Teaching through Learning Analytics: Predicting Student Learning Profiles in a Physics Course at a Higher Education Institution

Abstract

Learning Analytics (LA) is increasingly used in Education to set prediction models from artificial intelligence to determine learning profiles. This study aims to determine to what extent K-nearest neighbor and random forest algorithms could become a useful tool for improving the teaching-learning process and reducing academic failure in two Physics courses at the Technological Institute of Monterrey, México (n = 268). A quasi-experimental and mixed method approach was conducted. The main results showed significant differences between the first and second term evaluations in the two groups. One of the main findings of the study is that the predictions were not very accurate for each student in the first term evaluation. However, the predictions became more accurate as the algorithm was fed with larger datasets from the second term evaluation. This result indicates how predictive algorithms based on decision trees, can offer a close approximation to the academic performance that will occur in the class, and this information could be use along with the personal impressions coming from the teacher.