Learning analytics (LA) is an emerging evidence-based discipline that brings social, pedagogical and technical approaches together to allow us to make informed decisions about teaching and learning in higher education, and assess the impact of these decisions. “Analytics” for higher education has been defined as
the process of developing actionable insights through problem definition and the application of statistical models and analysis against existing and/or simulated future data
The Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) defines the core activities of learning analytics as
the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts
with the goal of
understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which learning occurs.
Learning analytics offers us an an approach to understanding and optimizing critical information flows within teaching and learning systems in higher education, embracing not only analytic methods but also the social and pedagogical insights needed to interpret, report and act on them.
Find out more:
- Ferguson, Rebecca (2012). Learning Analytics: Drivers, Developments and Challenges. International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 4(5/6) pp. 304–317.
- Elias, T. (2011). Learning Analytics: Definitions, Processes and Potential.
- Macfadyen, L. P. (2017). Overcoming Barriers to Educational Analytics: How Systems Thinking and Pragmatism Can Help. Educational Technology, 57(1), 31–39. JSTOR.
- McKay, T. (2017, May 16). Can a University Become a Learning Laboratory?. [Keynote] 7th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference, Vancouver.
- Prinsloo, P., & Slade, S. (2017). An Elephant in the Learning Analytics Room: The Obligation to Act. Proceedings of the Seventh International Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference, 46–55.
- Siemens, G. (2013). Learning Analytics: The Emergence of a Discipline. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(10), 1380–1400.
- Siemens, G., & Baker, R. S. J. d. (2012). Learning analytics and educational data mining: Towards communication and collaboration. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge, 252–254.
- Slade, S., & Prinsloo, P. (2013). Learning Analytics: Ethical Issues and Dilemmas. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(10), 1510–1529.
- Center for Student Analytics (2019). Student Insights Report, Issue 1, Fall 2019. Utah State University.