Using learning analytics to redesign core pedagogy subjects: a case in point

ABSTRACT

Research has demonstrated a correlation between lecture attendance and students’ academic achievement. However, students may not attend lectures for a variety of reasons. The provision of lecture recordings online can also negatively impact lecture attendance and student achievement. These facts implore us to be courageous and explore new approaches to improve and expand learning experiences. This paper describes how a diverse team of academics, learning analytics and education design staff at [the University of Wollongong] came together to explore this issue and develop an approach that could better support the learning of our students resulting in higher rates of achievement while adapting to students’ needs for flexibility and connection. Details are given regarding the analysis of learning analytics data, and how these data have informed and directed a transformed learning design for a core undergraduate subject in the field of teacher education.

KEYWORDS:

• Learning analytics
• learning design
• course design
• student attendance
• lectures
• blended learning

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Flynn Hill for his analytics expertise within the project discussed in this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors would also like to acknowledge the University of Wollongong Learning, Teaching and Curriculum Educational Strategies Development Fund (2018) which supported this project.

Notes on contributors

Michelle J. Eady

Michelle J. Eady is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of Wollongong. She is passionate about providing authentic learning experiences to higher education students of all disciplines. Awarded an Australian Office of Teaching and Learning (OLT) citation for Excellence in Teaching, her current research interests include teacher education, work-integrated learning (WIL), communities of practice, and Indigenous strengths. Her experiences include working with and living in Indigenous communities in Canada and Australia. Associate Professor Eady has had the pleasure of speaking at conferences worldwide and looks forward to collaborations with colleagues and students.

Corinne A. Green

Corinne A. Green is an aspiring academic and PhD student at the University of Wollongong. She has been involved in developing and teaching a number of the pedagogy subjects within the Bachelor of Primary Education degree. She is passionate about teacher education that meaningfully integrates theory with practice, which has informed both her PhD studies and her teaching style. Corinne has relished opportunities to collaborate with local and international colleagues on projects related to teacher education, learning analytics and learning design, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

David Fulcher

David Fulcher holds the role of Manager, Learning Analytics at the University of Wollongong, Australia. David leads the institution-wide approach to Learning Analytics at UOW with a clear focus on the academic endeavour, rather than technology, to drive improvements in student success. David has fifteen years’ experience working with analytics in complex organisations to support decisions and actions. This includes extensive involvement in the design, development, and implementation of analytics tools across a variety of domains. David is also a PhD candidate investigating Australian higher education teachers’ interpretation of learning analytics and its impact on practice.

Tim Boniface

Tim Boniface is a Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Education Specialist with the Learning, Teaching & Curriculum (LTC) team at the University of Wollongong, Australia. A qualified primary school teacher with eight years of experience in higher education, Tim brings the experience of the classroom together with his passion for educational technology to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions to teaching and learning experiences across the university.