The Transition Matrix -- A classification of navigational patterns between LMS course sections

TL;DR

This study analyzes student navigation patterns across Moodle course sections using transition matrices and heat maps, revealing common diagonal navigation behaviors in most courses.

Contribution

It introduces a classification of navigational patterns between LMS course sections based on extensive data analysis of 747 courses.

Findings

Most courses show diagonal navigation patterns.

Students tend to move to adjacent sections.

Navigation patterns vary across courses.

Abstract

Learning management systems (LMS) like Moodle are increasingly used to support university teaching. As Moodle courses become more complex, incorporating diverse interactive elements, it is important to understand how students navigate through course sections and whether course designs are meeting student needs. While substantial research exists on student usage of individual LMS elements, there is a lack of research on broader navigational patterns between course sections and how these patterns differ across courses. This study analyzes navigational data from 747 courses in the Moodle LMS at a technical university of applied sciences, representing (after filtering) around 4,400 students and 1.8 million logged events. Transition matrices and heat map visualizations are used to identify and quantify common navigational patterns. Findings include that the majority of the analyzed courses exhibit some kind of diagonal pattern, indicating that students typically navigate from the current to the next or previous section.