Supporting data for “Improving Online Professional Learning Experience for College Teachers in the Global South: A Learning Analytics Approach”

This description includes the research purposes and questions, the data corresponding to the research questions and their sources, as well as the specific locations of this data in the folders I uploaded.

This is the thesis dataset. This doctoral study adhered to rigorous ethical standards, having received approval from the research ethics committee at the University of Hong Kong (HREC’s Reference Number: EA230230). The dataset cannot be made public without the approval of UNESCO-ICHEI. Therefore, I chose the "permanent embargo".

This doctoral study aims to investigate the factors that influence college teachers' engagement and course completion and design and evaluate the LA interventions for supporting their learning experience within the context of an international TOPL project tailored for the Global South. This project launched by UESCO-ICHEI is developing and upgrading the online platform, i.e., the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE). This study implemented an iterative research process that incorporates both quantitative analytics and qualitative analysis, capturing the perspectives of various stakeholders. This approach seeks not only to enhance our understanding of the online learning environment but also to inform ongoing improvements to the platform and the international project.

Two main research questions guided two rounds of studies. RQ1 aims at identifying the influential factors of tertiary TOPL engagement and outcomes through quantitative analytics and qualitative analysis. After the refinements of the platform and pedagogical measures, RQ2 focuses on examining the association between LA dashboard usage and pedagogical designs, and teacher-learners’ engagement, course completion, and SRL skills.

Here are the specific research questions:

RQ1: What are the influential factors affecting the online learning experience of college teachers in the Global South when using the first version of the platform?

RQ1.1: To what degree can individual, institution and country-level factors predict teachers' learning completion?

• (a) To what degree do country, institutional, and individual-level factors predict college teachers’ online course learning completion?

• (b) To what extent do these factors moderate the relationships between various cross-level and within-level factors and the completion of online courses by college teachers?

RQ1.2: What are stakeholders’ insights into the influential factors of teachers’ online learning experience?

• (a) What are the facilitators for college teachers' online professional learning experience in an international teacher learning program for the Global South settings?

• (b) What are the barriers to college teachers' online professional learning experience in an international teacher learning program for the Global South settings?

• (c) What are the misfits among different factors in this international TOPL program?

RQ2: To what extent is the use of the second version of the platform related to teachers’ online learning engagement and outcomes in the Global South?

RQ2.1: What are the relationships between the use of the second version of the platform and the online learning experience?

• (a) To what extent do teacher-learner characteristics predict learning analytics dashboard (LAD) usage?

• (b) To what extent does LAD usage predict teacher-learners online learning engagement, completion, and self-reported SRL skills after the course?

• (c) To what extent do the usage of other upgraded functions and pedagogical measures predict teacher-learner online learning completion?

RQ2.2: What are stakeholders' perceptions of using new functions and improved pedagogical measures in the second version of the platform?

To address the research questions and collect the data, I collaborated closely with UNESCO-ICHEI and the IIOE platform. In accordance with established privacy agreements between the IIOE platform and its users, I obtained permission to use data from the platform for research and publishing related articles in the anonymized form, ensuring that individual identities remain confidential.

For the quantitative data in Study 1, addressing RQ 1.1—"To what degree can individual, institution and country-level factors predict teachers' learning completion?"—a treasure trove of country-level measures was sourced from a variety of open datasets. This included the Network Readiness Index (https://networkreadinessindex.org/), The Institute for Economics and Peace (Global Peace Index, https://www.economicsandpeace.org/), and World Bank Open Data (e.g., government expenditure on education, https://data.worldbank.org/). At the institutional level, a key characteristic was whether there was a partnership between the participants' institutions and the IIOE, with partner institutions described on the platform's webpage. Individual-level variables were collected through a course registration survey that included participants' ages, job titles, degrees, genders, and areas of expertise. Data on course completion was recorded on the platform for each learner. These data are stored in the "Study 1" worksheet of an Excel document.

For qualitative data in Study 1, in response to RQ 1.2, "What are stakeholders’ insights into the influential factors of teachers’ online learning experience?", a total of 59 transcripts from audio recordings were collected, derived from 55 semi-structured interviews and 4 regional consultation meetings (RC). These data, related to the teachers' online learning experience, were systematically gathered. These stakeholders included teacher-learners (L), instructors of IIOE courses (I), project officers in the IIOE management center (PO), IIOE office directors (OD), program initiators (PI), platform-developing team managers (D), and representatives of two partner enterprises (E). These transcripts are stored in a zip file, with each transcript named in the format Round_of_study_categories_number.docx, e.g., R1_L_1.

To address RQ 2.1, "What are the relationships between the utilization of the second version of the platform and the online learning experience?", quantitative data in Study 2 were gathered from various resources. Specifically, teacher-learner characteristics and self-reported online self-regulated learning skills were collected through pre- and post-course questionnaires. Additionally, metrics on learning engagement, captured during the learning process, alongside the usage of learning analytics dashboards, were extracted from system logs and platform records. Course completion data was also collected from platform records. These data are stored in the "Study 2" worksheet of an Excel document.

To respond to RQ 2.2, "What are stakeholders' perceptions of using new functions and improved pedagogical measures on the second version of the platform?", 49 semi-structured interviews were conducted with various stakeholders, including teacher-learners (L), project officers (PO), and local coordinators of IIOE (C). Their perceptions regarding the newly introduced functionalities and pedagogical designs were collected, enriching the qualitative data landscape. These transcripts are stored in a zip file, with each transcript named in the format Round_of_study_categories_number.docx, e.g., R2_PO_1.