“I’m Not a Number, I’m Someone to Them”: Supporting Commencing University Students’ Through Technology-Mediated Personalised Communication

Abstract

As universities offer more flexible delivery options there are parallel concerns about increasing levels of engagement. Withdrawal and disconnection from study is most common during the first year of university as students experience social, cultural and financial adjustments and attempt to understand the nuances of academic learning. This article reports on the impact of a technology-enabled support system delivering timely, personalised and actionable feedback on online activity and support emails at critical periods in two courses. Learning analytics data was used to identify appropriate engagement metrics for personalising feedback to students with results indicating an improvement in course grades. While the learning analytics approach provides a technology-mediated means for scaling personalised feedback and communicating with large cohorts of learners, the qualitative results indicated that students felt they were noticed as individual learners, were more willing to contact educators for support, and more motivated to engage with the online course learning materials.

You’ve Got Mail: A Technology-Mediated Feedback Strategy to Support Self-Regulated Learning in First-Year University Students

“…Although previous research has demonstrated that students have implemented SRL strategies following technology -mediated feedback (e.g., Lewis et al, 2021;Lim et al, 2021), students in the current study did not report increased use of (meta)cognitive learning strategies after technology-mediated feedback. Furthermore, LMS data showed that most students did not implement the suggested strategy outlined in the three emails.…”

“…Previous research by Lewis and colleagues (2021) found students felt more motivated and were more likely to engage with course materials following technology -mediated feedback; students also reported a flow on effect of motivation toward their other courses following feedback. Similar to other studies investigating technology-mediated feedback emails (Lewis et al, 2021;Lim et al, 2021), students in the current study r eceived not only emails about the learning strategy, but also general course related emails (e.g., assessment information, due date reminders). These general emails, combined with the tutorial preparation strategy emails, may have been useful more broadly resulting in higher self-reported motivation.…”

“…Despite this limitation, the findings identify technology -mediated feedback as a promising tool for supporting SRL. Previous research demonstrates LA based feedback is effective in improving students' engagement, satisfaction, and performance (Banihashem et al, 2022, Iraj et al, 2020Lewis et al, 2021;Pardo et al, 2019). LA based feedback may aid students by way of internal and external task factors (Winne & Hadwin, 1998), whereby students receive automated, yet personalised, feedback on their engagement or performance, to inform SRL strategy monitoring (i.e., via the evaluations process).…”

“…Furthermore, LMS data showed that most students did not implement the suggested strategy outlined in the three emails. In previous studies (e.g., Lewis et al, 2021;Lim et al, 2021) students received feedback about their performance in graded multiple-choice quizzes within a first-year course. Depending on performance, students were provided with feedback suggesting a strategy to improve if they did not do well or praise if they performed well in the quizzes.…”

A Self-Managed Online Mindfulness Program in a University-Wide Learning Management System Orientation Site: A Real-World Ecological Validation Study

“…In Hall et al's (2018) randomised controlled trial, written reminders were effective in improving mindfulness practice adherence as well as study retention. However, there is also research that suggests students are overwhelmed with information provided through email (Hara, 2000) and discussion forums posts at the start of the semester, and that reminders throughout the semester may be of greater use when they need it most (Lewis et al, 2020). The communication preferences expressed by students versus what has shown to be effective is a balance and demonstrates the complexities in a real-world implementation.…”