Adaptive Learning: transforming accounting education one student at a time

Adaptive Learning is here. This innovative, data-driven approach personalises online education, helping each student learn more effectively, efficiently and at their own pace, writes Bryan Rankin, Head of Student Operations at Chartered Accountants Ireland

In a significant development, Chartered Accountants Ireland students across CAP1 and CAP2 levels will experience online learning modules through a new model called Adaptive Learning.

As with any development, it may take a short time to become familiar with it but we’re confident that you’ll quickly appreciate the benefits.

But what are those benefits, and why is Adaptive Learning (AL)being rolled out for professional accountancy students?

In this article, we explore the background of AL systems and all the positive impacts on learners.

What is Adaptive Learning?

AL is widely accepted as the future of online education the world over. Chartered Accountants Ireland is proud to provide the most advanced learning model to its CAP1 and CAP2 students.

AL is all about leveraging technology to tailor learning experiences to individual students’ needs and to optimise educational outcomes and metrics.
The approach recognises what we all know since schooldays: that learners vary in their background knowledge, learning pace and preferred learning styles.

At its core, AL is an educational approach that uses advanced technologies including data analytics, machine learning and algorithms to assess learner performance in real time and adjust educational content accordingly.

Unlike traditional, one-size-fits-all instruction, AL identifies each learner’s strengths and weaknesses, providing personalised pathways through the curriculum.

The Institute’s use of AL and level of personalisation includes adjusting the difficulty of questions, prompting the learner to revisit areas of difficulty and providing targeted feedback where appropriate.

The principle underpinning AL is that instruction should be responsive and flexible. This responsiveness is achieved through continuous monitoring and analysis of learner interactions, allowing the system to infer the student’s current understanding and adapt subsequent materials.

The goal is to maintain an optimal learning zone — a kind of “Goldilocks principle” — where tasks are neither too easy nor too challenging, and in this way we optimise engagement and knowledge retention.

Adaptive Learning and Chartered Accountants Ireland

Since 2020, Chartered Accountants Ireland has followed an online learning model, with a range of content forms hosted on our Learning Management System, combined with a programme of supportive live webinars.

As well as responding to the constraints of the pandemic, the switch to online learning reacted to the number one issue for students then and now: flexibility.

In 2024, AL was successfully trialled at CAP1 Finance, CAP1 Law RoI and NI.

Its success was evident in a range of measures, principally in strong CAP1 Finance exam results but also in positive student satisfaction scores in surveys and anecdotal feedback.
All these measures of success convinced the Institute that we were on the right path, and to extend the deployment of AL to all CAP1 and CAP2 subjects.

Applications and benefits

Long before AL was considered an excellent fit for accounting education here in Ireland, its source was to be found in a variety of professional disciplines and applications that require differentiated instruction.

For instance, training in specialised areas of medicine has for some time shown the value of AL. Corporate training and professional development also benefit from AL approaches, as they cater to the unique needs of adult learners and rapidly evolving skill requirements.

That strong track record in other areas showed us how AL could also be used in accounting education.

For students of Chartered Accountants Ireland, there are many benefits to AL.

First, it promotes learner autonomy, empowering individual students to take ownership of their learning journey.

Second, it increases efficiency by focusing effort on areas needing improvement, potentially reducing time to achieve competence.

Third, AL systems like ours provide our academic team with data that in turn offer actionable insights, enabling data-driven decision-making and targeted interventions.

For instance, our live webinars can be tailored to reflect areas of learning that students have found challenging.

Finally, AL supports inclusivity by accommodating learners with varying abilities, backgrounds and learning preferences.

Conclusion

Taken in tandem with all the other learning supports – banks of question packs, solutions, discussion forums, webinars and in-person events – AL will represent a transformative approach to education at CAP1 and CAP2 programmes.

The future of online education will offer the continued rollout of personalised, efficient and inclusive learning experiences.
By continuing to embrace AL thoughtfully and responsibly, educators can better meet the diverse needs of learners in an increasingly complex and digital world.