Using Learning Analytics to Change Student Behaviour in the Global South

Using Learning Analytics to Change Student Behaviour in the Global South

John Andre john.andre@isneu.org International School of Management and Economics, National Economics University (VIETNAM)
Summary: 
This study seeks to explore if student behaviour can be changed using social modelling, specifically to increase usage of a learning management system (LMS), and whether any such increased LMS usage leads to higher student grades. After years of research into learning analytics, exploring which indicator can best predict student performance, with hopes of using that insight to improve student outcomes, there remain very few empirical studies which are randomized controlled trials, which is necessary to identify causation, and none that take place in a blended learning environment in the Global South. As learning analytics is a subject area for improving the learning of students worldwide, it is time to include more than just the Global North. In this experiment, 309 first year undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to control and treatment groups. Each member in the treatment group was sent a weekly email containing a link to an online dashboard showing the student’s performance compared against other students in the same cohort. Students in the treatment group did increase their use of the LMS but that increased usage did not translate into higher grades implying that the most important learning behaviours are not captured by the LMS, at least not in this study. Also of interest were that female students showed higher levels of engagement with the online dashboard and that the best predictor of a student’s grade in the second half of the semester was the student’s grade in the first half, supporting existing literature.
Keywords: 
learning analytics dashboard
Learning management system
student outcomes
social modelling
global south.
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