Data Driven Design: Quercus Analytics

Ten instructors from various divisions and departments participated in a new Data Driven Design: Quercus Analytics (D3:QA) initiative, funded by the Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education (VP-IUE).

The D3:QA initiative, facilitated by ITS Online Learning Strategies (now Digital Learning Innovation), extended course design programming to examine opportunities provided by the Quercus New Analytics module.

PROJECT SHOWCASE QUERCUS ANALYTICS TECHNIQUES PROJECT REPORT

Participating Instructors

  • Laura Dempster (Faculty of Dentistry)
  • Andrea Duncan (Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy)
  • Lynn Ellwood (Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Department of Speech-Language Pathology)
  • William Ju & Jessica Pressey  (Faculty of Arts and Science – Department of Human Biology)
  • Sandra Bjelajac Mejia (Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy)
  • Safieh Moghaddam  (Faculty of Arts and Science – Department of Language Studies, UTSC)
  • Karen Mundy  (OISE – Leadership, Higher, and Adult Education)
  • Heather Thomson  (Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing)
  • Kathy Vu (Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy)

These pioneers explored the use of student data to make design decisions in hybrid and online courses, meeting quarterly over the course of 18 months for facilitated workshops and consultations related to extracting and making meaning of Quercus data patterns. Instructors participated in evaluation of tools and practices, with a shared goal of sharing and dissemination of outcomes within the broader university community. This initiative aligns with strategic directions articulated in the IT@UofT strategic plan and the priorities of the VP-IUE, focusing on evidence-informed planning to support the teaching mission of the university.

The instructors have:

  • Participated in cohort workshops and program evaluation activities
  • Redesigned a fully online or hybrid course
  • Shared examples of use of the Quercus New Analytics module
  • Presented a poster or presentation at the annual Teaching and Learning Symposium

Topics Explored

To see the details of each project and view the video and poster presentation showcased during the Teaching and Learning Symposium that took place in May 2021, please select from tiles below:

Link to Teaching and Assessing Communication Skills in Dentistry - Laura Dempster, Dentistry Link to Teaching Today's Students to Solve Tomorrow's Wicked Problems - Andrea Duncan, Occupational Therapy Link to Data-Driven Management of Quiz Questions: How Learning Analytics Help - Lynn Ellwood, Speech-Language Pathology
Link to Weekly Low Stake Online Quizzes: A Predictor of Student Learning and Course Outcomes? - William Ju and Jessica Pressey, Cellular Biology Link to Pharmaceutical Calculations Course Redesign Using Quercus Data - Aleksandra Bjelajac Mejia, Pharmaceutical Calculations Link to Data-Driven Design to Increase Learner Engagement in an English Grammar Course - Safieh Moghaddam, Language Studies
Link to Finding the Right Balance: Hybrid Learning and Professional Graduate Students - Karen Mundy, Policy Issues in Education Link to Promoting Student Engagement: Opportunities within Quercus - Heather Thomson, Nursing Link to Student Engagement as a Predictor of Academic Outcome in an Online Pharmacotherapy Course - Kathy Vu, Pharmacotherapy

For more information contact digital.learning@utoronto.ca