Adaptive versus non-adaptive ITS condition showed no significant differences in mental effort, subjective difficulty, or enjoyment¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r3 · q3 · i0 negligible
Currency · newest study 2026 · checked against its sources 2026-10-19 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q3 i0 Linear regressions revealed no significant condition effects on mental effort, subjective difficulty, or enjoyment after a 30-minute tutoring session (partial η² .00, .01 and .00); a non-significant result does not show the effect is zero. → Sibley 2026

Evidence¶

Sibley 2026¶

Sibley, L., Berner, T., & Schmalfeldt, T. (2026). Effectiveness of adaptive versus non-adaptive intelligent tutoring systems in early primary mathematics. Computers and Education Open 11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2026.100420

q3 · i0 · negligible, partial η² ≤ .01, not significant · causal · r3

Linear regressions with condition as independent variable and the three self-report measures as dependent variables in the N = 132 field experiment. The article reports "no significant effects of condition", with partial η² of .00, .01 and .00. These are non-significant estimates near zero, not a demonstration that the adaptive system has no impact on these measures.

"Results revealed no significant effects of condition on students' mental effort, F(1, 127) = 0.01, p = .938, η²p = .00; subjective difficulty, F(1, 127) = 1.59, p = .210, η²p = .01; and enjoyment, F(1, 126) = 0.41, p = .525, η²p = .00."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

Interest — outcome: instruction changes it
Achievement Emotions — outcome: instruction changes it

Included studies suggest engagement increases when adaptive platform activities are tailored to learners' personal needs and emotional state — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
Intelligent tutoring systems improve achievement over non-individualised instruction — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
Latent learner profiles did not moderate the effectiveness of the adaptive ITS — related
Conscientiousness exploratorily moderated the effect of ITS condition on subjective difficulty and enjoyment — related
KBD configuration produced no significant between-condition differences in system acceptance, intrinsic motivation, or subjective learning effectiveness in a single tutoring session — related

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`adaptive-its-no-difference-cognitive-load-enjoyment`
`title`	`Adaptive versus non-adaptive ITS condition showed no significant differences in mental effort, subjective difficulty, or enjoyment`
`description`	`Adaptive versus non-adaptive ITS condition showed no significant differences in mental effort, subjective difficulty, or enjoyment`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`moderate`
`newest_evidence`	`2026`
`source_checked`	`2026-10-19`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-12`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `sibley-2026`

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