Qualitative research, especially studies in educational contexts, often brings up questions of ethics because the study design involves human subjects, some of whom are under age (e.g. data collected in primary education classrooms). It is not always easy for young researchers to anticipate where ethical issues might emerge while designing their…

In this commentary on Van Leeuwen (2015, this issue), I explore the relation between theory and practice in learning analytics. Specifically, I caution against adhering to one specific theoretical doctrine while ignoring others, suggest deeper applications of cognitive load theory to understanding teaching with analytics tools, and comment on…

The POGIL-PCL project implements the principles of process-oriented, guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) in order to improve student learning in the physical chemistry laboratory (PCL) course. The inquiry-based physical chemistry experiments being developed emphasize modeling of chemical phenomena. In each experiment, students work through at least…

Schools have long collected information about students, from basic emergency contact details to daily attendance statistics. But only recently have schools used education technology to collect solid, reliable information (or data) about how students learn--as well as details about their strengths, challenges, and individual traits that impact…

In this paper, I describe preliminary work on a new research project in learning analytics at Arizona State University. In conjunction with an innovative remedial mathematics course using Khan Academy and student coaches, this study seeks to measure the effectiveness of visualized data in assisting student coaches as they help remedial math…

Academic analytics and learning analytics have been increasingly adopted by academic institutions of higher learning for improving student performance and retention. While several studies have reported the implementation details and the successes of specific analytics initiatives, relatively fewer studies exist in literature that describe the…

The paper gives a brief overview of the main activities for the development of the emerging field of learning analytics led by the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR). The place of the "Journal of Learning Analytics" is identified. Analytics is the most significant new initiative of SoLAR.

Students recognise and analyse data and draw inferences. They represent, summarise and interpret data and undertake purposeful investigations involving the collection and interpretation of data… They develop an increasingly sophisticated ability to critically evaluate chance and data concepts and make reasoned judgments and decisions, as well as…

Purpose: This study examines conceptions of instructional leadership in the institutional environment. We know that principals' practices affect student learning and that principals are influenced by ideas in the broader environment. This article examines and defines the multiple conceptions of what it means for principals to be instructional…

The primary objective of this study was to examine the effect of missing data on goodness of fit statistics in confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). For this aim, four missing data handling methods; listwise deletion, full information maximum likelihood, regression imputation and expectation maximization (EM) imputation were examined in terms of…

This paper discusses the fundamental question of how data-intensive e-research methods could contribute to the development of learning theories. Using methodological developments in research on self-regulated learning as an example, it argues that current applications of data-driven analytical techniques, such as educational data mining and its…

Despite our best efforts as evaluators, program implementation failures abound. A wide variety of valuable methodologies have been adopted to explain and evaluate the "why" of these failures. Yet, typically these methodologies have been employed concurrently (e.g., project monitoring) or to the post-hoc assessment of program activities.…

This Spotlight focuses on data from the 2013 Core Data Service [CDS] to better understand how higher education institutions approach business intelligence (BI) reporting and data warehouse systems (see the Sidebar for definitions). Information provided for this Spotlight was derived from Module 8 of CDS, which contains several questions regarding…

Reforms of the size and scale to which Race to the Top States have committed, require unprecedented planning, oversight and problem solving to implement. Although many factors influence the outcomes of these reform efforts, performance management is a key structural element in realizing "sustainable reforms" that are durable and…

Many adult second and foreign language learners have insufficient opportunities to engage in language learning. However, their successful acquisition of a target language is critical for various reasons, including their fast integration in a host country and their smooth adaptation to new work or educational settings. This suggests that they need…