Award Date

5-1-2017

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching and Learning

First Committee Member

Kendall Hartley

Second Committee Member

Linda Quinn

Third Committee Member

Chyllis Scott

Fourth Committee Member

Wolfgang Bein

Number of Pages

180

Abstract

The utilization of learning analytics to support teaching and learning has emerged as a newer phenomenon combining instructor-oriented action research, the mining of educational data, and the analyses of statistics and patterns. Learning analytics have documented, quantified and graphically displayed students’ interactions, engagement, and performance to gain a more complex understanding of teaching and learning. Researchers and scholars have hailed learning analytics as one of the future game-changers in higher education. This study addressed important questions. How have instructors at institutions of higher learning explored learning analytics to reflect upon their teaching practice—specifically, curriculum, pedagogy, student learning and outcomes? What have been the perceived key challenges to the adoption and implementation of learning analytics by instructors at institutions of higher learning? A reflection on technology integration with an emphasis on the affordances and rhetoric of learning analytics to inform teaching and learning was presented. An exploratory study was undertaken consisting of a two-phased research approach–a dominant-less dominant design, addressing the nature and extent of instructors’ use of learning analytics in higher education. The findings failed to substantiate extensive buy-in by instructors; challenges included a lack of time to learn and implement analytics, a culture of resistance, issues with change, and insufficient professional development, training and incentives. When learning analytics were used, it often involved supervisory and pro-active affordances for students.

Keywords

Analytics; Course Analytics; Educational Technology; Higher Education; Learning Analytics; Learning Management System

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Curriculum and Social Inquiry | Education | Educational Methods | Teacher Education and Professional Development

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Download


Share

COinS