2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

After the majority of education moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became increasingly critical to gauge student learning and engagement without in-person interactions. Without the visual cues present in classrooms, instructors were blind to the nuances of engagement afforded by face-to-face instructions. Instead, instructors relied on student performances on assessments as the proxy or the lagging indicator for engagement. Learning analytics, on the other hand, provides an additional window into student engagement that is frequently underutilized. Learning analytics uses the data generated as the students interact with the learning management system (LMS) to augment instructor insights. Learning analytics has been often used to conduct predictive functions for student performance within massive open online courses. How can learning analytics assist instructors teaching smaller classes or even in-person classes? To investigate the value learning analytics provides, two fully online, small asynchronous engineering courses were studied retroactively. Aspects of student engagement and performance were analyzed for trends. The trends were then used to draw insights that can be used to improve the student experience for both in-person and remote settings. Secondly, recognizing the value of learning analytics, instructor perspectives were surveyed to gain useful insights on current practices and attitudes towards the topic. The results suggest that challenges exist for widespread adoption of learning analytics for typically smaller courses. Common hurdles were documented. The combination of the learning analysis and the faculty survey provide insights on the opportunities that exist as we continue to leverage the lessons learned during the pandemic. The exercise can also guide the development of effective online or in-person learning environments.