Learning Analytics: Analyzing Various Aspects of Learners’ Performance in Blended Courses. The Case of Kabul Polytechnic University, Afghanistan

Learning performance is crucial in students’ academic lives because it opens opportunities for future professional development. However, conventional educational practices do not provide all the necessary skills for university instructors and students to succeed in today's educational context. In addition, due to poor information resources, ineffective ICT tool utilization and the teaching methodologies in developing countries, particularly Afghanistan, a large gap exists across curriculum plans and instructor practices. Learning analytics, as a new educational instrument, has made it possible for higher education actors to reshape the educational environment to be more effective and consistent. In this study, we analyzed multiple research approaches and the results of analytics of various learner aspects to address the aforementioned issues. The research methods were predominantly quantitative-cum-qualitative. Real (quantitative) data were collected based on learners’ explicit actions, such as completing assignments and taking exams, and implicit actions, such interacting and posting on discussion forums. Meanwhile, secondary (qualitative) data collection was conducted on-site at Kabul Polytechnic University (KPU); both blended and traditional class samples were included. The results of this study offer insight into various aspects of learners’ behaviors that lead to their success and indicate the best analytical model/s to provide the highest prediction accuracy. Furthermore, the results of this study could help educational organizations adopt learning analytics to conduct early assessments to evaluate the quality of teaching and learning and improve learners’ performance.

Video use in lecture classes: current practices, student perceptions and preferences

Purpose Despite the expansion of e-learning, higher education still involves live lectures, which students often see as “boring”. Lecture classes can be made more engaging and effective by including videos. However, empirical research is yet to report on current video use in lectures, or on student perceptions of and preferences for videos. The purpose of this paper is to fill that knowledge gap. Design/methodology/approach A two-stage mixed-method study used focus groups to gain a rich understanding of student’s video experiences, preferences and the types of videos they are shown. These understandings were utilised in a detailed on-line survey questionnaire, which was completed by a diverse sample of 773 university students, who responded about their recent in-class video experiences. Findings Students report that about 87 per cent of lecture classes included one or more videos. This paper reports on instructor practices, develops a video typology and reports on students’ preferred frequency, type of video, video source, video length and existing vs preferred video integration methods. Practical implications The results provide useful information for educational administrators. Recommendations are made for effective use of videos in lectures by instructors. Originality/value This is the first qualitative and survey research investigating current practice and student perceptions of video use during lecture classes. The authors also conduct the first survey with a broad sample across universities and academic disciplines using the unit of analysis of videos seen per course last week. Typologies of sources of videos, instructional functions, video facilitation techniques and types of videos used during lectures are proposed and then measured.

Practices and Perspectives of College Instructors on Addressing Religious Beliefs When Teaching Evolution

Evolution is a core concept of biology, and yet many college biology students do not accept evolution because of their religious beliefs. However, we do not currently know how instructors perceive their role in helping students accept evolution or how they address the perceived conflict between religion and evolution when they teach evolution. This study explores instructor practices and beliefs related to mitigating students’ perceived conflict between religion and evolution. Interviews with 32 instructors revealed that many instructors do not believe it is their goal to help students accept evolution and that most instructors do not address the perceived conflict between religion and evolution. Instructors cited many barriers to discussing religion in the context of evolution in their classes, most notably the instructors’ own personal beliefs that religion and evolution may be incompatible. These data are exploratory and are intended to stimulate a series of questions about how we as college biology instructors teach evolution.