'Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RCOG)'
Abstract
This study presents the outcomes of a semi-systematic
literature review on the role of learning theory in multimodal learning analytics (MMLA) research. Based on
previous systematic literature reviews in MMLA and
an additional new search, 35MMLA works were identified that use theory. The results show that MMLA
studies do not always discuss their findings within
an established theoretical framework. Most of the
theory-driven MMLA studies are positioned in the
cognitive and affective domains, and the three most
frequently used theories are embodied cognition,
cognitive load theory and control–value theory of
achievement emotions. Often, the theories are only
used to inform the study design, but there is a relationship between the most frequently used theories
and the data modalities used to operationalize those
theories. Although studies such as these are rare, the
findings indicate that MMLA affordances can, indeed,
lead to theoretical contributions to learning sciences.
In this work, we discuss methods of accelerating
theory-driven MMLA research and how this acceleration can extend or even create new theoretical
knowledge