Journal of Information Systems and Informatics
Vol 7 No 3 (2025): September

Actor-Critic Reinforcement Learning for Personalized STEM Learning Path Optimization

Hatta, Muhammad (Unknown)
Magdalena, Lena (Unknown)
Putra, Dwi Pasha Anggara (Unknown)
Runa, Yohanes Michael Fouk (Unknown)
Irfansyah, Ananda (Unknown)
Valentino, Fernando (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Sep 2025

Abstract

This study addresses the critical need for adaptive learning in non-formal education settings, particularly Community Learning Centres (PKBM) in Indonesia, where student heterogeneity and limited resources challenge conventional teaching methods. We developed a personalized learning path optimization model using Actor-Critic Reinforcement Learning (RL) to enhance STEM competency development. The novel framework integrates cognitive, affective, and personality features to dynamically adjust material difficulty based on real-time analysis of student cognitive states (quiz performance, completion rate) and affective conditions (emotional level), moving beyond static predictive approaches. Experimental results on a synthetic dataset demonstrate that the Actor-Critic agent achieves statistically significant higher rewards (-2.92 vs -3.01, p<0.05) and greater output stability compared to a random baseline. Although the absolute reward difference is modest, it reflects more consistent adaptive policy performance, despite limited effect size (Cohen's d=0.0317). Feature importance analysis confirms that quiz_score and emotion_level are the dominant factors influencing adaptive recommendations, while personality traits show negligible impact. The framework offers a viable pathway for scalable, personalized learning in resource-constrained environments. Future work should validate the model with real-world student data and refine reward functions to strengthen practical impact.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

isi

Publisher

Subject

Computer Science & IT

Description

Journal-ISI is a scientific article journal that is the result of ideas, great and original thoughts about the latest research and technological developments covering the fields of information systems, information technology, informatics engineering, and computer science, and industrial engineering ...