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Learning Enhancement and Development

Learning Analytics

Providing insights to maximise student potential at City

What is learning analytics?

Watch ‘What is Learning Analytics’, an introductory video.

Learning analytics is “the application of analytic techniques to analyse educational data, including data about learner and teacher activities, to identify patterns of behaviour and provide (frequent) actionable information to improve learning and learning-related activities.” (Van Harmelen, M. & Workman, D. (2012). CETIS Analytics Series: Analytics for Learning and Teaching).

Learning analytics uses specialised software that pulls together existing student learning data from multiple university sources into one system. By having student learning data in one system, staff can obtain a clearer picture of student engagement with educational activities across modules and programmes without having to look at multiple systems.

How did learning analytics evolve at City?

From 2018-2023, City piloted its learning analytics service and system through the Learning Analytics Project (LeAP). This was project-managed and worked on by members of the Learning Enhancement and Development (LEaD) team. LeAP’s key focus was on how learning analytics and student interventions could be used to understand and support students' engagement with their studies.

City piloted Jisc’s (i.e. Data Explorer) learning analytics system, a learning data hub with a dashboard interface that displays and interprets students’ dynamic (i.e. behavioural) data. Using a traffic-light system – also known as RAG (Red, Amber, Green) indicators – it indicated individual student, module and course engagement patterns. Three data sources were used by the learning analytics system to determine student engagement. These were:

  1. VLE (i.e. Moodle) data
  2. Student record system (i.e. SITS) assessment data
  3. Attendance (i.e. SEAtS/CountMeIn) data.

This analytics produced by the Jisc system enabled staff to identify students who were not engaging and so that they could provide those students with appropriate, tailored and timely support to help them succeed.

How does City use currently use learning analytics?

From 2023 onwards, learning analytics service will no longer be a project and instead it will be a business as usual (BAU) service. The learning analytics team is supporting the use of the Jisc learning analytics system for the following initiatives:

  1. Student Engagement Analytics - Continue to provide school based professional staff with analytics from the Jisc Learning Analytics System via Excel spreadsheets. The analytics will help staff to identify individual students who are not engaging with their studies and those students will be offered tailored support to help them succeed. The team will also work with personal tutors to encourage the use of Jisc Learning Analytics interface to support personal tutees' learning engagement.
  2. Curriculum analytics - Continue to work with academic staff to see if the Jisc learning analytics interface can be used to gain insights into how cohorts of students (rather than individuals) interact with modules and courses. The insights gained will be used to make improvements to the curriculum.

Related Documentation