Fostering Lab-Based Learning with Learning Analytics

Abstract

Digital learning environments, such as online laboratories offer many opportunities for collecting data for Learning Analytics (LA). This article presents a systematic literature review for LA in laboratory based learning environments for Higher Engineering Education, which yielded 23 key references. The focus of the study was formed by the following research questions (RQ): What types of data are currently collected in online laboratories (RQ 1)? How is LA used to support learning and teaching processes as well as the design of the online-laboratory environment (RQ 2)? What design recommendations for the use of LA in laboratory-based learning environments can be derived (RQ 3)? The gained results show that LA can be used to provide feedback for simple as well as for complex learning processes in online laboratories. Moreover, it assists data-informed decision making for teaching and learning processes as well as for the design of the lab environment. Implications for future research projects were derived based on the findings and should contribute to the advancement of research on LA in online laboratories.