Learning Analytics

"Learning analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimising learning and the environments in which it occurs." (Siemens 2010)


Baer 2011 points out that online courses produce a vast amount of data. This can be used to monitor the progress of students on a day to day basis; this in turn can be used to tailor further teaching, for example by putting remedial measures in place.


This is all good formative assessment stuff (also called AfL, assessment for learning or ASL, assessment to support learning). 






But there are three buts to which Baer alludes:

• You have to know what to assess;
• You have to be able to assess it accurately;
• You have to know what to do in response to any particular measurement.

What to assess

Normally we assess through tests and relating the scores to the standards but Wiley 2011 points out that Learning Analytics can measure other things (eg 'how long did the student spend reading the book?') although he realises that it can be difficult to see the correlations between this data and the final achievements.

How to respond

We might use Learning Analytics to create a sort of profile of each learner which could then be used (like Amazon) to provide personalised recommendations of resources and techniques that have created success for similar types of learners (Duval 2011)

How does all this match what Nicol and McFarlane-Dick (2006) describe as "good feedback practice"? Can any automated system feedback as well as an experienced assessor?

N&M-D make it clear that feedback should be prompt so that it can actually influence learning rather than occurring after learning. Clearly the day-by-day assessment envisaged by Baer will do this. But other key elements of good feedback include:

• Telling teachers how to shape their teaching:
• On a meta level, Learning Analytics may "help us to realise how much of what we do is not very effective" and so enable teaching pedagogy to evolve (Duval 2011).
• Making clear what good performance is
• Helping learners reflect
• Helping learners to take action to correct deficiencies
• Encouraging T-S and S-S dialogue

It is clear that these last four could be integrated into the feedback from a Learning Analytics system; it is also clear that they should be used to shape the design of such feedback.

References 



Baer J 2011 video interview with George Siemens available at http://www.learninganalytics.net/?page_id=50 accessed 8th January 2011

Duval E 2011 video interview with George Siemens available at http://www.learninganalytics.net/?page_id=54 accessed 8th January 2011

Nicol D & Macfarlane-Dick D, 2006 Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice Studies in higher Education 31(2):199-218

Siemens G 2010 Learning Analytics and Knowledge available at https://tekri.athabascau.ca/analytics/ accessed 8th January 2011

Wiley D 2011 video interview with George Siemens available at http://www.learninganalytics.net/?page_id=46 accessed 8th January 2011