Degree pictures: Visualizing the university student journey

Abstract

The field of learning analytics is progressing at a rapid rate. New tools, with ever-increasing number of features and a plethora of datasets that are increasingly utilized demonstrate the evolution and multifaceted nature of the field. In particular, the depth and scope of insight that can be gleaned from analysing related datasets can have a significant, and positive, effect in educational practices. We introduce the concept of degree pictures, a symbolic overview of students’ achievement. Degree pictures are small visualizations that depict graphically 16 categories of overall student achievement, over the duration of a higher education course. They offer a quick summary of students’ achievement and are intended to initiate appropriate responses, such as teaching and pastoral interventions. This can address the subjective nature of assessment, by providing a method for educators to calibrate their own marking practices by showing an overview of any cohort. We present a prototype implementation of degree pictures, which was evaluated within our School of Computer Science, with favourable results.     

谈谈初等几何教学中的解析法证明

本文尝试将初等几何中各类型的证明题用解析法来处理，阐述解析法证题的基本原理的常用手段。     

Matchplay characteristics of Grand Slam tennis: implications for training and conditioning

The purpose of this study was to probe the sex-based differences in the stroke and movement dynamics of Grand Slam hard-court tennis. Player and ball tracking data were collated for 102 male and 95 female players during the 2012–2014 Australian Open tournaments. Serve, serve return, groundstroke and movement data were compared between sexes. Serve statistics were the subject of the largest differences, with males achieving significantly faster speeds, aces and unreturned serves while also winning a greater percentage of service points. When returning serve, women contacted the ball closer to the net, lower to the ground and achieved flatter ball trajectories than males. Groundstroke frequencies were similar between sexes, although males hit with greater speed, flatter trajectories and impacted more shots inside the baseline. Distance covered per set or during points won or lost was not sex dependent, yet men exhibited faster average movement speeds. These findings highlight the need for sex-specific training and practice designs that cater to the different stroke dynamics, particularly in relation to the first serve and serve-return, as well as movement speeds.     

How to Make a Math Modeling Class from Scratch in Six (Not-So) Easy Steps

The recent introduction of a new course in mathematical modeling at Manhattan College has provided students with a valuable opportunity to gain practical experience utilizing tools in applying their mathematical abilities to a real-world problem. This paper describes the steps taken to create this class, from obtaining a real-world partner (client) to designing the assessment plan, as well as mentoring the student participants, so as to provide a road map to any instructor looking to initiate such a course on their own. Although the first two iterations focused on data analytics, the course presented here easily translates to projects utilizing differential equations, optimization, stochastic modeling, and simulation. Discussions included reflect on what elements of the course have proven successful and what may be open to improvement; responses from students are also included.     

Using learning analytics to assess student engagement and academic outcomes in open access enabling programmes

Curriculum design, teaching methods, assessments and range of academic support need to be inclusive in Open Access Enabling courses. The findings of this study confirm a correlation between student access to online learning materials and a positive impact on grades in science courses. More specifically, students who frequently use the online learning system to access materials have better assessment and exam results.     

Temporal analysis of multimodal data to predict collaborative learning outcomes

The analysis of multiple data streams is a long-standing practice within educational research. Both multimodal data analysis and temporal analysis have been applied successfully, but in the area of collaborative learning, very few studies have investigated specific advantages of multiple modalities versus a single modality, especially combined with temporal analysis. In this paper, we investigate how both the use of multimodal data and moving from averages and counts to temporal aspects in a collaborative setting provides a better prediction of learning gains. To address these questions, we analyze multimodal data collected from 25 9–11-year-old dyads using a fractions intelligent tutoring system. Assessing the relation of dual gaze, tutor log, audio and dialog data to students' learning gains, we find that a combination of modalities, especially those at a smaller time scale, such as gaze and audio, provides a more accurate prediction of learning gains than models with a single modality. Our work contributes to the understanding of how analyzing multimodal data in temporal manner provides additional information around the collaborative learning process.     

Learning Design – creative design to visualise learning activities

The focus on quality improvements by institutions for better online and blended teaching can be delivered in different ways. This article reports on the implementation of this process and the approaches taken first, in terms of the design of new learning materials, and second, when reviewing the existing curriculum. The study aims to ascertain whether the combination of a collaborative, networked approach at the initial design stage, augmented with visualisations, has changed the way educators design their courses at The Open University, UK. Analysis of 148 learning designs shows both before and after the introduction of Learning Design, which of the pedagogic decisions that educators made substantially changed. Courses that were designed after the introduction of Learning Design were more focused on the development of a range of skills and included fewer assimilative activities (reading, watching videos and listening to audio). Our findings suggest that by visualising the design upfront, educators focused less on traditional teaching patterns, such as the ‘teach, practice, apply’ model. Remarkably, just by visualising initial decisions and working in collaborative workshops, educators created more student-centred and creative designs aimed to develop a range of skills which support students in both their studies and the workplace. Further studies are needed to establish whether these pedagogic decisions have an impact on student outcomes and whether these findings can be replicated in different institutions.     

How Computer-Assisted Learning Influences Medical Students' Performance in Anatomy Courses

Anatomy is an essential subject of the medical curriculum. Despite its relevance, the curricular time and logistical resources devoted to teaching anatomy are in decline, favoring the introduction of new pedagogical approaches based on computer-assisted learning (CAL). This new pedagogical approach provides an insight into students' learning profiles and features, which are correlated with knowledge acquisition. The aim of this study was to understand how training with CAL platforms can influence medical students' anatomy performance. A total of 611 medical students attending Musculoskeletal Anatomy (MA) and Cardiovascular Anatomy (CA) courses were allocated to one of three groups (MA Group, CA Group, and MA + CA Group). An association between the performance in these anatomy courses and the number of CAL training sessions was detected. In the MA Group (r = 0.761, P < 0.001) and the MA + CA Group (r = 0.786, P < 0.001), a large positive correlation was observed between musculoskeletal anatomy performance and the number of CAL training sessions. Similarly, in the CA Group (r = 0.670, P < 0.001) and the MA + CA Group (r = 0.772, P < 0.001), a large positive correlation was observed between cardiovascular anatomy performance and the number of CAL training sessions. Multiple linear regression models were performed, considering either musculoskeletal or cardiovascular anatomy performance as the dependent variable. The results suggest that using CAL platforms to study has a positive dose-dependent effect on anatomy performance. Understanding students' individual features and academic background may contribute to the optimization of the learning process.     

学习者的学习效率评测研究--以“课工场”平台学习者的课程学习为例

在线学习过程中由于学习者缺乏实时指导,其学习效率与最终的学习效果难以得到保证。自动评测学习者的学习效率是实现及时干预、提高教学质量的重要基础。文章以“课工场”平台上“WEB前端开发”课程为例,选取参与该门课程的14名学习者的1011个学习回合,以8种学习活动特征来表征学习付出,以回合成绩表征学习成果,并采用层次聚类法进行分析。研究结果表明:案例课程的学习回合可以划分为4类,分别对应不同的学习效率,即低效型、低中效型、中高效型和高效型;评测学习效率可以反映学习者的全程学习状态,并与线下的教师记录相对应。因此,教师可以利用自动评测的结果了解全体学习者的情况并及时调整课程,而学习者可以根据自身的学习状态调整学习方式。学习效率的自动评测还可以作为个性化学习分析的依据,成为自适应学习系统的重要部件。     

Student privacy in learning analytics: An information ethics perspective

ABSTRACT

Higher education institutions have started using big data analytics tools. By gathering information about students as they navigate information systems, learning analytics employs techniques to understand student behaviors and to improve instructional, curricular, and support resources and learning environments. However, learning analytics presents important moral and policy issues surrounding student privacy. We argue that there are five crucial questions about student privacy that we must address in order to ensure that whatever the laudable goals and gains of learning analytics, they are commensurate with respecting students' privacy and associated rights, including (but not limited to) autonomy interests. We address information access concerns, the intrusive nature of information-gathering practices, whether or not learning analytics is justified given the potential distribution of consequences and benefits, and issues related to student autonomy. Finally, we question whether learning analytics advances the aims of higher education or runs counter to those goals.