{"id":8892,"date":"2025-07-14T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T13:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.everylearnereverywhere.org\/?p=8892"},"modified":"2025-07-14T09:01:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T14:01:33","slug":"time-for-class-2025-urges-a-student-support-mindset-with-digital-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everylearnereverywhere.org\/es\/blog\/time-for-class-2025-urges-a-student-support-mindset-with-digital-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Time for Class 2025 Urges a Student Support Mindset with Digital Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the authors of the latest edition of Tyton Partners\u2019 Time for Class<\/em> report looked at survey data that would inform it, one of the themes that emerged is that how faculty conceptualize the digital tools they use every day may limit what those tools do for students.<\/p>\n

“Simply thinking of the LMS and courseware as containers and content will limit the potential for them to unlock higher-order thinking and more engagement for students,” says Catherine Shaw, Managing Director at Tyton.<\/p>\n

Time for Class 2025<\/em><\/a> surveyed thousands of college students, faculty, and administrators about their experiences with digital learning. The annual report from Tyton Partners \u2014 the strategy, consulting, and investment banking firm focused on education \u2014 covers trends in usage of digital learning technology, student preferences for instructional formats, faculty support needs, and adoption of AI tools and analytics.<\/p>\n

One insight is that many faculty take an instrumental rather than strategic view of digital learning platforms. For example, the survey asked faculty how they view their LMS and courseware platforms: as teaching tools, student success tools, or both. Most chose the first.<\/p>\n

Shaw argues that this illuminates contrasting mindsets. One sees digital learning as an efficient way to distribute information, collect assignments, and record grades. And another sees digital learning tools as a creative way to foster student persistence, active learning, and engagement.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s an overlooked opportunity, she says: “If faculty were to think about LMS\u2019s and courseware as student success tools and see themselves as agents of student success, that sets the stage for more.”<\/p>\n

Rethinking what tools are for<\/h2>\n

For example, many LMS\u2019s and other platforms today can support learning analytics, automate feedback loops, and scaffold learning experiences tailored to student progress. But most of that functionality remains unused while many instructors only engage with the platform as an administrative utility.<\/p>\n

“All these digital tools throw off so much data we are just not capitalizing on,” Shaw says. “Part of it is faculty not spending time with the tools, but part of it is what institutions can do to support faculty in using the data.”<\/p>\n

The mindset gap<\/h2>\n

What keeps faculty from taking fuller advantage of digital tools? Shaw believes it\u2019s often a matter of framing. If instructors see digital platforms merely as delivery systems, they miss their potential as interactive learning environments.<\/p>\n

That perspective may vary by faculty role. Shaw says adjuncts \u2014 typically hired solely to teach and rarely included in student support systems \u2014 may be more likely to see platforms as instructional aids. Faculty who advise students or interact with them in other contexts might be more inclined to see platforms as student success tools.\"Bar<\/p>\n

Shaw believes this points to an area with opportunity to improve digital learning. “Mindset and sentiment about the tools can really change the way faculty use them,” she says.<\/p>\n

Examples of strategic use<\/h2>\n

Shaw points to peer-to-peer feedback in asynchronous courses as an example of a more strategic use of digital learning platforms. Peer review activities allow students not only to assess each other\u2019s work but to reflect more deeply on their own development.<\/p>\n

“It promotes higher-order thought and, even in an asynchronous setting, it can build community and engagement,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Another example involves embedding simple sentiment checks into courseware. After a problem set or quiz, students could be asked how confident they feel about their answers. That may help faculty identify individual students who perform poorly but report high confidence, which would suggest new opportunities to support struggling students.<\/p>\n