june 10-15, 2012 growing community; growing possibilities robert sherratt patrick lynch university...
TRANSCRIPT
June 10-15, 2012
Growing Community; Growing Possibilities
Analytics: where do we start and
where do we want to go?
Robert SherrattPatrick Lynch
University of Hull
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First heard about this at last year’s conference
Undertaking work at Hull to map out the future (eCommons – tomorrow)
Analytics, or analytics-like, ideas kept occurring
Led us to collect these thoughts, start of a learning journey
About this presentation
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UK and local context
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Government creation of a mess Shift in cost to students
◦ Fees generally increased from £3,500 to £9,000 Change in student expectation
◦ More information to support choices Shift in providers
◦ Creation of pseudo-market conditions based on price and qualifications
◦ Entry of commercial providers – BPP, part of the Apollo group, Pearson
UK HE – dramatic changes
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Where is Hull?
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Average sized UK institution – c. 20,000 students and 2,500 faculty and staff
56th overall in the Complete University Guide league table (out of 116)
Continuing positive feedback from students. Joint 8th of mainstream english Higher Education Institutions in the National Student Survey
What’s the University like?
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Learning analytics
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The measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs.
(SoLAR: http://www.solaresearch.org/about/)
A definition of learning analytics
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What can analytics offer?
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Education as a black-box Knowing why students fail and why they
succeed – feedback on the course All educators claim to know their students Analytics offer an opportunity to personalise
the student’s experience Value from a student’s perspective –
guidance on what to considering Management – how is the course
performing?
What can analytics offer?
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Current UK activity
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UK picture◦ CETIS – Analytics Reconnoitre◦ http://blog.ouseful.info/2011/03/03/ongoing-jisc-pr
ojects-of-possible-interest-to-lak11-attendees/
◦ Ten or so examples, many library based◦ Includes Cambridge & Sakai data◦ Subsequently a number of retention and
progression projects
Activity in the UK
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Much progress seems to be relatively small scale
The level to which universities engage is varied, but mostly it appears to be small groups with specific remits rather than an institution wide approach
Activity still remains low Sustainability beyond projects appears
limited
But, growing interest
One analysis ...
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Activity at Hull
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Building the Digital University, 2001… …continues with eCommons – distinctive
digital platform for learning, teaching and communications
Part of an institutional conversation looking at implementation of learning, teaching and student experience strategy including◦ Retention◦ Development of the distinctive Hull graduate◦ Library resource utilisation
What is happening at Hull
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DATAdata
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Big data at Hull
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Chemistry – benchmark all 1st year students at entry – sets a trajectory for them
The focus, and evidence, for an ongoing conversation – looking for signs of underperformance
Increase retention rate by 25% and improved academic performance
A success for little data?
Little data at Hull
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Bid for internal funding – inspired by a teaching and learning conversation
Analyse Sakai activity data Focus on access to Resources and
participation in Forums Looking to create a dashboard for students An equivalent for faculty?
More little data
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Student Support Requirements – Prediction Tool app for Chemistry◦ Fowler, J. and Norrie, P. , British Journal of Nursing,
(2009), 18(19), p1194 Early warning systems Targeting support services Targeting resources
Little steps
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We are starting the learning journey Some initial questions:
◦ Where is the gold, is there any?◦ What is the predictive power? ◦ How robust can any model be? ◦ Ethics – is this big Brother watching?◦ Who needs to know what?◦ Complexity - Student performance versus teacher
performance versus what other factors? and ... so what (now)?
Some final thoughts
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Robert Sherratt◦ [email protected]
Patrick Lynch◦ [email protected]
Thank you for contributing