Based on the achievement goal theory, this experimental study explored the influence of predictive and descriptive learning analytics dashboards on graduate students’ motivation and statistics anxiety in an online graduate-level statistics course. Participants were randomly assigned into one of three groups: (a) predictive dashboard, (b) descriptive dashboard, or (c) control (i.e., no dashboard). Measures of motivation and statistical anxiety were collected in the beginning and the end of the semester via the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale. Individual semi-structured interviews were used to understand learners’ perceptions of the course and whether the use of the dashboards influenced the meaning of their learning experiences. Results indicate that, compared to the control group, the predictive dashboard significantly reduced learners’ interpretation anxiety and had an effect on intrinsic goal orientation that depended on learners’ lower or higher initial levels of intrinsic goal orientation. In comparison to the control group, both predictive and descriptive dashboards reduced worth of anxiety (negative attitudes towards statistics) for learners who started the course with higher levels of worth anxiety. Thematic analysis revealed that learners who adopted a more performance-avoidance goal orientation approach demonstrated higher levels of anxiety regardless of the dashboard used.

本实验研究基于成就目标理论，探讨了在线研究生水平统计课程中预测性和描述性学习分析仪表板对研究生学习动机和统计焦虑的影响。参与者被随机分配到三组之一：（a）预测仪表板，（b）描述仪表板，或（c）控制（即没有仪表板）。通过学习动机问卷和统计焦虑量表在学期开始和结束时收集动机和统计焦虑的测量值。个人半结构化访谈用于了解学习者对课程的看法以及仪表板的使用是否影响了他们学习经历的意义。结果表明，与对照组相比，预测性仪表板显着降低了学习者的解释焦虑，并对依赖于学习者内在目标定向初始水平较低或较高的内在目标定向产生了影响。与对照组相比，预测性仪表板和描述性仪表板都降低了开始课程时具有较高价值焦虑水平的学习者的焦虑价值（对统计数据的负面态度）。主题分析显示，无论使用何种仪表板，采用更多避免表现的目标导向方法的学习者都表现出更高的焦虑水平。预测性仪表板和描述性仪表板都降低了以较高的价值焦虑水平开始课程的学习者的焦虑价值（对统计数据的负面态度）。主题分析显示，无论使用何种仪表板，采用更多避免表现的目标导向方法的学习者都表现出更高的焦虑水平。预测性仪表板和描述性仪表板都降低了以较高的价值焦虑水平开始课程的学习者的焦虑价值（对统计数据的负面态度）。主题分析显示，无论使用何种仪表板，采用更多避免表现的目标导向方法的学习者都表现出更高的焦虑水平。