Supporting teachers in guiding collaborating students: Effects of learning analytics in CSCL

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of teacher supporting tools that present summaries, visualizations, and analyses of student participation and discussion on the way teachers guide collaborating groups of students in a digital learning environment. An experimental set-up was used in which authentic student data was converted to simulation vignettes that participants could interact with, enabling them to act as the teacher. The vignettes contained groups that had a problem concerning participation or discussion. When presented with the supporting tools, teachers and student teachers were better able to spot the problems, regarding participation, intervened more often in problematic groups as time progressed, and displayed more specific explanations of their actions. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.