Data Visualization (Data Science) Challenge for HackThis2020

Because of the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, students were forced to adapt to virtual learning. Studying past data from a virtual learning environment can help teachers identify which students are more at risk of withdrawing or failing the course in this new learning environment. Then, teachers are able to give additional support to these students, who might fail or withdraw without support.

We learned that making sure that students are engaged when learning is important for their success in the course. Teachers should make sure that their virtual education platforms and websites encourage engagement so that students learn actively instead of just passively listening to a lecture.

With a goal of making virtual education more inclusive, we studied the demographics of students and the connections to engagement and final results (pass, fail, distinction, withdrawn). We studied the multifaceted aspects of student identity and background in order to understand how intersectionality (of gender, poverty level, and disability) may impact their ability to engage or succeed in online courses. By studying the Multiple Deprivation Index, we analyzed whether poverty level impact's student experience.

We also built a tool to help teachers predict which students need the extra support in order to pass the course. By providing some information about the students, the model predicts whether students will fail, pass, pass with distinction, or withdraw if they do not receive any outside help.

As teachers understand which student is at risk of struggling with a course, they can better support them. Supporting students in poverty can take children out of the school-to-prison pipeline, brightening their futures. We also studied which activity types best help students with disabilities succeed in courses. It is important to support all students and see what activity type best supports the disadvantaged students that might not have the opportunity to succeed without the teachers' help.