A systematic review identifies four overarching themes of factors affecting student engagement in adaptive learning platforms: system quality, information quality, learner characteristics and preferences, and affordances that mimic real-life social interactions¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Thematic analysis of 44 studies yielded four overarching factor themes: system quality, information quality, learner characteristics and preferences, and affordances that mimic real-life social interactions. → Patricia D. Simon 2026

Evidence¶

Patricia D. Simon 2026¶

Patricia D. Simon, Lily Min Zeng, Luke K. Fryer. (2026). A systematic review of student engagement research in adaptive learning platforms. Computers and Education Open. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2026.100360

q3 · i? · review · r3

Systematic review of 44 peer-reviewed studies (2012–2022) using hybrid inductive–deductive thematic analysis; two themes were adopted from the Information Systems Success Model and two formed inductively, as the authors state they "came up with four overarching themes".

"We came up with four overarching themes that represent the factors that affect student engagement in adaptive learning platforms."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• 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
• Adaptive AI feedback provides tailored scaffolding and AI simulates authentic interaction scenarios (Contextual Affordance Pathway) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• The test platform detects rapid guessing in real time and attempts to re-engage disengaged students to protect score validity — related
• Interviewed teachers attributed disengagement to technical, institutional, and social-relational environmental constraints rather than capability deficits — related
• A systematic review of AI in problem-based learning reports, as a dominant theme of its 50 studies, that AI tools support adaptive, personalized learning linked to better engagement and problem-solving — related
• Student disengagement in adaptive learning platforms is linked to technical problems, boredom with long or irrelevant content, insufficient challenge and feedback, and declining engagement over time — a narrower finding that bears on this claim