Needs Analysis of Learning Analytics Dashboard for College Teacher Online Professional Learning in an International Training Initiative for the Global South

Abstract

Online courses enable wide access to educational resources and thus provide a feasible platform for cross-regional teacher professional learning. Learning analytics dashboards (LAD) can support online learners by providing fine-grained feedback generated from learners' interactions with platforms. Nevertheless, most studies on teacher online professional learning focus on resource-rich and technology-advanced regions, with scarce attention to the Global South. Furthermore, existing studies on LAD design mainly target students' learning, rather than teachers' professional learning. Therefore, it is much needed to develop LAD for teacher-learners online professional learning in the Global South. Contextualized in an international online professional training initiative, this study conducted in-depth interviews with 42 teacher-learners from 19 countries in the Global South, aiming to identify their needs for 1) support on their self-regulated learning (SRL), and 2) potential LA components in dashboards. Findings indicated that teacher-learners needed support for self-regulated learning strategies, including motivation maintenance, time management, environment structuring, help-seeking, and self-evaluation. Nine LA features were identified to design the LADs to support SRL preliminarily. This co-designed LAD study with interviewees improved our understanding on the needs of college teachers in the Global South for LA support during their online professional learning, generating practical insights into needs-driven LAD designs.