Saurav Kumar, Assistant Professor at the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, is revolutionizing how Numerical Methods is taught to civil engineering students at Arizona State University. By integrating adaptive learning into a flipped classroom model, Kumar personalizes the learning experience to meet diverse student needs.
Using the adaptive platform RealizeIT, Kumar tailors content based on individual student performance. “Instead of just watching a video and coming back to class, students follow a personalized learning path,” he says. “Depending on how they answer questions, they either get more material to improve or are allowed to move forward, creating a unique learning tree for each student.” This approach helps address gaps in knowledge early, particularly in a math-heavy course like Numerical Methods.
One of Kumar’s Teaching Assistants, Gregory Wood, commented, “Adaptive learning gives us a good picture of what topics are most troubling to students. It helps us focus our teaching where it’s needed most.” Another Teaching Assistant, Aiden Trombley, highlighted the accessibility of real-time support in the classroom: “We get to interact directly with the students as they work through problems, making sure they don’t fall behind.”
This project is part of a larger National Science Foundation initiative aimed at advancing personalized learning in STEM education, in collaboration with Arizona State University, the University of South Florida, and Alabama A&M University. Kumar’s work not only supports ASU’s commitment to innovative teaching practices, but also contributes to the broader pedagogical conversation on how to effectively integrate technology to improve student learning outcomes.
Kumar’s innovation stems from recognizing that students often come with varying levels of preparedness. His goal is to give each student the tools to succeed by adapting the course to their individual learning needs. His Teaching Assistants see the benefits, with one noting, “Adaptive learning helps us focus our teaching where it’s needed most.”
The project aligns with ASU’s commitment to innovative and inclusive teaching and is part of a broader NSF initiative to advance personalized learning in STEM education.
This article and video are part of a faculty spotlight series, Academic Innovators, that provides recognition and insight for the inspirational work and research being done in the FSE community. Please consider nominating a faculty member to be featured.