She revolutionises teaching analytics for small-scale courses
16 Dec 2024
Learning analytics has long focused on supporting students and enhancing learning. But what about the teachers? In a new dissertation at Högskolan Väst, Ngoc Buu Cat Nguyen introduces a value-sensitive teaching analytics (TA) framework and a dashboard developed to help educators working with small-scale online courses for working professionals. – Tools to support teachers are still insufficient for practical use, especially in real-time settings. I wanted to do something about it, says Ngoc.
The demand for professional development and lifelong learning is increasing, with employed adults returning to university to take courses that enhance their competence, often within commission programmes. These courses, which are mostly conducted online or in a blended mode, are typically small-scale, with fewer than 50 students, and focus on specialised topics. While these programmes offer flexibility, they also present unique challenges for teachers, who often lack tailored analytic tools to monitor student progress and adapt course design. With her dissertation “Towards a Value-Sensitive Teaching Analytics Framework and Dashboard – Practical Applications for Small-Scale Courses,” Ngoc aims to enhance these courses by supporting teachers with advanced and intuitive digital tools.
– Most analytics tools are designed for large datasets and prioritise students over teachers. At most Swedish universities, we use the learning management system Canvas, and I have applied teaching analytics to analyse data from the system, developing new applications for teaching in small-scale courses, says Ngoc.
Ngoc’s research lies in informatics, specialising in work-integrated learning. Informatics focuses on how technology can be applied and utilised effectively in different contexts. When Ngoc recognised the potential of applying teaching analytics to the data available in Canvas and to courses for working professionals, she realised her research could make a significant contribution to supporting university teachers in small-scale courses.
A teaching analytics framework and dashboard based on small data
Ngoc not only seeks to advance research in this field by developing teaching analytics methods for small datasets but has also produced practical results: the embedding of a teaching analytics framework and dashboard into running courses. The dashboard is integrated with Canvas, allowing teachers to access real-time visualisations of student activity, including quiz submissions, forum participation, and assignment tracking within their specific courses. Teachers can quickly identify patterns, monitor progress, and intervene when necessary. This enables them to improve their course design and refine teaching strategies.
– Unlike traditional machine learning algorithms and analytics tools designed for large-scale data, my dashboard uses specialised techniques to extract meaningful insights from small data and limited information. I have combined various visualisation techniques to present multiple perspectives of the dataset, helping teachers make informed decisions, even with smaller class sizes.
Value-sensitive design – safeguarding human values
At the heart of Ngoc’s work is the concept of value-sensitive design, which ensures that human values, such as privacy, cultural context, and user expectations, are integral to the design and development of technological tools.
– Teaching analytics isn’t just about visualising data; it’s also about addressing ethical issues, aligning with institutional regulations, and adhering to privacy laws such as GDPR, while respecting user expectations. My framework includes a checklist for value-sensitive design, which ensures that these factors are considered when teachers apply teaching analytics in their daily working routines. Furthermore, the value-sensitive dashboard is accessible only to the courses that teachers are involved in, Ngoc explains.
In collaboration with teachers
The development of the dashboard was a collaborative effort involving teachers. Ngoc employed a co-design approach, working closely with teachers to understand their needs and course designs and refining the tool based on their feedback. The result is a dashboard that provides a comprehensive view of student engagement and learning progress, enabling teachers to identify issues early and adapt their teaching strategies.
– The teachers provided invaluable feedback throughout the process. Their input shaped the design, ensuring the dashboard aligned with their course designs, met their real-world needs, and was intuitive and user-friendly.
Already in use at two universities
Ngoc’s dissertation and research clearly go beyond theoretical contributions. Her analytics framework and dashboard are already in use for real-time courses at two universities in Sweden. This provides Ngoc with continuous evaluations and valuable insights, as well as clear evidence of how useful teaching analytics can be for teachers, even on a smaller scale. Looking ahead, Ngoc envisions expanding her application to more courses and including more advanced features, such as automated feedback, while continuing to uphold the principles of value-sensitive design.
– By empowering teachers with the right tools, we can help them create a tangible impact on their teaching practices and the learning process, Ngoc concludes.