Game-based learning has received increasing attention in recent years as it could help improve pupils' motivation, self-efficacy, and achievement. Technological innovations like learning analytics (LA) and GBL offer pedagogical support for teachers. GBL could significantly support pupils' learning as a learning approach compared to conventional…

Pre-service teacher training is research intensive in Finland. Additionally, teaching as a profession is highly valued among young people. However, quantitative methods courses are challenging for teacher students from many reasons. Particularly, this is due to previous negative experiences and emotions (among other things). Thus, novel approaches…

This study explored the sequential interplay between challenges and regulatory processes in high- and low-performing collaborative groups. 66 students from a Finnish higher education institution participated in a collaborative task in groups of three. Approximately 34 h of video data were coded. The sequential analysis revealed that both groups…

Learning analytics has been widely used in the field of education. Most studies have adopted a learning analytics dashboard to present data on learning processes or learning outcomes. However, only presenting learning analytics results was not sufficient and lacked personalised feedback. In response to these gaps, this study proposed a learning…

In an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS), problem (or question) difficulty is one of the most critical parameters, directly impacting problem design, test paper organization, result analysis, and even the fairness guarantee. However, it is very difficult to evaluate the problem difficulty by organized pre-tests or by expertise, because these…

In this explorative study, we investigate how sequences of behaviour are related to success or failure in complex problem-solving (CPS). To this end, we analysed log data from two different tasks of the problem-solving assessment of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2012 study (n = 30,098 students). We first coded every…

In today's environment of growing class sizes due to the prevalence of online and e-learning systems, providing one-to-one instruction and feedback has become a challenging task for teachers. Anyhow, the dialectical integration of instruction and assessment into a seamless and dynamic activity can provide a continuous flow of assessment…

Our aim in this paper is to improve the efficiency of a learning process by using learners' traces to detect particular needs. The analysis of the semantic path of a learner or group of learners during the learning process can allow detecting those students who are in needs of help as well as identify the insufficiently mastered concepts. We…

This paper studies the use of Reinforcement Learning (RL) policies for optimizing the sequencing of online learning materials to students. Our approach provides an end to end pipeline for automatically deriving and evaluating robust representations of students' interactions and policies for content sequencing in online educational settings. We…

Word frequency has a long history of being considered the most important predictor of word difficulty and has served as a guideline for several aspects of second language vocabulary teaching, learning, and assessment. However, recent empirical research has challenged the supremacy of frequency as a predictor of word difficulty. Accordingly,…

Many university programs include Microsoft Excel courses given their value as a scientific and technical tool. However, evaluating what is effectively learned by students is a challenging task. Considering multiple-choice written exams are a standard evaluation format, this study aimed to uncover the features influencing students' success in…

This study implemented a data-driven approach to identify Chinese high school students' common errors in a Java-based introductory programming course using the data in an automated assessment tool called the Mulberry. Students' error-related behaviors were also analyzed, and their relationships to success in introductory programming were…

Persistence has proven to be a great challenge in online learning environments. Gaming and interactivity have been suggested as essential features in reducing dropout and increasing persistence in online learning. Yet in interactive game-based learning environments, persistence in moving forward in the game may come at the expense of investing in…

Programming is a complex learning activity that involves coordination of cognitive processes and affective states. These aspects are often considered individually in computing education research, demonstrating limited understanding of how and when students learn best. This issue confines researchers to contextualize evidence-driven outcomes when…

The recent shift in compulsory education from ICT-focused computing curricula to informatics, digital literacy and computer science, has resulted in children being taught computing using block-based programming tools such as Scratch, with teaching that is often limited by school resources and teacher expertise. Even without these limitations,…