Grow your learner base and improve results using learning analytics

Review how your first cohort session went

The first thing you should do after your cohort session is to look at the data and feedback, utilizing data mining techniques to analyze educational data. Learning analytics can identify patterns in the data to inform future strategies. All of that juicy quantitative and qualitative data about how your course went will come in handy when planning future sessions and strategies.

Disco can offer up a huge amount of data to help you gain a full understanding of your program, and how it landed with your learners.

Start by setting clear objectives for your data review. Are you looking to understand learner and community engagement, assess the effectiveness of your content, or identify areas where learners may need additional support? Defining your goals upfront will help you focus on the most relevant data.

Engagement metrics and educational data mining

In this case, begin analyzing your engagement metrics, such as participation rates, session attendance, and completion rates. These help you understand how effectively your learners engaged with the course material and each other.

Utilizing analytics tools to track these engagement metrics can provide deeper insights. Additionally, learning management systems play a crucial role in capturing detailed data on student engagement, which can be used to support students and enhance their learning experiences. That’s super useful information when planning engagement strategies for future programs.

Use Disco’s weighted engagement score system to effortlessly track each learner’s participation through a points-based system. You can easily customize the weight of various activities, such as comments, reactions, direct messages, and module completions, to align with your engagement goals.

Once configured, these scores will be reflected on the leaderboard, which highlights the top performers based on engagement points. For instance, you can showcase this leaderboard using Disco’s editable modular blocks and announce the weekly top performers in your announcement feed.

Qualitative feedback

Take a look at qualitative feedback, gathered through surveys, online chat transcription, and even email. This will likely be a treasure trove of useful information and recommendations from your end users.

Leverage Disco AI’s video assets feature to transcribe your video recordings and generate summaries in a matter of seconds. Simply navigate to your Learning Product and select Curriculum. Add a lesson by clicking the “+” icon at the top right corner of your screen. Next, choose Video and either upload or drag the video file into your lesson.

Once the upload is complete, click Generate Video Assets with AI. Within seconds, you’ll receive a full transcription and a summary of the video. You can then select valuable conversations to use as qualitative feedback from your learners. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to generate video assets with AI:

Learning outcomes for student success

You can also look at data around learning outcomes and assessment performance to help you determine if your cohort’s learning objectives were met. Most learning analytics research tends to adopt a descriptive approach, analyzing quiz scores, assignments, peer assessment results, and more to see where learners excelled (and struggled).

Learning analytics supports the learning process by providing insights and interventions that align with individual learning processes.

Make the most of Disco’s all-new Product Reports, which offer a detailed analysis of member progress and activity. With comprehensive reporting on curriculum, content, events, and discussions, you can easily track how your product is performing. To access these insights, go to Admins > Insights > Products.

Ask for and incorporate feedback from your learners

Feedback is a crucial component in the development and refinement of your learning content, as it can benefit students by enhancing their educational experiences. Learning analytics empowers students to take control of their own learning by providing insights into their educational processes.

After all, if your learners aren’t loving it, you’ll need to discover why and change it if you want to keep them happy.

Feedback provides insights into how well the material is being understood by your learners and where improvements to your course materials can be made. Learner perspectives shed light on aspects of the content that you might not have even considered, leading to a more effective overall learning experience.

Plus, many learners like giving feedback. When it’s actively asked for and applied, it only serves to make your content better. And hey, if your learners love certain parts of your content, then that’s great to know too.

Tips on how to ask for feedback using educational technology

Example #1: If multiple learners indicate confusion around a particular concept, it’s a clear signal to revisit and clarify that part of your course. Consider refining your content or adding supplementary resources to address these gaps.

Encourage open-ended feedback in addition to structured questions to capture nuanced insights. Utilizing educational data mining can further enhance this process by transforming feedback data into meaningful insights, helping you to identify and address specific areas of improvement.

Example #2: If a majority of learners rave about your interactive quizzes or real-life case studies, you’ll know to emphasize and expand these elements in future sessions. Positive reinforcement is invaluable—it guides you to build on the aspects of your content that resonate most with your audience.

Example #3: Asking for feedback doesn’t have to be hard, and it doesn’t have to be a huge, comprehensive ask. You can have regular surveys or polls all within Disco, like,

• What was your favorite part of this week’s lesson?
• Rate Tuesday’s live event on a scale of 1-5
• Drop in ideas to improve our next virtual event

Or, you can use Disco AI to help you create a longer, more detailed survey to send out at any point in your session. Here’s how to add surveys into your curriculum:

Harnessing learning analytics tool for continuous improvement

Learning analytics isn’t just about looking back; it’s a powerful tool for continuous improvement and growth. By integrating artificial intelligence to enhance learning analytics, you can uncover deeper insights and more effective strategies.

Big data plays a crucial role in understanding and improving learning outcomes by enabling the collection and analysis of extensive information generated in learning environments. By regularly reviewing your data, engaging with feedback, and adapting your strategies accordingly, you set the stage for a more engaging, effective, and successful learning experience.

Learning analytics provides a clear roadmap to enhance student success, knowledge retention, increase emotional engagement, and ultimately lead to higher course completion rates. In higher education, implementing learning analytics strategies can significantly improve teaching practices and student performance.

By understanding and applying the insights derived from learning analytics tools, you not only improve your current programs but also build a strong foundation for future cohorts.

The result? A thriving learning organization that continues to expand, scale, and succeed, driven by the insights provided by learning analytics.