Motivational profiles of higher education students: Exploring the effects of feedback provided through a learner dashboard

Learning analytics dashboards provide valuable feedback to students, yet challenges remain in tailoring this feedback effectively to support their learning processes. Prior work suggests a link between students' motivational dispositions and dashboard use, highlighting the need to explore this relationship further to optimize feedback delivery. This study examines student response to dashboard feedback—specifically the use of self-regulation strategies and the experience of academic emotions—as a function of distinct motivational profiles. We draw on the theoretical foundations of the Expectancy-Value Theory and the Control-Value Theory to frame this investigation. Adopting a quasi-experimental mixed-methods approach, our findings confirm that the Control-Value Theory is a robust reference for gaining in-depth knowledge on the relationship between emotions and motivation for use in feedback design. The results show that students with adaptive motivational profiles benefit most from feedback supplied through learning dashboards. These findings offer practical reflections for implementing improved feedback practices.