Combining Self-Regulation and Competence-Based Guidance to Personalise the Learning Experience in Moodle

Adaptive learning systems aim to address a learner´s specific needs, considering factors such as prior knowledge, learning efficiency, learning goals and motivation. Especially in distance education, often directed to adult learners with full-time jobs, it is very important to provide assistance to counteract high dropout rates. This paper describes an approach on how to support adult learners through the adoption of personalisation and guidance in Moodle. The implementation grounds on the combination of two pedagogical theories, competence-based learning and Self-Regulated Learning (SRL). Three-phases were used to roughly frame the design of the SRL learning flow, where the individual phases are supported by competence-based guidance. In this way Moodle is extended from a teacher and course management to a learner-centric system. This work has been implemented and evaluated in the course of a European project that targets vocational training of heat pump installers.