In a teacher training college in remote Syktyvkar, the unannounced arrival of a British journalist in an English class provokes a lively and well-informed discussion of Rudyard Kipling's novels.

ECONOMIST: Life for most Russians is bleak, unhealthy and short

Before my wife and I had been able to have a grown-up discussion about what to do (as recommended in those middle-class angst parenting books that we seem to have collected but never read) it all happened very quickly.

BBC: World Book Day: The parent-child battles over a costume

While it is easy to characterize this trend as a result of the widening class gap, in a recent discussion, Roth-Douquet characterized it as closer to a caste system.

FORBES: Bridging Military and Civilian Understanding: What Petraeus Taught Us

Based on your own research and class discussion, prepare a brief speech, approximately 2-3 minutes in length, stating what you recommend to save the species, and the potential consequences if the species is not protected.

CNN: Student News Learning Activity: Wildlife Defenders

In 2011, the University of Denver suspended a professor and found him guilty of sexual harassment because his class discussion on sexual taboos in American culture (in a graduate-level course) was considered too racy.

WSJ: Greg Lukianoff: Feds to Students: You Can't Say That

Adaptive learning also benefits instructors: By better preparing students for class, adaptive learning enables instructors to spend more time delving into advanced concepts and engaging students in high-level discussion.

ENGADGET: McGraw-Hill reveals the SmartBook: an 'adaptive' e-book for students