Students' perspectives on learning analytics dashboards
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Transcript of Students' perspectives on learning analytics dashboards
Students’ perspectives on learning analytic
dashboards
Dr Liz Bennett and Dr Sue Folley
University of Huddersfield
ALT-C Sept 2017
Rationale For The Study
2
Learning Analytics is a topical area with claims that it can improve student engagement, attainment and retention – but few HEIs are currently using student-
facing data/dashboards
The research in this area tends to focus on the technical aspects collection and analysis of data,
rather than students’ response/perspective.
This research aims to address this gap
Aims of the Study
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To identify which elements of dashboards design were most valued by students;
To identify students’ learning responses to seeing data presented about themselves via a dashboard;
To identify the potential and limitations of using dashboards with undergraduate students;
To identify questions raised by their use for future research in the area.
This presentation will focus on the first aim and suggest ways we are approaching the second aim
Methods
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Focus Groups Interviews
Sample
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Invitations to a full cohort of 180 students on one final year module
Academic Range: 1st to 116th in a recent assignment and on-track data predicting from 51% (low 2:2) to 74% (first) as final degree outcome
Of the 10 volunteers, half had done better in the currently assignment than their average and half had done worse
Self-selecting
All female
Dashboard Elements (1/3)
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Dashboard Elements (2/3)
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Dashboard Elements (3/3)
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The Students’ Response - LIKED
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The Students’ Response – didn’t like
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The Students’ Response - mixed
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Motivation
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I feel like I have more motivation to study because I can see that, you are currently on track for, and I am currently on track for the first class, which motivates me a lot. (Claire)
I feel like I’m not so left behind seeing this a 116 out of 170. I think that’s pretty good. (Kirsten)
I kind of wish we had seen it from like that presented to us since year one. (Marcia)
Analysis
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Sutton (2012) has developed a model of feedback literacy around three interrelated dimension: knowing, being and acting, and suggests that acquiring feedback literacy is mediated by the students’ perceptions of their university teachers’ identities.
Feedback Literacy
Acting
Knowing
Being
Analysis - Knowing
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Notion of personal best in relation to the data (ipsative feedback)
Understanding where their performance sits in the cohort (norm referenced performance)
Understanding their performance relative to criteria for good students (criteria referenced performance)
Understanding their attendance profile
There is no point in seeing an average of everybody’s marks, only because it’s doesn’t really matter what other people get because it’s only your marks that matter (Ingrid)
I like the flags because it gives you, it’s another visual aid to see, okay well if I’m green I’m good (Rebecca)
It was quite useful for me because I know my position in the class…Knowing your position in a class is always a nice thing because you know where you are, what you need to, do you need to move up or you just need to, are you keep, are you on the right track? Are you
following other classmates? (Claire )
Analysis - Being
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Investment in their identity in academic work and developing learner’s self-confidence in being a [Law/Chemistry/English/Music] undergraduate, deserving to be there, and feeling they have the ability to achieve the degree.
Feedback has the ability to change people’s self confidence in a positive or negative way
Recognising feedback as self-development
I could’ve done better now, knowing that fourteen people did better than me (Justine)
I’ve done better as the years have gone on and it’s really shown how much university has helped me progress with my academic writing skills (Rebecca)
If I want to push it so that I get a good degree that’s my responsibility to do so (Jayne)
Analysis - Doing
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What sort of behaviours do we want?
as soon as I saw it I decided I’m taking a month off work to just get on with my dissertation [Marcia]
even if I were on track for a third I think that this probably would motivate me if it had some pointers as to what I could be doing to get a higher grade. [Sarah]
I would definitely authorise my absences in future [Jasmin]
Conclusion
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We focussed on dashboard design and the way that we are starting to understand the data.
Limitations of the sample.
Students liked dashboards in general and found it motivating and particularly the on-track scores;
Mixed response to the positional (ie norm referenced) information;
There is a different sort of feedback literacy that applies to dashboards related to students’ understandings of data and performance;
Response to dashboard, like all feedback, is personal and depends on a student’s attitudes, beliefs and dispositions towards learning.