Honors Projects

Emily EskuriFollow

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore past student usage data in individualized tutoring sessions from the Learning Commons from two academic years. The Bowling Green State University (BGSU) Learning Commons is a learning assistance center that offers various services, such as individualized tutoring, math assistance, writing assistance, study hours, and academic coaching. There have been limited research studies into how big data and analytics can have an impact in higher education, especially research utilizing predictive analytics.

This project applied analytics to individualized tutoring data in the Learning Commons to create a better understanding of why those trends happen in higher education. The visit analysis determined how often students returned to the Learning Commons for individualized tutoring after one visit and when students visited during the semester. The decision tree and random forest model analysis predicted when students would be present at a given time. The random forest analysis also determined what the most important predictor was for the model. The course analysis viewed what type of courses students sought out for individualized tutoring. Students utilized the Learning Commons for individualized tutoring in ten common course types. Finally, the duration of the tutoring session also was analyzed to determine the average duration during a given week in the semester and the day in the week. The information that came from this Honors Project could be useful to the Learning Commons for planning ahead with scheduling tutoring sessions, identifying popular visit times, and planning for student visits during the semester.

Department

Mathematics and Statistics

Major

Mathematics

First Advisor

Dr. Umar Islambekov

First Advisor Department

Mathematics and Statistics

Second Advisor

Dr. Shuchismita Sarkar

Second Advisor Department

Applied Statistics and Operations Research

Third Advisor

Dr. Jessica Turos

Third Advisor Department

Higher Education Administration

Publication Date

Spring 4-26-2021

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