Uncovering Engagement Profiles of Young Learners in K–8 Education through Learning Analytics

Date

2024-01-01

Author

Er, Erkan
Silik, Safak
Cansiz, Sergen

Metadata

Show full item record

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Item Usage Stats

79
views

50
downloads

Cite This

E-learning platforms have become increasingly popular in K–8 education to promote student learning and enhance classroom teaching. Student interactions with these platforms produce trace data, which are digital records of learning processes. Although trace data have been effective in identifying learners’ engagement profiles in higher education and lifelong learning (e.g., MOOCs), similar research on young learners has been very scarce. This study makes a timely and novel contribution to the field by identifying emerging profiles of young students from Grades 1 to 8 based on their engagement in an e-learning platform. The k-means cluster analysis yielded seven distinct profiles in total. While the dominance of profiles differed across grade levels, some profiles were not even present at specific grades, indicating the changing engagement behaviours of young learners in different years. In addition, all emerging profiles suggest students tended to focus on specific components of the platform, thus lacking balanced engagement with all resources. In particular, while primary school students showed relatively higher interest in game-based learning, middle school students focused more on exams than their counterparts. The findings yielded seven specific considerations for the design of effective e-learning platforms. Notes for Practice ● Trace data hold potential for understanding the online engagement of young learners, but research on the online behaviour of K–8 students is scarce. ● This study identified grade-specific profiles of primary and middle school students based on online engagement behaviour, with varying prevalence and absence of specific profiles across grades. ● Young learners displayed imbalanced engagement with platform components, with primary school students showing higher interest in game-based learning and middle school students focusing more on exams. ● E-learning platforms should adapt to distinct student profiles, depending on the grade level, and promote comprehensive engagement. ● An orientation period for Grade 1 students and learning analytics solutions can enhance learning experiences and timely intervention.

Subject Keywords

clustering, e-learning, Engagement profiles, K–8 education

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/109390

Collections

Graduate School of Informatics, Article