(Tim Gouw)
Data dashboards and performance feedback can motivate middle-range students to work a little harder to earn a desired grade, a new study found. The study, conducted by researchers at the School of Information and the educational technology company Blackboard, explores a growing trend in higher education—that of collecting data about students and presenting it to them at important junctures during their college careers, with the hope that doing so will lead to higher grades and improved retention and graduation rates. But the actual impact of giving students direct access to their data, rather than via a faculty member or advisor, had not been thoroughly studied. “What this kind of research can help us figure out is which students can benefit most from feedback,” said Stephanie D. Teasley, research professor in the School of Information.
