The StREAM student engagement analytics platform generates multiple insights that are beneficial for educators considering ways to improve their learning and teaching practice, whether at individual level, as a programme or course leader or from a management perspective.
Here are ten ways StREAM can enhance your academic practice:
For engagement purposes, StREAM is only interested in what students do when they get to university – the factors that they can influence. Demographic data is therefore not part of our proprietary engagement algorithm. But demographic data can help you get to know your students more easily and to understand the factors that may influence their attendance or engagement. For example, knowing the percentage of students in your class who are commuting to university or understanding whether they are mature students who are more likely to have caring responsibilities can inform the creation of more targeted and appropriate support activity.
Research conducted at our clients demonstrates that students who start to develop positive learning and engagement behaviours from the outset of their studies has a significant impact on their outcomes. StREAM can provide insights at individual student level to show whether your students are beginning to successfully navigate university systems and procedures as part of welcome and induction activity. In turn, this can target support activity and help all students to develop productive educational behaviours that support their success from the outset of university life.
High levels of student engagement with learning opportunities isn’t a foregone conclusion. StREAM can help to identify which learning activities are working and which might benefit from a rethink. Insights at the level of each digital resource can show whether students are finding your learning activities and resources relevant and useful. Insights at cohort level can be used to nudge student participation where individual engagement is low, particularly when triangulated against lower assessment outcomes.
Good curriculum design can facilitate higher student engagement. Student evaluations are a rich source of data for ongoing quality enhancement at module level, contributing to a reflective cycle of experiential learning. Insights on individual and cohort engagement with their learning resources can pinpoint where it would be useful to revisit curriculum design and provide more opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning. Multiple and varied opportunities to participate can scaffold student learning and assessment, support face-to-face interactions, boost students’ engagement scores and ultimately impact attainment.
Student engagement is influenced by multiple factors and consequently varies by module. Attendance and assessment insights at module level help to determine where a quick intervention early in the academic year (e.g. moving a student to a different seminar group to enable them to both attend and undertake paid work) can be the difference between passing or failing a module.
‘Success’ is an individual concept. What counts as success for one student might feel unattainable for another student and vice versa. That’s why no automated decisions on student engagement are made by StREAM. Rather, the data insights are the starting point for a conversation with students to understand what matters to them and what counts as success in their eyes. Knowing this means that you can use your expertise to align the information, advice and guidance you provide to help them achieve their goals.
Academic life is busy, and post-covid working arrangements may make those unplanned opportunities to discuss student progress more infrequent. Understanding student engagement and attainment prior to formal programme team meetings can save time and make it simpler for all members of the programme team1 to work together to maximise opportunities for success at the individual student level.
StREAM groups students by programme or module which makes it easy to get a sense of the demographic make-up of your cohort. Understanding their prior educational experiences can inform the design of assessment support sessions. For example, knowing which of your students arrive with BTEC qualifications and which have A-levels can inform assessment design and support. Early action to address these differences can also impact other widening participation gaps.
Triangulating assessment, module and engagement data in StREAM can provide insights as to which students could be supported to achieve good degrees, thus supporting the institutional achievement of key performance metrics.
Programme or Faculty Management or University Executive Teams can also review cohort or individual student engagement data via StREAM. Setting user-defined filters can support Faculty or programme level initiatives seeking to address attainment gaps through the early identification of students at risk of withdrawal and intervening accordingly. Real-time insights within StREAM support planning activity, delivery of any targeted outreach initiatives and helps close the loop when it comes to reporting against institutional KPIs.
To find out more about how StREAM can help you understand what engagement looks like for your institution and support your retention strategies, visit our website or book a demonstration today.
