Student Success in Asynchronous STEM Education: measuring and identifying contributors to learner outcomes

Existing experience with educational institutions that track student outcomes in relation to the time spent on formative activities has demonstrated a consistent positive correlation with improved student outcomes. This study is centred on Higher Education using data from the asynchronous learning platform Möbius, and produces a data-driven validation of the positive correlation between time spent on formative activities and improved student outcomes in an asynchronous online learning environment, and further builds a basis of insights identified as contributors to successful student outcomes. We identified “distance” in time of first engagement in study before an Exam as an early indicator of success, where we found a moderate positive correlation, whereas there was a weak correlation for the same behavior with respect to Practice Tests and Tests. The behaviors identified in this study raised more opportunities for further study on the nature of student engagement through their learning progression, and other early behavioral indicators for successful student outcomes.