TY - GEN
T1 - Beyond first encounters with analytics
T2 - 11th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge: The Impact we Make: The Contributions of Learning Analytics to Learning, LAK 2021
AU - Li, Qiujie
AU - Jung, Yeonji
AU - Friend Wise, Alyssa
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 ACM.
PY - 2021/4/12
Y1 - 2021/4/12
N2 - Despite growing implementation of teacher-facing analytics in higher education, relatively little is known about the detailed processes through which instructors make sense of analytics in their teaching practices beyond their initial encounters with tools. This study unpacked the sensemaking process of thirteen instructors with analytic experience, using interviews that included walkthroughs of their analytics use. Qualitative inductive analysis was used to identify themes related to (1) the questions they asked of the analytics, (2) the techniques they used to interpret them, and (3) the challenges they encountered. Findings indicated that instructors went beyond a general curiosity to develop three types of questions of the analytics (goal-oriented, problem-oriented, and instruction modification questions). Instructors also used specific techniques to read and explain data by (a) developing expectations about the answers the analytics would provide, and (b) making comparisons to reveal student diversity, identify effects of instructional revision and diagnose issues. The study found instructors faced an initial learning curve when seeking and making use of relevant information, but also continued to revisit these challenges when they were not able to develop a routine of analytics use. These findings both contribute to a conceptual understanding of instructor analytic sensemaking and have practical implications for its systematic support.
AB - Despite growing implementation of teacher-facing analytics in higher education, relatively little is known about the detailed processes through which instructors make sense of analytics in their teaching practices beyond their initial encounters with tools. This study unpacked the sensemaking process of thirteen instructors with analytic experience, using interviews that included walkthroughs of their analytics use. Qualitative inductive analysis was used to identify themes related to (1) the questions they asked of the analytics, (2) the techniques they used to interpret them, and (3) the challenges they encountered. Findings indicated that instructors went beyond a general curiosity to develop three types of questions of the analytics (goal-oriented, problem-oriented, and instruction modification questions). Instructors also used specific techniques to read and explain data by (a) developing expectations about the answers the analytics would provide, and (b) making comparisons to reveal student diversity, identify effects of instructional revision and diagnose issues. The study found instructors faced an initial learning curve when seeking and making use of relevant information, but also continued to revisit these challenges when they were not able to develop a routine of analytics use. These findings both contribute to a conceptual understanding of instructor analytic sensemaking and have practical implications for its systematic support.
KW - Analytic sensemaking
KW - Data-informed instruction
KW - Human-centered analytics
KW - Instructional dashboards
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85103908688&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85103908688&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1145/3448139.3448172
DO - 10.1145/3448139.3448172
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85103908688
T3 - ACM International Conference Proceeding Series
SP - 344
EP - 353
BT - LAK 2021 Conference Proceedings - The Impact we Make
PB - Association for Computing Machinery
Y2 - 12 April 2021 through 16 April 2021
ER -