PhD research — participant information

The study

Title: Designing, validating, and sustaining human-centred learning analytics for Year 7–8 STEM inquiry

Also known as: Digital support for sustained STEM inquiry learning

Researcher: Richard Pedley, PhD Candidate, Monash University

Ethics reference: MUHREC Project ID 38407

Purpose: To understand how human-centred learning analytics, feedback, and teacher dashboards can support Years 7–8 students to develop evidence-based scientific reasoning — and how teachers can improve the quality of science and technology education in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Students become creative agents who investigate real science challenges, build practical solutions for their communities, and develop the future-focused skills Aotearoa needs.

Teacher access

Kōkiri Lab is free. Teachers who wish to participate in the study and access platform resources should contact the researcher by Monash email. Site access is granted after study onboarding.

Email richard.pedley@monash.edu to request participation and site access.

What may be collected

Depending on your role and consent choices, the study may analyse:

• STEM inquiry engagement: phases completed, evidence entries, claim revisions, notebook and portfolio artefacts, and time on investigation steps
• Makerspace activity: design briefs, prototype logs, and FORGE studio progress linked to inquiry work
• Platform interaction: navigation patterns, feature use, and aggregated learning analytics indicators (not sold to third parties)
• Teacher feedback and dashboard use: only if you separately consent during teacher onboarding — cohort views, orchestration actions, and planning choices

Student names, school names, email addresses, and raw identifiable work are not published in research outputs. Analysis uses pseudonymous participant codes and anonymised or aggregated exports where possible.

How data is collected and stored

• Automatically as you use the platform (event logs and saved inquiry work)
• Through structured research exports with ethics-approved access controls
• On secure cloud infrastructure; access limited to the research team

Programme data (what teachers need to support learning) is stored so your class can continue across sessions. PhD research analysis follows separate consent gates for students and optional consent for teacher dashboard data.

How data is used

• PhD thesis chapters, academic publications, and conference presentations
• Improving Kōkiri Lab features for NZ teachers and students
• Ethics reporting to Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (MUHREC)

Data is not used for advertising and is not sold.

Your choices

• Creating an account means you have read this information and understand the research context of the platform.
• Students have a separate consent step before investigation work contributes to PhD datasets — see research consent.
• You may withdraw from research participation at any time via withdraw consent or profile settings. Withdrawal does not remove your platform access.

Contact

Questions about the PhD study or your data:
richard.pedley@monash.edu
Richard Pedley, PhD Candidate, Monash University

This study is submitted to the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (MUHREC). Ethics application reference: Project ID 38407.

Ethics summary: /ethics