Project overview
'STELA Live: Learning Analytics for Student Success' is a project funded under the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning SATLE 2020 call led by Claire Halpin/Sarah Gibbons (Student Experience Lead), Dr Angelica Rísquez (Educational Technologies and Learning Analytics Lead), and Dr Mohd Fazil (STELA Live Lead Researcher) from the Centre for Transformative Learning.
The project aims to set up the resources and parameters to provide a timely and appropriate learning intervention for students who may be at risk of failing or underperforming in a module. In doing so, we will contribute to building institutional data and insight on the possible application of learning analytics interventions in UL at this time and lay some foundations to facilitate the General Principle of Interoperability set out in the Policy on the Use of Data to Enhance Teaching, Learning and Assessment (Learning Analytics), ultimately implementing the recommendations made by the former STELA (STudent Evaluation and Learning Analytics) project to:
(2) Facilitate a community of practice to share good practice in terms of the application of learning analytics and empowering teaching staff in relation to exploring same.
(11) Develop resources to inform staff of the datasets available to them and to use those datasets effectively to enhance their teaching
Project Phases and Outputs
Phase I Scoping process
|
Feb 2021-Feb 2022
|
- Scoping of extraction of student success data to identify the variables that best predict performance and progression, accessing and combining existing data including information in SI, engagement analytics from the VLE (Sulis) and other supported platforms, and other variables of engagement; in liaison with UL relevant data owners and custodians (Academic Registry, Data Protection Officer, Business Intelligence Unit, Quality Support and Registrar).
- Drafting proposed dataset based on the national ORLA Data Conceptual model, which includes both demographic and learning analytics data.
- Collaborative drafting of the Data Management Plan with ITD Business Intelligence and SITS Data Governance:
- Compilation of SITS Data Sharing Templates, following approval from SITS Data Governance for the data to be harvested for this project (approved by Associate Vice President Academic Services & Deputy Registrar, September 2021)
- Agreement with ITD Business Intelligence to harvest SI Data defined in the Data Management Plan, and learning analytics from Sulis (in collaboration with module leaders as data owners)
- Selection of four voluntary large first year undergraduate modules, in collaboration with module leaders as data owners: MI4007 – Michael P O’Brien and John Walsh (KBS); EC4101 – Darragh Flannery and Donal Palcic (KBS); CH4701 – Teresa Curtin (S&E); and HP4001 – Chris McInerney (AHSS).
- Recruitment of a dedicated position for the project to work in collaboration with the BI unit in ITD as a researcher to extract, combine, anonymize, and analyse data.
|
Phase II Baseline analysis
|
March-May 2022
|
|
Phase III Design of intervention
|
May-August 2022
|
- Creation of a dataset with common data definitions to facilitate appropriate access by staff to support student success in collaboration with the Power Intelligence Unit in ITD.
- Design of a protocol for intervention to improve the academic experience of students through the delivery of timely, personalised, and actionable feedback under the umbrella of the Policy on the Use of Data to Enhance Teaching, Learning and Assessment (Learning Analytics). This intervention will be based on the insights from the preceding baseline analysis and current data of engagement and informed from the perspective of teachers, students, and relevant support services at UL.
|
Phase IV Implementation pilot
|
Sept-Dec 2022
|
- Implementation of intervention in SEM1 2022/23 with pilot modules following national best practice published in ORLA.
|
Phase V Evaluation
|
Nov 2022-May 2023
|
- Evaluation of impact based on voluntary student participation, dissemination of results and reporting.
|