AcaWriter: A Learning Analytics Tool for Formative Feedback on Academic Writing

Knight, Simon; Shibani, Antonette; Abel, Sophie; Gibson, Andrew; Ryan, Polly

doi:10.17239/jowr-2020.12.01.06

Cited by 82 publications

(36 citation statements)

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“…Furthermore, they need support in moving from the recognition that change is required to forming a plan of action to produce that change, as well as ways to track their progress over time (Wise and Vytasek 2017 ). While pedagogical support in contextualizing, interpreting and acting on the information has not historically been included as part of analytics implementations, recent work has begun to explore this design space through the use of interpretation guides (Jivet et al 2020 ) embedded metacognitive prompts (Yilmaz and Yilmaz 2020 ) and workshops to orient students to the analytics (Knight et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Three Shifts That Can Support Scla and Progress To Datementioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting the shift to digital with student-centered learning analytics

Ochôa

Wise

2020

Education Tech Research Dev

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This paper is in response to the manuscript entitled "Student perceptions of privacy principles for learning analytics" (Ifenthaler and Schumacher, Student perceptions of privacy principles for learning analytics. Educational Technology Research and Development, 64(5), 923-938, 2016) from a practice perspective. Learning analytics (the use of data science methods to generate actionable educational insights) have great potential to impact learning practices during the shift to digital. In particular, they can help fill a critical information gap for students created by an absence of classroom-based cues and the need for increased self-regulation in the online environment, However the adoption of learning analytics in effective, ethical and responsible ways is non-trivial. Ifenthaler and Schumacher (2016) present important findings about students' perceptions of learning analytics' usefulness and privacy, signaling the need for a student-centered paradigm, but stop short of addressing its implications for the creation and adoption of learning analytics tools. In this paper we address this limitation by describing the three specific shifts needed in current learning analytics practice for analytics to be accepted by and effective for students: (1) involve students in the creation of analytic tools meant to serve them; (2) develop analytics that are contextualized, explainable and configurable; and (3) empower students' agency in using analytic tools as part of their larger process of learning. These shifts are currently in different stages of maturity and adoption in mainstream learning analytics practice. The primary implication of this work is a call to action for researchers and practitioners to rethink and reshape how students participate in the creation, interpretation and impact of learning analytics.

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Section: Three Shifts That Can Support Scla and Progress To Datementioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting the shift to digital with student-centered learning analytics

Ochôa

Wise

2020

Education Tech Research Dev

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“…AESs are grading systems that can be used for summative assessment, to replace or assist teachers in assessing writing quality (Dikli, 2006), for example e-rater (Attali & Burstein, 2006). By contrast, AWEs are intended as formative assessment tools, providing more detailed feedback and correction suggestions (Cotos, 2015), for example Criterion (Link, Dursun, Karakaya, & Hegelheimer, 2014) and AWA/AcaWriter (Knight, Shibani, Abel, Gibson, & Ryan, 2020, Knight, Martinez-Maldonado, Gibson, & Buckingham Shum, 2017. ITSs are the most complex systems.…”

Section: Data About Writing Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to provide automated feedback on the writing process? A participatory approach to design writing analytics tools

Conijn

Martínez-Maldonado

Knight

et al. 2020

Computer Assisted Language Learning

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“…9 AcaWriter has also been utilized across a number of diverse disciplines: for example Law, Business, Engineering for the purpose of assisting students to develop reflective capacity. 10 However, AcaWriter has never previously been utilized to explore its value to assist students' research thinking capabilities in any educational discipline (although a strand of work has developed support for writing archetypally structured research abstracts in any field). 11 A key insight from the prior work with AcaWriter, in both Pharmacy and other fields, is that it is most effective when coherently integrated into the curriculum and formal student activities, rather than being merely offered as an optional tool (analogous to a grammar checker).…”

Section: A J P Ementioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing a Novel Software Program to Support Pharmacy Students’ Reflective Practice in Scientific Research

Lucas

Shum

Liu

et al. 2021

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education

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Objective. To explore pharmacy students' perceptions of the implementation of a novel web application tool (AcaWriter) into pharmacy curriculum to support reflective thinking in scientific research. Methods. Qualitative research design involving a 50-minute focus group (n=12), audio-taped, transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed using the Braun and Clarke framework. Results. Thematic analysis generated 4 themes related to AcaWriter's utility, applicable for enhancing students' research thinking and capacity. Themes included: (i) ease of use to prompt reflection, tangible tool with non-judgmental capacity; (ii) benefits for enhancing self and peer reflection on research techniques and group dynamics; (iii) benefits of the reflective writing process to enhance research capacity compared with engaging in reflective dialogue; and (iv) benefits beyond the writing process: cultivating self-improvement and self-confidence. Conclusion.The findings of this study show that a novel web application implemented within a pharmacy curriculum can assist students' self and peer reflection on a research task. Further research is required to explore the impact of utilizing this open source tool and its relationship with research academic performance and outcomes.

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AcaWriter: A Learning Analytics Tool for Formative Feedback on Academic Writing

Cited by 82 publications

References 0 publications

Supporting the shift to digital with student-centered learning analytics

Supporting the shift to digital with student-centered learning analytics

How to provide automated feedback on the writing process? A participatory approach to design writing analytics tools

Implementing a Novel Software Program to Support Pharmacy Students’ Reflective Practice in Scientific Research

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