Learning Analytics: enabling or transforming education?

Learning Analytics: enabling or transforming education? Professor David (Dai) Griffiths The Institute for Educational Cybernetics The University of Bolton D.E.Griffiths@bolton.ac.uk

What makes Learning Analytics different from other TEL? Actionable (it supports, or takes over decision making) Intelligence (it knows something you don't know) Earlier educational technologies supported the practice of educational managers and teachers, or entirely replaced them. Learning Analytics, Educational Data Mining, Big Data claim insight into education which is more extensive and reliable than that of education professionals. This morning the Commission said that putting computers in the classroom won't work if the teachers aren't ready I do not think we can understand Learning Analytics or Big Data from this perspective. We need policy, management, economics, sociology...

Policy: When I was at school... Anthony Crosland, Secretary of State for Education and Science 1965-67 The nearer one comes to the professional content of education, the more indirect the minister s influence is. And I m sure this is right generally I didn t regard either myself or my officials as in the slightest degree competent to interfere with the curriculum. We are educational politicians and administrators, not professional educators. Kogan (1971) cited in Bassey, M. (2005). Teachers and Government: a history of intervention in education (p. 48). London. Retrieved from http://www.atl.org.uk/images/teachers and government.pdf

The current Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, 2010 I want to see more data generated by the profession to show what works, clearer information about teaching techniques that get results, more rigorous, scientifically-robust research about pedagogies which succeed and proper independent evaluations of interventions which have run their course. We need more evidence-based policy making, and for that to work we need more evidence. http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/speeches/a0061371/michael-gove-to-the-national-college-annual-conference-birm

dashboard.ofsted.gov.uk The School Data Dashboard I am launching today raises the stakes. Many governors know their school well already. But for those that don t, there are now no excuses. Inspectors will be very critical of governing bodies who, despite the dashboard, still don t know their school well enough. http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/news/chief-inspector-raises-stakes-for-school-governance

A growing instrumentalism (KPIs) Seddon argues These techniques represent the imposition of top down targets for public services They imply a de facto purpose They create pressure to pay attention only to those aspects of education which are given significance and are the deliverable indicators. What is PISA doing to education? What do University rankings do? Seddon, J. (2008). Systems Thinking in the Public Sector: The Failure of the Reform Regime and a Manifesto for a Better Way. Axminster: Triarchy Press.

A modus vivendi Educational managers o indicate goals for teachers and learners o provide a framework for activity o ensure the results meet minimum standards. Teachers o fill in the details with their professional skills and ethical integrity o respond to the needs of individuals Both believe that they are responsible for the learning There are limits to what can be inspected

How does analytics act here? Learning Analytics o radically reduces the effort involved in gathering information o automates the analysis of data Analytics applications are intended to enhance learning. Do they in fact promote managerial control of education?

??? Learning Analytics is primarily a management tool, and will marginalise the role of the teacher Data should guide education policy Analytics transforms the system that it is looking at

Another paradigm: Course signals project, Purdue University (1) Predictive student success algorithm run ondemand by instructors. Four categories of data; o Marks in course to date o interaction with LMS compared to peers o prior academic history o student characteristics, such as residency, age, or credits attempted.

Another paradigm: Course signals project, Purdue University (2) Red - yellow - green prospects for success. Lecturers can then design an intervention schedule o Post a traffic signal indicator on a student s LMS o E-mail messages or reminders o Text messages; o Referral to academic advisor or academic resource centres o Face to face meetings with the instructor The teacher retains control

??? The benefits of big data and analytics outweigh the threats it poses Big data and analytics will be a valuable decision making tool for learners and teachers

Wonga This is BIGGGGG data. In education we mainly have modest data sets so far 6 minutes to decide on your credit worthiness Money in your account in 15 minutes Analyse thousands of data points

Douglas Meril: Google's former chief information officer, founder ZestFinance We feel like all data is credit data, we just don t know how to use it yet. This is the math we all learned at Google. A page was important for what was on it, but also for how good the grammar was, what the type font was, when it was created or edited. Everything. ZestFinance looks at 70,000 signals and feeds them into 10 separate underwriting models. In milliseconds an applicant's risk profile is generated. Evgeny Morozov http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/01/wonga_lenddo_lendup_big _data_and_social_networking_banking.single.html

??? Big data will know more about learners than teachers do Educational institutions should not use online productivity tools Big Data will inform university admissions Twitter and Facebook will sell profiling information to education

Is there another paradigm for Big Data applications The Institute for Educational Cybernetics has been how can we use this technology in a different way As part of the Trailer project

??? Big data will know more about learners than teachers do Educational institutions should not use online productivity tools

Pearson results 2012 N. American Education International Education All Pearson Sales (millions) Operating Profit ($ millions) 2685 536 3% Growth 1568 216 10% 6,112 936 4% http://www.pearson.com/news/2013/february/pearson-2012-results.html

Pearson We ve been listening to what students, educators and administrators have been saying about what they need in order to achieve success. We ve learned that empowering them with understandable insights from data and analytics accelerates student achievement, improves instruction and increases student retention. Pearson Education. (2012). Data and Analytics.Pearson Learning Solutions. Retrieved August 7, 2012, from http://www.pearsonlearningsolutions.com/academicexecutives/data-and-analytics.php

Analytics and marketing More than 6 million students around the world are now using Pearson MyLab & Mastering products. Integrated usage of these programs has shown to provide measurable gains in student retention, subsequent success, and overall achievement http://www.pearson.com.au/why-pearson/technology-learning/mylabsmastering/provenresults/

and lobbying... We have made no secret over a number of years of our ambition to contribute to higher education provision in the UK, and we fully endorse the [government s] intention to enable Pearson, and other commercial providers like us, to enter the marketplace with greater ease, Consultation response to the government s higher education White Paper, released to Times Higher Education under the Freedom of Information Act.

??? Big data and analytics will drive the privatisation of education Big data and analytics will bring cheap and effective education to the deprived

Learning Analytics is primarily a management tool, and will marginalise the role of the teacher Data should guide education policy? Analytics transforms the system that it is looking at? The benefits of big data and analytics outweigh the threats it poses Big data and analytics is a valuable tool for learners and teachers decision making and personal and institutional reflection? Big data will know more about learners than teachers do Educational institutions should not use online productivity tools? Big Data will inform(s) university admissions? Twitter, Facebook, or someone similar, will sell profiling information to education? Big data and analytics will drive deep change in education privatisation of education???? cheap and effective education to the deprived?

LACE: www.laceproject.info Consortium LACE Learning Analytics Community Exchange FP7-ICT-2013-11 Coordination and support action 1,299,406.00 EU contribution 30 months

Consortium Open University of the Netherlands The University of Bolton Cetis/IEC The Open University, United Kingdom Hogskolen I Oslo og Akershus Hioa, Norway Statens skolverk Skolverket Sweden Kennisnet Netherlands Infinity Technology Solutions European Distance and e-learing Network ATIT BVBA Belgium LACE: www.laceproject.info

LACE: www.laceproject.info Partners... Are passionate about the opportunities afforded by current and future views of learning analytics and educational data mining Are concerned about missed opportunities, undesirable consequences of mis-application, investment funding failing to realise value, market failure, etc. Intend to reduce risk and increase benefit by bringing together research, policy and practice.

LACE: www.laceproject.info Objectives Promote knowledge creation and exchange Increase the evidence base Contribute to the definition of future directions Build consensus on interoperability and data sharing

Activities Integrate communities o conducting LA/EDM research o early practitioner adopters o building first-generation commercial or opensource software. Create knowledge base of evidence. Explore plausible futures to assess differences of opinion about the feasibility and desirability of possible futures. LACE: www.laceproject.info

LACE: www.laceproject.info About to start Project kick-off in January Initial Web site up http://www.laceproject.info/ Please sign up for our mailing list to keep up to date with the project

1978 to 2012 o CEO pay increased about 875 percent (more than double stock market growth) o Typical workers pay grew 5.4% CEO-to-worker pay ratio o 1978: 29.0-to-1 o 1995: 122.6-to-1 o 2012: 272.9-to-1 What is going on? Executive pay Economic Policy Institute http://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-pay-2012-extraordinarilyhigh/

Unexpected results of data 1992 new executive pay disclosure rules Boards compare similar executives. Compensation consultants construct a peer group and survey pay. Competitive benchmarking (at least 50%) Disclosure creates a model of a competitive market for executives which otherwise does not exist. Elson, C.M. & Ferrere, C.K., 2013. Executive Superstars, Peer Groups and Overcompensation : Cause, Effect and Solution and Solution. Journal of Corporation Law, (Spring).