Evaluating the Impact of Learning Management Systems in Geographical Education in Primary School: An Experimental Study on the Importance of Learning Analytics-Based Feedback

Although contemporary society is changing due to, among other factors, the significant technological development of recent years, the pedagogy of geography, its purpose, and the methodologies and resources implemented have not undergone major modifications [5]. In this context, mere memorization, traditionally associated with the study of social sciences, is losing its relevance. As various authors such as Wineburg [16] point out, information is now just a few mouse clicks away. Therefore, the importance lies not just in knowing the information contained in a textbook, but in understanding how to access it and competently judge its veracity [17,18]. In fact, Brooks et al. [19] underscore the need for students to think geographically. That is, students should become aware of the importance of geographical content in understanding current issues such as multiculturalism, climate change, and socio-political challenges, based on knowledge of their causes and the interaction between different phenomena. This allows them to develop a critical consciousness through the analysis and interpretation of the information presented to them. In line with this, Roberts [20] had already highlighted the importance of knowing geography to make sense of one’s own geographical context and the global context—a context that is increasingly accessible thanks to technology.

Despite the above, in geography teaching, there is a lesser research tradition towards educational renewal [21,22]. The teaching of geographical content or subjects focused on understanding social aspects over time has followed a passive model of knowledge transmission. In this model, students were mere recipients of information provided by their teachers during lectures and through reading materials usually provided through textbooks, which sometimes contained images or maps. After the initial learning phase, students are expected to complete activities from the textbook in their notebooks, which are then corrected in a group setting under the supervision of the teacher on the following day. This can also lead to generalized disinterest from students in these subjects as they consider them of little use in their daily lives [23]. This lack of knowledge about applicability is partly attributed to the difficulties students have in understanding spatial relationships [24]. This information, in addition to being received passively, had to be absorbed and retained by the students for later reflection in summative tests [9], traditionally exams, which have been frequently used in social science areas [25]. This pedagogical approach contrasts with current educational trends that emphasize the need for a more competency-based approach to learning [5,19]. This raises a question: why not promote a change in didactics using technology?

Authors such as Palacios-Rodríguez et al. [26] suggest that the lack of educational innovation is due to the insufficient training of teachers in digitalization. However, it has already been noted that this transition towards more interactive and practical methods not only improves students’ academic performance, fostering a deeper understanding and a broader appreciation of the relevance of geography in their environment, but also contributes to a more positive perception of the discipline and its contents [27]. Therefore, it is necessary to continue along this line of action. This is a need that is also justified according to current educational approaches that emphasize that teaching should help students learn for themselves and adapt to their educational needs [2]. This can be achieved by technological tools and techniques such as Moodle and LAs [13,28].

We must bear in mind that any new activity integrated into the teaching–learning process should have a distinct pedagogical objective [29]. Moodle facilitates the individual realization of various types of activities and enables subsequent automatic feedback processes, making it an appropriate platform for the implementation of daily and substantive feedback [12]. In particular, this LMS offers features to design and conduct different kinds of activities and concurrently monitor their performance on a daily basis. This allows educators and students to track learners’ activity completion and the academic achievements attained [13,30]. In fact, the significant information gathered enables teachers to predict students’ academic performance [10,12,31]. As can be seen, the use of LMSs aids in enhancing the teaching–learning process, with a focus on both students and teachers.

On the one hand, the integration of LMS tasks proves beneficial for students. This approach enables students to take on more active and autonomous roles in their learning process, leading to various advantages. For instance, Kliziene et al. [32] highlight the positive impact on student academic achievement resulting from the use of this type of virtual teaching–learning platform. Furthermore, Magalhães et al. [33] demonstrate through their comprehensive literature review that digital assignments tend to be more effective than traditional paper-based assignments. This, coupled with their ability to reduce paper consumption in educational contexts, makes them a potentially sustainable and effective alternative for learning. In addition, Suad et al. [34] also noted increased levels of student motivation. Therefore, based on the findings of these authors, the use of LMSs not only enhances teaching practices through the ability to gather and analyze significant daily information, but also proves beneficial for students and current policies for a more sustainable world. This underscores the importance of integrating this approach broadly, including primary education levels and disciplines such as geography.

On the other hand, regarding teachers, the use of Moodle within the pedagogical context not only assists them in understanding the final academic level attained by students, but also how this learning process has been taking place. This, in essence, facilitates the implementation of contemporary educational trends such as LAs. Although various definitions of LAs exist, one of the most commonly used definitions is proposed by Long et al. [3]: “the measurement, collection, analysis, and data report about both learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs” (p. 1). The potential of LAs is so significant that the EDUCAUSE Horizon Report, Teaching and Learning Edition, identifies it as one of the most promising emerging technology trends [1].

On the contrary, despite its promising interest, this trend is currently underutilized in humanities disciplines [15,35]. One reason is that it is very time-consuming and difficult to systematically process and analyze student learning data in real-time using analog and traditional methods. Therefore, further research in this area is needed. However, teachers can introduce LAs into their lessons through the LMS, as previously noted. Specifically speaking about Moodle, which is one of the most well-known and widely used LMSs in education [14], it not only facilitates the collection of data relevant to LAs, but also supports the adaptation of learning sequences, allowing each student to work autonomously at their own pace [36].

By integrating tasks from the LMS Moodle, and the LAs data gathered during these tasks into the pedagogical process, the need to wait for subsequent summative tests to determine whether the content has been assimilated is eliminated. This approach facilitates the faster identification of students’ difficulties and students at risk of dropping out [37], thereby enabling timely intervention [38,39]. This is crucial to conduct effective daily evaluations of students.

While it is widely acknowledged that assessment processes need to be updated to provide more frequent and individualized feedback, traditional summative paradigms still persist in practice [4,8,40,41]. This is, among other factors, due to the time-consuming and costly nature of manually collecting individual learner performance data [38]. However, LAs enable the collection of large volumes of data or information in real-time and in diverse contexts, thus monitoring the effectiveness or not of the teaching–learning processes [3,42]. The potential of LAs is so significant that the European Competence Framework (DigCompEdu) includes it among the digital competences that teachers should apply in class for daily monitoring of the teaching–learning process [2].

As Gašević et al. [4] highlight, LAs enables not only the automatic collection of large amounts of information, but also the integration of formative assessment processes as another daily activity. The Learning Analytics Community Exchange project underscores the future significance of LAs. Both education administrations and teachers are expected to increasingly rely on LAs recommendations in their decision-making processes [43]. This underscores the potential of LAs to provide reliable evidence for determining optimal learning trajectories, appropriate instructional materials, and personalized measures for individual learners, thereby facilitating a more personalized learning process. This aligns with one of the key concepts of formative assessment, as it helps teachers to know how the learning process is going and enables students to improve: daily feedback.

Sadler [44] defined formative assessment as a process where the quality of students’ responses is evaluated with the aim of enhancing their competence. This process necessitates the use of feedback mechanisms to gauge the success of the teaching–learning process. Despite the wide range of definitions, as noted by Black and Wiliam [45], there are common elements that underscore its importance. These definitions highlight the application of daily feedback processes, which not only allow teachers to closely monitor classroom activities but also enable students to self-regulate their learning. Consequently, the implementation of formative assessment aligns with the ongoing transformation in education, effectively addressing the limitations of summative assessments. In the specific case of social science, different authors propose that the assessment process should be integrated as any other class activity to regulate and enhance student learning, address mistakes, and make informed decisions [9,23]. Thus, the use of LAs is aligned with this purpose, as it enables more effective monitoring of learning and the contextual factors influencing it [8,10,30].

However, despite the promising prospects of LAs, Dubé and Wen [46], in their review of technology trends in K-12 education, emphasize that while the educational impact of LAs is often emphasized in the literature, there is still a scarcity of concrete evidence on the effective integration of LAs in classroom settings.

Similarly, different authors emphasize the necessity for further research that specifically addresses how to effectively articulate these findings for formative evaluation purposes e.g., [4,30]. This becomes even more crucial considering the limited evidence available on the integration of LAs in primary education and in domains beyond the scientific-technological field, as different literature reviews state [15,35,47]. The use of LAs has demonstrated promising outcomes [48,49,50]. These studies highlight the effectiveness of LAs in personalized learning, assessing academic achievement, and improving skills while preventing misconceptions in students. Thus, LAs leads to increased student awareness of their learning process, improved feedback, and enhanced formative assessment processes.

By way of summary, Srinivasa et al. [51] suggest that the successful application of LAs requires collecting student experiences in a virtual environment, such as Moodle, which provides sufficient quality data to build an effective predictive model for student achievement. Simultaneously, this approach should help students to become more aware of their learning process and take appropriate actions. Thus, it is crucial for students to comprehend the reported data, including both failures and successes, in a straightforward manner.