to the participants, be sure to de-activate the option Show breadcrumbs in the Layout tab. 
  • Some template options are not relevant for adaptive assignments. In this case, a message is shown next to the option in the assignment template. For example:
    • The navigation option Free navigation is not available as there is a predefined path between the parts in an adaptive assignment. 
    • It is not possible to define Text related to the result of the assignment. 

Defining the type of transition score (optional)

Transition scores are the scores in the parts of an adaptive assignment that determine the paths participants can take in an adaptive assignment.
There are two options: 

  • Score for transitions based on the part score.
    When this option is activated, the transition score is calculated on the score obtained per part.
  • Score for transitions based on the total assignment score.
    When this option is activated, the transition score is calculated on the total score obtained over the parts already taken.

You can define the transition score in the Behaviour tab of your assignment.

Note: By default, only the option for transition scores based on the part score is available. If you are interested in using transition scores based on the total assignment score, please contact Televic Education via support@televic-education.com.  

Define the result settings for your assignment

To define the result settings for a multi-stage adaptive assignment, proceed as follows:

  1. Open the Result tab of your adaptive assignment. 
    Result: You see the result settings of your assignment.
  2. Configure the result settings to your needs. 

Note: Some result settings are not available for adaptive assignments:

  • It is not possible to show a score for an adaptive assignment. 
  • You cannot define an end message based on the total score or passed/failed status. 
  • In an adaptive assignment, the part scores need to be calculated automatically to ensure the transition from one stage to another. As a result, you cannot activate grading for adaptive assignments.

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