Teachers’ perceptions of the usability of learning analytics reports in a flipped university course: when and how does information become actionable knowledge?

Abstract

The flipped classroom model is a form of blended learning in which delivery of content occurs with online materials, and face-to-face meetings are used for teacher-guided practice. It is important that teachers stay up to date with the activities students engage in, which may be accomplished with the help of learning analytics (LA). This study investigated university teachers’ perceptions of whether weekly LA reports that summarized student activities supported their teaching activities (n = 7). The teachers reported using the LA reports for diagnosing and intervening during student activities, and that the reports encouraged them to start interaction with students. Teachers did sometimes find it difficult to connect the information from the LA reports to concrete interventions, which was partly dependent on the level of the teacher’s experience. LA reports might support teachers further by not only offering information, but also by suggesting interventions.