Design of a curriculum analytics tool to support continuous improvement processes in higher education

Abstract

Curriculum analytics (CA) emerged as a sub-field of learning analytics, aiming to use evidence to drive curriculum decision-making and program improvement. However, its overall impact on program outcomes remains unknown. In this context, this paper presents work-in-progress of a large research project to understand how CA could support continuous improvement processes at a program-level. We followed an approach based on design-based research to develop a CA tool: The Integrative Learning Design Framework. This paper describes three out of four phases of this framework and its main results, including the evaluation of the local impact of this CA tool. This evaluation consisted of an instrumental case study to evaluate its use to support 124 teaching staff in a 3-year continuous improvement process in a Latin American university. Lessons learned indicate that the tool helped staff to collect information for curriculum discussions, facilitating the availability of evidence regarding student competency attainment. To generalize these lessons, future work will consist of evaluating the tool in different university settings.