Investigating how Australian university teachers' use learning analytics as part of their teaching practice

<p dir="ltr">Learning analytics has emerged as a significant development in higher education, offering data-informed approaches to enhance teaching and learning. However, there remains limited empirical understanding of how university teachers actually use these tools in their daily practice. This study investigated how university teachers use learning analytics in their teaching practice and what influences this use, examining both their patterns of usage and the factors shaping their engagement with these tools.</p><p dir="ltr">Using a qualitative case study approach informed by the Theory of Practice Architectures, this research study followed five university teachers from one Australian university across different disciplines as they integrated learning analytics into their teaching practice when teaching one subject in the time period of 2021 to 2022. Data collection included six interviews per participant spanning pre-session to post-session, teaching observations, and analysis of relevant artefacts. The study examined both how teachers used learning analytics in their practice and what influenced this use.</p><p dir="ltr">Data analysis followed an iterative approach combining inductive and deductive methods. Each case was first analysed individually through detailed chronological accounts and identification of critical incidents in learning analytics use. Cross-case analysis then revealed common patterns while highlighting contextual variations. The Theory of Practice Architectures framework guided interpretation of how participants’ practices were shaped by and shaped cultural-discursive arrangements (ways of thinking and talking about analytics), material-economic arrangements (available tools and resources), and social-political arrangements (relationships and power structures). This layered analytical approach enabled rich insights into both the practical implementation of learning analytics and the complex factors influencing its use.</p><p dir="ltr">The findings revealed three key insights about learning analytics use in higher education teaching. First, participants' use of learning analytics was deeply rooted in their intuitive expertise and established pedagogical habits rather than being driven primarily by institutional initiatives. Seven key practices emerged: getting to know students, monitoring student activity, assessment evaluation, feedback and communication, academic integrity and grade preparation, subject evaluation and improvement, and providing special attention to specific cohorts. Participants demonstrated sophisticated use of relatively simple analytics tools, following distinct temporal patterns throughout the academic session - from early relationship-building and intervention, through mid-session monitoring of engagement and assessment, to final grade compilation, while maintaining continuous adaptation of teaching approaches based on analytics insights. Second, significant hidden and often overlooked work underpinned participants' effective use of these tools, from interpreting student engagement patterns to making nuanced interventions based on analytics insights. Third, participants' use of learning analytics was shaped by a complex interplay of conditions in the site operating at individual, technological, and institutional levels. Enabling conditions included strong pedagogical expertise, advanced data literacy skills, built-in analytics features, and support from the central learning analytics team. However, several conditions constrained practice such as limited workload allocation for analytics-related tasks, fragmented institutional systems requiring manual data compilation, and insufficient structured opportunities for sharing analytics practices with colleagues.</p><p dir="ltr">These findings challenge common assumptions about learning analytics implementation, suggesting that effective integration requires greater recognition of and support for teachers' existing practices. Rather than focusing solely on technical solutions or institutional metrics, successful learning analytics implementation needs to align with teachers' pedagogical approaches and practical needs.</p><p dir="ltr">This study contributes to both theoretical understanding and practical implementation of learning analytics in higher education, providing insights for institutions seeking to better support teachers' use of learning analytics while extending theoretical frameworks for understanding how new technologies become integrated into teaching practice.</p>