The development of a programme for the adoption of a student tracking system by student support and development practitioners
Dockrat, Shafeeka Yusuf (2021)
Dockrat, Shafeeka Yusuf
2021
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202105097869
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202105097869
Tiivistelmä
The phenomenon of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is globally affecting all facets of industry and society as a whole. Education 4.0 is a reaction to this revolution. Relating to the Education 4.0 features of technology-enabled learning and digitalization of interactions, there are numerous ways to collect and analyse data to enhance the student experience. Big datasets of student activities and interests are growing exponentially, providing an abundance of digital data that may be used to enhance learning outcomes.
Eleven years after the introduction of a Student Tracking System (STS) at a higher education institution in South Africa, the system was not optimally used by the primary end-users, student success practitioners, with many not using the system at all. As a strategy for improving student success, the STS aims to be an early warning system for detecting students potentially at risk for academic underachievement. It is a tool for monitoring attendance of and progress in developmental and support co-curricular and non-curricular interventions for high-risk students. It also serves as a data warehouse for these records, thereby providing a rich source of data that may be used for learning analytics.
The objective of this project was to develop a comprehensive programme for the adoption of the STS by practitioners in the SSD division at a higher education institution. The programme utilised a change management and technology adoption approach to influence attitudes and perceptions towards STS adoption, technical training and post-training strategies to facilitate adoption. The project-based paradigm, ADDIE (Analyse, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) was applied to create the programme. Evaluation was incorporated in every phase; adapting the original model to AeDeDeIeE.
A five-stage conceptual model was postulated to serve as a theoretical grounding for the STS Adoption Programme. These five stages are: creating self-awareness; preparing participants for the introduction of the new system; technical training; in-situ application; and post-training monitoring and support. This study was limited to third stage implementation as the last two stages required long-term implementation. The STS Adoption Programme and all supplementary materials were developed during this project. The primary output was the Instructor’s Manual which provided detailed step-by-step instructions and materials required to facilitate the programme. Overall, the five-stage STS Adoption Programme appears to comply with the criteria stipulated in Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Training Evaluation Model (reaction, learning, behaviour and results).
Eleven years after the introduction of a Student Tracking System (STS) at a higher education institution in South Africa, the system was not optimally used by the primary end-users, student success practitioners, with many not using the system at all. As a strategy for improving student success, the STS aims to be an early warning system for detecting students potentially at risk for academic underachievement. It is a tool for monitoring attendance of and progress in developmental and support co-curricular and non-curricular interventions for high-risk students. It also serves as a data warehouse for these records, thereby providing a rich source of data that may be used for learning analytics.
The objective of this project was to develop a comprehensive programme for the adoption of the STS by practitioners in the SSD division at a higher education institution. The programme utilised a change management and technology adoption approach to influence attitudes and perceptions towards STS adoption, technical training and post-training strategies to facilitate adoption. The project-based paradigm, ADDIE (Analyse, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) was applied to create the programme. Evaluation was incorporated in every phase; adapting the original model to AeDeDeIeE.
A five-stage conceptual model was postulated to serve as a theoretical grounding for the STS Adoption Programme. These five stages are: creating self-awareness; preparing participants for the introduction of the new system; technical training; in-situ application; and post-training monitoring and support. This study was limited to third stage implementation as the last two stages required long-term implementation. The STS Adoption Programme and all supplementary materials were developed during this project. The primary output was the Instructor’s Manual which provided detailed step-by-step instructions and materials required to facilitate the programme. Overall, the five-stage STS Adoption Programme appears to comply with the criteria stipulated in Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Training Evaluation Model (reaction, learning, behaviour and results).