Applying Ariadne: Dataset on Learning Styles and Moodle-Based Learning Paths

About this repository

This dataset contains information queried from 22 students inside a Moodle based learning management system during the winter term 2023/24 at a German university.

Abstract

With the use of learning management systems students benefit from being recommended suitable learning elements based on their individual needs. In doing so, recommendation algorithms are applied which first query the student’s learning style. To improve the recommendation of learning elements a continuous analysis of the individual’s learning style is required. A frequent questionnaire assessment would however be too time consuming. Instead, in a prior study an algorithm has been designed to identify changes in learning styles from the student’s selection of learning elements. In this paper, we investigate the functionality of that algorithm by applying it on real student data. In particular, we test if the algorithm correctly indicates changes in learning styles. The utilised data is collected in our learning management system. To be precise, the data is obtained from 22 students enrolled in a software engineering course during the winter term of 2023/24. The data comprises two types of information for each student: 1) learning style collected at the start and end of the term, and 2) the user’s actual selection of learning elements inside the learning management system.The uniqueness of this study lies in the data and the evaluation strategy based on it. Having the learning style at the end of the semester period as ground truth allows us to test if the algorithm operates correctly with actual user data from our learning management system. The results validate the behaviour of our algorithm, yet they strongly suggest the need for an adaptation. Further research is required on how to parameterise the underlying models.

Data Explanation

This dataset contains 

ILS learning styles queried at the start and end of the semester period (winter term 2023/24)

 sequences of learning elements chosen inside a Moodle based learning management system.

The learning elements are chosen according to the learning element defined by Staufer et al. in "LEARNING ELEMENTS IN ONLINE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS" (doi:10.21125/iceri.2023.0815)

Acknowledgments

The present paper is supported by the ‘German Federal Ministry of Education and Research’ (BMBF) through the granting of the funding project HASKI (FKZ: 16DHBKI035)

Contact Information

If you have any questions feel free to reach out to the owners of this repository by mail: flemming.bugert(a)oth-regensburg.de