The impact of an adaptive e-course on students’ achievements based on the students’ prior knowledge

Researchers emphasize that prior knowledge is one of the important factors that influence learning. This study discusses the design and implementation of adapting an e-course to students’ prior knowledge using the Learning Management System (LMS). It aims to investigate the impact of such adaptive e-course to the learner’s prior knowledge through his or her achievement. To fulfill the study’s aim, a quasi-experimental approach was utilized. The study involved 130 students assigned randomly to two groups. An experimental group learned using an adaptive e-course while the other group was taught using traditional teaching methods. Findings of the study show that the experimental group outperformed the control group in academic achievement. The study also finds that activating relevant prior knowledge offered to the beginner learners helped in minimizing the performance gap between them and their advanced peers.