How Teacher Characteristics Relate to How Teachers Use Dashboards: Results From Two Case Studies in K-12

• Published in: Journal of Learning Analytics Vol. 8; no. 2; pp. 6 - 21
• Main Authors: van Leeuwen, Anouschka, Knoop-van Campen, Carolien A. N., Molenaar, Inge, Rummel, Nikol
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Society for Learning Analytics Research 03.09.2021
• Subjects: Age Differences; Case Studies; Decision Making; Elementary School Teachers; Elementary Secondary Education; Gender Differences; Online Systems; Secondary School Teachers; Self Efficacy; Teacher Characteristics; Teaching Experience; Technology Uses in Education
• ISSN: 1929-7750; 1929-7750
• DOI: 10.18608/jla.2021.7325

Teacher dashboards are a specific form of analytics in which visual displays provide teachers with information about their students; for example, concerning student progress and performance on tasks during lessons or lectures. In the present paper, we focus on the role of teacher dashboards in the context of teacher decision-making in K–12 education. There is large variation in teacher dashboard use in the classroom, which could be explained by teacher characteristics. Therefore, we investigate the role of teacher characteristics — such as experience, age, gender, and self-efficacy — in how teachers use dashboards. More specifically, we present two case studies to understand how diversity in teacher dashboard use is related to teacher characteristics. Surprisingly, in both case studies, teacher characteristics were not associated with dashboard use. Based on our findings, we propose an initial framework to understand what contributes to diversity of dashboard use. This framework might support future research to attribute diversity in dashboard use. This paper should be seen as a first step in examining the role of teacher characteristics in dashboard use in K–12 education.