Influencing metacognition in a traditional classroom environment through learning analytics

Abstract

Metacognition plays an important role in the learning process as it allows learners to become better aware of their level of understanding and comprehension. Knowledge of learners’ metacognition level allows teachers to provide feedback to learners to enable correction of learning strategies. However, measuring metacognition based upon learner activities outside a computer-based learning environment is a challenging task. This paper explores this challenge in adult learners for the purpose of developing a learning analytics model that can be used to influence the use of metacognitive strategies to improve learning and comprehension. As a solution, a novel learning analytics model is presented. This model is based upon data captured from a traditional physical classroom environment and can be used to build a working learning analytics model designed to provide feedback to the learner. Such feedback can provide insights of learners’ use of metacognitive strategies with a view to improving their comprehension of a given topic and thus to improve their understanding of that topic and ultimately to improve their academic success.