LA Policy: Developing an Institutional Policy for Learning Analytics using the RAPID Outcome Mapping Approach

at the 7th International Leaning Analytics & Knowledge Conference (Time: TBC)

This half-day workshop aims to promote strategic planning for learning analytics in higher education through developing institutional policies. The first part of the workshop will be presentations about the state of learning analytics in higher education, drawing on results from the SHEILA project and an Australian study that examines learning analytics adoption processes. The second part of the workshop will be an interactive session where participants will create a draft policy.

The workshop has three main objectives, including

  • bringing broader understanding of the state of learning analytics adoption in higher education;
  • initiating conversations about challenges in the implementation of learning analytics; and
  • addressing the above challenges within policies drafted by participants with guidance and support from the workshop initiators and other participants.

Programme

The presentations will cover the following themes: stages of implementation in higher education institutions, the success claimed to date, challenges identified in the process, and elements identified as essential for a higher education institution’s learning analytics policy.

Following the presentations, there will be a discussion time for the participants to share about the motivations to adopt learning analytics in their institutions and challenges that they face in the planning and implementation process.

After the coffee break, the workshop initiators will demonstrate how to draft a comprehensive learning analytics policy using the The RAPID (Research and Policy in Development) Outcome Mapping Approach (ROMA), with evidence drawn upon their research findings. Afterwards, the participants, in small groups, will draft a policy that considers the specific contexts of their institutions and the challenges that they have identified in the first part of the workshop. The workshop will conclude with plenary discussions about the products that participants create and practicalities about introducing the policy to their institutions.

Target group

The target group is primarily policy makers of learning analytics, senior management at higher education institutions, learning analytics practitioners and researchers. The workshop also welcomes stakeholders that are involved in the working team for the planning and implementation process, such as project leaders, data protection and system officers, Information and Technology officers, academics and student representatives.

Workshop organisers

Yi-Shan Tsai

Yi-Shan Tsai is a research associate in the Centre for Research in Digital Education in the Moray House School of Education at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on policy and strategy formation for learning analytics in higher education. She is currently involved in the SHEILA (Supporting Higher Education to Integrate Learning Analytics) project, which aims to build a policy development framework to assist European universities to adopt learning analytics. She has facilitated a number of workshops across a broad range of topics, using visualised methods to guide and focus discussions.

Dragan Gašević

Dragan Gasevic is a Professor and Chair in Learning Analytics and Informatics in the Moray House School of Education and the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. He is the current president and a co-founder of the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR), A computer scientist by training and skills, Dragan considers himself a learning analyst who develops computational methods that can shape next-generation learning

technologies and advance our understanding of self-regulated and social learning. Dragan had a pleasure to serve as a founding program co-chair of the International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge (LAK) in 2011 and 2012 and the Learning Analytics Summer Institute in 2013 and 2014, and as the general chair of LAK’16. Currently serving as a founding editor of the Journal of Learning Analytics, Dragan is a (co-)author of numerous research papers and books, a frequent keynote speaker, and organizer of numerous workshops and tutorials at different conferences.

Pedro José Muñoz Merino

Pedro J. Muñoz-Merino is a Lecturer and Researcher at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. He obtained his acreditation in 2012 as Associate Professor. He is co-author of more than 80 scientific publications and has participated in more than 30 research projects. Pedro has been PC member of many conferences and invited as a speaker in different events in topics related to learning analytics and educational technologies. He has been the technical coordinator for the development and deployment of several learning analytic tools. Pedro is also an IEEE Senior Member from 2015. His skills and experience include research and development in learning analytics, educational data mining, evaluation of learning experiences, user studies, gamification or Intelligent Tutoring Systems. You can contact him at twitter at @pedmume.