A Study of Factors Influencing Learners’ Behavior on Learning Management System Based on Association Rules

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to:  1) study the behaviour of learners who used the learning management system based on association rules, 2) study and analyze the behaviours of learners on management system based on association rules, and 3) find a suitable model for learning management system based on association rules. To obtain the data, the questionnaires were used and answered by 402 undergraduate students who used the learning management system at Suratthani Rajabhat University. Subsequently, the derived data were analysed by descriptive statistics and considered the correlation of behaviours based on the association rules with the Apriori algorithm by setting the support and confidence values at 50% and 80%, respectively.

The results showed that: 1) the students used the learning management system in the learning courses and submitting their homework. In addition, instructional media especially multimedia were mainly chosen for learning. Moreover, the learners’ opinions on the learning management system were at a high level. 2) The correlation of behaviours was analyzed based on the association rules with the Apriori algorithm revealed 73 association rules. However, when the confidence values (> 95 %) and the lift value of rules (> 1) were considered, the best 5- association rule candidates were presented. Taken together, 3) the 2 appropriate learning styles were obtained as follows: a) the chosen pattern based on the learning behaviour consisted of an interactive system, teaching media, and evaluation and b) the selected format based on the association rule consisted of email, learner interaction, testing, and submission. Lastly, the results of this study can be used as a guideline for developing the learning management system or instructional media to suit each situation.