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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Educ.
Sec. Digital Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1427083

Adaptive learning in bionics: transforming science education

Provisionally accepted
Nadine Honke Nadine Honke *Sebastian Becker-Genschow Sebastian Becker-Genschow
  • Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Adaptive learning platforms offer innovative teaching approaches by tailoring educational content to individual learner`s needs, abilities, and paces. This study investigates the effects of an adaptive digital learning platform on user experience, motivation, and learning outcomes among 56 sixth-grade students from two German grammar schools. Students completed three bionics-focused modules – `polar bear´, `heat transfer´, and `temperature and heat´ – integrated into science lessons. Data from questionnaires and performance tests assessed prior knowledge, learning success, cognitive activation, and situational interest. Results revealed that 98% of students found digital media motivating, with 80% favoring a hybrid mix of traditional and digital teaching methods. Positive emotional responses were reported by 62% of participants, though 38% experienced uncertainty. The `polar bear´ module achieved the highest learning gain (+40%), followed by `heat transfer´ (+20%) and `temperature and heat´ (+13%) module. These findings suggest that adaptive digital learning platforms can enhance learning outcomes and cognitive engagement, particularly when the content aligns with student interests and needs.

    Keywords: Adaptive Learning, Intelligent tutoring systems, science education, Bionics, Situational interest, Motivation, Cognitive activation

    Received: 02 May 2024; Accepted: 09 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Honke and Becker-Genschow. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Nadine Honke, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.