Know thy student! Combining learning analytics and critical reflections to develop a targeted intervention for promoting self-regulated learning.

Abstract

It is well established that a student’s capacity to regulate his or her own learning is a key determinant of academic success, suggesting that interventions targeting improvements in self-regulation will have a positive impact on academic performance. However, to evaluate the success of such interventions, the self-regulatory characteristics of students need to be established. This paper examines the self-regulatory characteristics of a cohort of second-year allied health students, using the evaluation of responses to “meta-learning” assessment tasks supported by access data from the learning management system. Students primarily report using learning strategies from the performance and self-reflection phases. Although few reported using forethought strategies, access to preparatory course materials suggests that these were under-reported. Students who reported reviewing lectures as a learning strategy were more likely to access the online lecture recordings; however, higher access was associated with poorer academic performance. Cluster analysis of all available data showed high academic performance was positively associated with early submission of intra-semester assessment tasks but negatively associated with both use of, and reported of use of lecture recordings by students. These findings suggest that early submission of intra-semester assessment may be useful as a predictor of academic achievement.