The most powerful tool a teacher could ever have at his or her disposal is data. Far more important than just determining grades, data helps teachers understand what students know before instruction, what they are learning during instruction, and what they have retained after instruction. It also gives them valuable information on pacing, notifying them when it’s time to reteach content or to move forward.
A key indicator of whether or not students are ready to move forward is engagement. Levels of engagement can mean the difference between napping in the back of the room all the way to actively participating in discussions, seeking out new information, and making connections through the real-world application of skills.
The more students find interest in a subject, practice new skills through hands-on activities, and are taught in a way that matches their personal learning style, the more engaged they will become and the more they will learn. That’s why learning behavior analytics is such an important tool for schools. It provides both teachers and administrators with important data on how their students are engaging and how much they are actually learning.
As educational companies continue to make such innovations, the data obtained through learning behavior analytics is becoming an even more important feature of running a successful classroom full of engaged learners. This is particularly true as teachers incorporate more and more technology into their classrooms every year and as the number of students learning virtually from home is on the rise.
The good news is that collecting this important data is becoming easier for teachers every day. The days of handing out one worksheet after another are long gone as teachers now have digital resources that are highly engaging for students while also collecting detailed statistics they can use to improve their teaching strategies.
Students learn far more from personal experiences and understanding how information impacts them directly than they ever do just by hearing about it and repeating the same information back to the teacher. With educational technology, students are able to complete hands-on assignments, participate in discussions, learn from their peers in small group settings, and seek out new information that they find important.
And with learning behavior analytics, the teacher can see everything that is happening with students in real-time, can make important decisions about which students need additional assistance with new materials, and can set pacing guidelines based on what students need most.
