Analysing the correlation between social network analysis measures and performance of students in social network-based engineering education

Abstract

Social network-based engineering education (SNEE) is designed and implemented as a model of Education 3.0 paradigm. SNEE represents a new learning methodology, which is based on the concept of social networks and represents an extended model of project-led education. The concept of social networks was applied in the real-life experiment, considering two different dimensions: (1) to organize the education process as a social network-based process; and (2) to analyze the students' interactions in the context of evaluation of the students learning performance. The objective of this paper is to present a new model for students evaluation based on their behavior during the course and its validation in comparison with the traditional model of students' evaluation. The validation of the new evaluation model is made through an analysis of the correlation between social network analysis measures (degree centrality, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, eigenvector centrality, and average tie strength) and the grades obtained by students (grades for quality of work, grades for volume of work, grades for diversity of work, and final grades) in a social network-based engineering education. The main finding is that the obtained correlation results can be used to make the process of the students' performance evaluation based on students interactions (behavior) analysis, to make the evaluation partially automatic, increasing the objectivity and productivity of teachers and allowing a more scalable process of evaluation. The results also contribute to the behavioural theory of learning performance evaluation. More specific findings related to the correlation analysis are: (1) the more different interactions a student had (degree centrality) and the more frequently the student was between the interaction paths of other students (betweenness centrality), the better was the quality of the work; (2) all five social network measures had a positive and strong correlation with the grade for volume of work and with the final grades; and (3) a student with high average tie strength had a higher grade for diversity of work than those with low ties.

Social Networks and the Building of Learning Communities: An Experimental Study of a Social MOOC

“…On the other hand, the fact that these kinds of courses are both free and flexible also influences the degree of commitment, which is generally lower compared to a traditional setting. As commonly occurs (Putnik et al, 2015), those who participate more achieve a higher mark, as shown in Figure 4. Only 35 learners performed the two compulsory peer-reviewed activities, seven did only one, and 82 students did some activity in the platform such as visualizing videos or participating in the forum.…”

“…At the same time, social networks have created conditions for the development of new paradigms and methodologies in education (Putnik et al, 2015) such as community-based learning or social learning.…”

“…Thus, active participation, socialization of experiences and the approach to common issues of interest are all key aspects to the success of this tool. In addition, Putnik et al (2015) stated that social networking concerning education issues must be applied in two different dimensions: (1) to organize the educational process as a social network-based process (useful for peer assessment, discussions, and collaborative tasks); and (2) to analyze the students' interactions using techniques from the social network analysis field (SNA).…”

“…In the educational arena, Dawson, Tan, and McWilliam (2011) used centrality measures to monitor the learners' creative capacity; Putnik et al (2015) studied the correlation between these measures and students' performance; and Rabbany, Elatia, Takaffoli, and Zaïane (2014) applied SNA so as to analyze the structure of the interactions raised between the students in forums.…”

Co-Construction Concept Through Cloud-Based Social Network Platform Design, Implementation, and Evaluation

“…By participating in an online social network, people who share common interests and goals can interact and exchange information and knowledge (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2014 (Sharples, Kloos, Dimitriadis, Garlatti, & Specht, 2015), and provide new opportunities for designing and implementing advanced learning environments (Hwang, Wang, & Lai, 2015). Students' social interactions in online communities have contributed to the development of new paradigms and methodologies in education (Putnik et al, 2016).…”