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There is an urgent need to develop an evidence-based framework for learning analytics whereby stakeholders can manage, evaluate, and make decisions about which types of interventions work well and under which conditions. In this article, we will work towards developing a foundation of an Analytics4Action Evaluation Framework (A4AEF) that is currently being tested and validated at the Open University UK. By working with 18 introductory large-scale modules for a period of two years across the five faculties and disciplines within the OU, Analytics4Action provides a bottom-up-approach for working together with key stakeholders within their respective contexts. A holistic A4AEF has been developed to unpack, understand and map the six key steps in the evidence-based intervention process. By means of an exemplar in health and social science, a practical illustration of A4AEF is provided. In the next 3-5 years, we hope that a rich, robust evidence-base will be presented to show how learning analytics can help teachers to make informed, timely and successful interventions that will help each learner to achieve the module's learning outcomes.

This study explores the experiences of five distance learners at a UK university who needed support to resubmit their final assignment following a fail result. Having received written feedback on the submission, we asked how this could be best delivered to inform and motivate a successful resubmission. Written feedback alone was found to be insufficient for these students to feel supported. There is a need also for a human connection to provide 'emotional proximity' and make sense of the feedback received. In addition to this, students benefit from positive self-talk strategies to come to terms with the difficult emotions resulting from the high stakes of having to resubmit their assignment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study considers students who achieved "borderline" (40-45%) grades in their first assignment on a module, but went on to markedly improve their grades over the course of the module. The students were studying nursing and social work at the UK Open University, and they were all sponsored by employers. Semi-structured telephone interviews were used to explore the experiences of the students, including the way in which they reacted to assessment feedback and how this contributed to their learning and development. Other themes that emerged from the study include the emotions experienced by the students, sometimes challenging their self-confidence and evoking feelings associated with emotional vulnerability, and the tendency for students to initially approach assessment independently, but later to create and take advantage of opportunities for social learning. The role of the tutor in helping students to prepare for assessment appears to be significant, as does the fact that students are sponsored by their employers, which provides an additional incentive to complete the module.

The need for respectful bereavement care following a stillbirth has been poorly recognised within global public health initiatives. To date, there has been no comprehensive cataloguing of providers that support parents after stillbirth, nor any review of the challenges they face. We aimed to identify providers (organisations and point persons) that support bereaved parents worldwide and to investigate the challenges they face. A systematic global online search was done to identify providers of support after stillbirth. Subsets of providers were surveyed and interviewed. These were purposively sampled to achieve diversity in geography, organisation size and point person role. Challenges in providing support in six key areas -- stigma, funding, reach, policy, workforce, and advocacy -- were analysed thematically. Overall, 621 providers from 75 countries were identified. No support providers were identified in 123 countries, and in the 6 countries that carry almost half of the global burden of stillbirths, only 8 support providers were found. Support providers faced challenges in accessing funding, reaching key populations, and training and retaining staff, while complex policies hampered bereavement care. Support providers were challenged by silence and stigma around stillbirth. Overcoming these challenges requires collaboration, effort, and political will at local and international scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]