There were 56 studies included in the final analysis. The first studies about designing LA interventions were conducted by (Bouchet et al., 2013) and (Inventado et al., 2013). In their work, the researchers of these studies formed clusters of students, characterised the students belonging to different clusters (Bouchet et al., 2013), and identified effective long-term learning behaviours (Inventado et al., 2013). Interest in the topic has increased since 2013, and nine studies from 2021 focusing on the topic were found (Fig. 2). These more recent studies focus on implementing and evaluating the tools designed for LA interventions. The reviewed studies primarily examined higher education settings (46 studies; 82% of studies) with undergraduate or graduate students. Less frequently, the studies concerned doctoral students (two studies; 4%), workplaces (three studies; 5%), or public schools (one study; 2%). In (Jivet et al., 2021) there were higher education degree students and students in professional development process included. Four studies did not report the population that they researched. The sizes of the samples involved in the studies varied. Some studies had less than 10 participants (Cha & Park, 2019; Inventado et al., 2013; Wise et al., 2014, 2016), whereas the largest population was made of 33,726 learners (Davis et al., 2017). The mean population of the reviewed studies was 1,398 participants and the median was 102 participants. Most studies used single courses as their learning context (27 studies; 48%), but some studies conducted their LA intervention across nine (Hardebolle et al., 2020) or ten (Haynes, 2020; Kia et al., 2020) courses. This trend of aiming to generalise the LA interventions is relatively recent.
There were different phases and perspectives in the development of the LA interventions. Some studies explained the early phases of their LA intervention design from a technological point of view (Frey et al., 2016; Manso-Vázquez & Llamas-Nistal, 2015; Siadaty et al., 2016b; Winne et al., 2019). Other studies examined the next phases with the perspective of user’s experience on the interface of the intended LA intervention (Cha & Park, 2019; Rohloff et al., 2019; Sonnenberg & Bannert, 2016), and the rest of the studies tested the effectiveness of the LA intervention in action.
5.1 RQ1: What learning analytics methods have been applied to identify the needs for SRL support?
While some of the studies (n = 14; 25%) focused on supporting SRL with one LA method, it was more common to see a study use two (n = 16; 29%) or three (n = 18; 32%) methods. Some scholars even used four (Jivet et al., 2020; Matcha et al., 2019; Russell et al., 2020) or five methods (Afzaal et al., 2021; Sonnenberg & Bannert, 2015, 2016, 2019; Yu et al., 2018) to achieve their goals. The methods used in the reviewed studies are summarised in Table 4. The first column shows the learning analytics methods. As multiple methods can be applied, the overall number of learning analytics methods surpassed the number of reviewed studies. The number of studies using a method is displayed in the second column.
Table 4
Summary of methods used in reviewed studies
Learning analytics methods | Number of studies |
Visualisation | 32 (57%) |
Statistics | 32 (57%) |
Recommendation | 16 (29%) |
Prediction | 12 (21%) |
Discovery with models | 8 (14%) |
Knowledge tracing | 7 (13%) |
Clustering | 7 (13%) |
Process mining | 6 (11%) |
Relationship mining | 6 (11%) |
Non-negative matrix factorisation | 2 (4%) |
Outlier detection | 2 (4%) |
Other methods | 2 (4%) |
Causal mining | 1 (2%) |
Distillation of data for human judgement | 1 (2%) |
Social network analysis | 1 (2%) |
Text mining | 1 (2%) |
Statistical approach was often used to provide content for visualisations (n = 19; 34%). Four studies used a combination of the three most used methods (Balavijendran & Burnie, 2018; Jivet et al., 2020; Siadaty et al., 2016a; Yu et al., 2018). In these studies, a learner’s trace data was analysed using statistical methods and compared to their peer learners. The analysis result was then visualised for the learner and accompanied by recommendations on how to improve their learning processes.
5.2 RQ2: What channels have been applied in LA interventions to foster SRL?
Table 5 presents the different channels used for LA interventions. The first column displays the different channels used for LA interventions and the second column shows the number of studies applying these channels.
Table 5
Summary of channels used in reviewed studies
Channels | Number of studies |
Learning analytics dashboard | 27 (48%) |
Embedded in LMS | 12 (21%) |
Prompt | 11 (20%) |
E-mail | 5 (9%) |
Foldout | 2 (4%) |
Phone call | 1 (2%) |
Text message | 1 (2%) |
An LAD displays an LA intervention using a visual form. Embedded systems may include elements directly connected to the learning materials or assignments. For example, (Bouchet et al., 2013) used a virtual pedagogical assistant to give hints, and (Frey et al., 2016) implemented a system that helped learners rehearse question-asking skills for question-based dialogue. Prompting can provide directions to a learner at different parts of the learning process and help them to improve their learning.
The LA interventions mentioned used automation. However, there were also LA interventions where the amount of individual human touch was high. These LA interventions include e-mails (L. A. Lim et al., 2021; L.-A. Lim et al., 2020; Matcha et al., 2019; Menchaca et al., 2018; Nikolayeva et al., 2020), foldouts (Ott et al., 2015; Sedraz Silva et al., 2018), phone calls, and text messages (Herodotou et al., 2020). E-mail is an excellent tool for providing individual guidance and helping a student develop their learning process (Matcha et al., 2019). Foldouts (Ott et al., 2015; Sedraz Silva et al., 2018) also provide learners with information about their learning process.
5.3 RQ3: Which phases of the SRL cycle were targeted by LA interventions?
It is most common to foster the SRL subprocesses of the performance phase (e.g., giving hints on how to approach assignments). In total, 44 studies (79%) focused on the performance subprocesses. 25 studies (45%) targeted the subprocesses of the planning phase (e.g., setting goals, time management), and 17 studies (30%) targeted subprocesses of the reflection phase (e.g., evaluation learning outcomes and identifying how to improve performance). Five studies (9%) did not specify the subprocesses they focused on, and therefore those studies could not be categorised. Figure 3 presents the division of the studies into different phases.
Notably, there were only nine studies (16%, Bouchet et al., 2013; Hardebolle et al., 2020; Jivet et al., 2021; Lallé et al., 2017; L. A. Lim et al., 2021; Nikolayeva et al., 2020; Siadaty et al., 2016b; Wise et al., 2014; J. Wong, Khalil, et al., 2019) that focused on the entire SRL cycle. Manganello et al. (2021) applied the all the phases of 4C model, which is used in professional contexts. Connecting only two phases was more common. For example, studies typically connected the performance with either the planning phase (12 studies; 21%) or with the reflection phase (four studies; 7%). Connecting the planning and reflection phases was only done by (Lu et al., 2017).
5.4 RQ4: How do studies evaluate the SRL support efficiency and impact, and what kind of results were achieved?
The studies evaluated the efficiency of an LA intervention in various ways. Studies focused on their LA intervention design tended to use qualitative methods, such as interviews, the think-aloud method, and focus groups, to verify the usability, usefulness, and learners' perception of an LA intervention. Interviews (Cha & Park, 2019; Corrin & de Barba, 2014; Wise et al., 2014, 2016) were used to discover how learners perceived the functionalities and features of LA interventions and to find approaches that learners would be willing to use in their learning processes. Sonnenberg and Bannert (2016, 2019) used the think-aloud method to gain insight into these learner perceptions and to identify how useful a design was for a learner. In other cases, some researchers used focus groups (Balavijendran & Burnie, 2018; L. A. Lim et al., 2021; L.-A. Lim et al., 2020), observations of facial expressions (Bouchet et al., 2013), eye-tracking (Bouchet et al., 2013; Lallé et al., 2017; Munshi & Biswas, 2019), and physiological sensors (Lallé et al., 2017) to evaluate the effects of an LA intervention during its early developmental phase.
Quantitative methods were used by researchers to evaluate the efficiency of an LA intervention during the execution phase. 34 studies (61%) used trace data for this purpose, making it the most used method. Pre- and post-intervention surveys were popular evaluation methods as well. There were 23 studies (41%) that used surveys, either alone or with trace data, to evaluate the efficiency of a LA intervention. The actual outcomes of participants’ learning processes were evaluated in terms of grade distribution (Afzaal et al., 2021; Cody et al., 2020; Kia et al., 2020; L. A. Lim et al., 2021; Lu et al., 2017; Manganello et al., 2021; Ott et al., 2015; Sedrakyan & Snoeck, 2017; van Horne et al., 2018) and course completion (Davis et al., 2017; Herodotou et al., 2020).
26 studies (46%) reported a positive, measurable impact on learning from their LA intervention. In Table 6, the impact of the LA interventions and the measurements of the impacts are displayed. In the first column, the types of impact are denoted. The second column identifies the studies, and the third column shows the impacted variable. The fourth column presents the effect sizes measured in the studies, and the last column interprets effect size following the principles introduced in Table 2.
Table 6
LA intervention impacts and the measurements of impact
The type of impact | Study | Impacted variable | Effect size | Interpretation |
Improved self-regulation | Aguilar 2021 | Improved SRL | NA | |
Balavijendran & Burnie, 2018 | Perceived improvement in SRL | NA | |
Chen et al., 2020 | Regulation of cognition | β = .393 | |
Corrin & De Barba, 2014 | Perceived better progress during the performance phase | NA | |
Domínguez et al. 2021 | Self-assessment | NA | |
Lim et al., 2020 | Goal setting and procrastination | NA | |
Lim, Gasevic et al. 2021 | Improved SRL | NA | |
Lim, Gentili et al. 2021 | Improves SRL | ηp2 = 0.22 | Large |
Matcha et al., 2019 | High engagement strategy | NA | |
Siadaty et al., 2016c | Task analysis Goal setting Personal planning Working on task Applying strategy changes Evaluation Reflection | r = .667 r = .778 r = .740 r = .781 r = .745 r = .685 r = .682 | Large Very large Very large Very large Very large Large Large |
Sonnenberg & Bannert, 2015 | Metacognitive learning activities | d = 0.44 | Small |
Sonnenberg & Bannert, 2016 | Metacognitive learning activities | d = 2.00 | Very large |
Sonnenberg & Bannert, 2019 | Task analysis Evaluation | ηp2 = 0.082 ηp2 = 0.063 | Medium Medium |
Better learning outcomes | Afzaal et al. 2021 | Improvement in grades | r = .86 | Very large |
Cody et al., 2020 | Faster performance | F = 5.24 | |
Davis et al., 2016 | Improvement in grades | NA | |
Lim, Gentili et al. 2021 | Improvement in grades | d = 0.47 | Small |
Lu et al., 2017 | Improvement in grades | F = 19.71 | |
Manganello et al. 2021 | Improvement in grades | d = 1.10 | Large |
Menchaca et al., 2018 | Defining targets Task definition Communication and collaboration | d = 0.90 d = 0.78 d = 0.35 | Large Medium Small |
Schumacher & Ifenthaler 2021 | Declarative knowledge | NA | |
Van Horne et al., 2018 | Improvement in grades | NA | |
Better engagement with course materials | Davis et al., 2016 | Timely submissions and number of submissions | NA | |
Nikolayeva et al., 2020 | More completed quizzes | d = 0.31 | Small |
Siadaty et al., 2016a | Perceived learning paths useful | NA | |
Wong, Khalil et al., 2019 | Increased interaction with activities | NA | |
Improved course completion | Davis et al., 2017 | Improved completion rate | χ2 = 5.87 | |
Russell et al., 2020 | Lower dropout rate | HR = 0.74 | |
Improved student retention | Herodotou et al., 2020 | Improved course completion | NA | |
Not promising | Bouchet et al., 2013 | Effect on SRL | NA | |
Haynes, 2020 | Perceived usefulness of the LA intervention | NA | |
Kia et al., 2020 | The connection between SRL and academic achievement | χ2 = 2.43 | |
Li et al., 2017 | Improvement on dropout rates | NA | |
Li, Hwang & Lin, 2017 | Learning effectiveness | NA | |
Ott et al. 2015 | Attendance Submission rates Exam performance | NA | |
Tabuenca et al. 2021 | Time management | NA | |
In 13 studies (23%), the impact of an LA intervention was seen in the form of improved self-regulation. Nine (16%) studies achieved better learning outcomes. LA interventions resulted in better engagement with course materials in four (7%) studies. Davis et al. (2017) and Russell et al. (2020) found improved course completion (4%), and Herodotou et al. (2020; 2%) reported an improvement in student retention in response to their respective LA interventions. Seven studies (13%; Bouchet et al., 2013; Haynes, 2020; Kia et al., 2020; H. Li et al., 2017; I. H. Li et al., 2017; Ott et al., 2015; Tabuenca et al., 2021) claimed the outcomes they observed were not promising or stated there were significant limitations for practical implications. Four (7%) studies (Frey et al., 2016; Manso-Vázquez & Llamas-Nistal, 2015; Munshi & Biswas, 2019; Siadaty et al., 2016b; Winne et al., 2019) were not able to evaluate the impact of their LA intervention (e.g., due to the early stage of development of the LA intervention).
The reporting of effect sizes varied among studies. There were in total 16 (29%) studies where effect sizes were reported. Very large effect sizes were found by Afzaal et al. (2021) regarding the grades, by Sonnenberg and Bannert (2016) the number of metacognitive learning activities (d = 2.0) and by Siadaty et al. (2016b) for the subprocesses of goal setting (r = .778), personal planning (r = .740), working on task (r = .781), and applying strategy changes (r = .745). A Large effect sizes were found by Manganello et al. (2021) on improvement in grades (d = 1.10), Lim, Gentili et al. (2021) on SRL improvement (ηp2 = 0.22), Siadaty et al. (2016b) on task analysis (r = .667), evaluation (r = .685), reflection (r = .682), and by Menchaca et al. (2018) on defining targets (d = 0.90;). The LA intervention of Sonnenberg and Bannert (2019) had a medium effect on evaluation (ηp2 = 0.063) and task analysis (ηp2 = 0.082). Small effect sizes were reported for grades (d = 0.47, L. A. Lim et al., 2021), prompts (d = 0.44, Sonnenberg & Bannert, 2015), communication and collaboration (d = 0.35, Menchaca et al., 2018), and the number of quizzes completed (d = 0.31, Nikolayeva et al., 2020).