Since the early 2000s, we have seen an increase in the need for graduates in various STEM fields. The Professional Science Master's (PSM) program was created in 2001 to address this increased demand. While research has shown the benefits these programs may provide, there is limited research examining the current state of PSM programs. The current…

The current study explored preservice and inservice teachers' perspectives on data literacy for teaching. Semi-structured interviews were employed with 12 teacher candidates in elementary and special education. The findings revealed participants' misconceptions regarding formative and summative data; their understanding of the value of formative…

This article describes a language arts teacher's two-tiered way of using assessment data, which uses both standardized assessment data and teacher-created "skills" inventories. Standardized test data may help see where a learner performed in a previous year on items that often do not line up too well with future content. Standardized…

This commentary elaborates on the role of "grounding" as a focal theoretical concept and aims to contextualize the claims formulated by Schneider and Pea (2015, this issue) in previous CSCL discussions. It provides fingerposts for enriching and refining the concept of grounding from a pedagogical point of view. It also suggests using the…

The motivating example for this paper comes from a distributed health data network, the International Consortium of Orthopaedic Registries (ICOR), which aims to examine risk factors for orthopedic device failure for registries around the world. Unfortunately, regulatory, privacy, and propriety concerns made sharing of raw data impossible, even if…

Statistical reasoning focuses on properties that belong not to individual data values but to the entire aggregate. We analyze students' statements from three different sources to explore possible building blocks of the idea of data as aggregate and speculate on how young students go about putting these ideas together. We identify four general…

This paper is in the form of a reflective discussion of the collection of papers in this Special Issue on "Statistical reasoning: learning to reason from samples" drawing on deliberations arising at the Seventh International Collaboration for Research on Statistical Reasoning, Thinking, and Literacy (SRTL7). It is an important part of…

The analysis of data collected from the interaction of users with educational and information technology has attracted much attention as a promising approach for advancing our understanding of the learning process. This promise motivated the emergence of the new research field, learning analytics, and its closely related discipline, educational…

This article considers recent public debates about massive open online courses (MOOCs) and their potential to transform higher education. Drawing on reports and media commentary, it probes the claims and counterclaims of MOOC proponents and MOOC sceptics. It considers the implications for students, governments, institutions and scholars…

An important assumption of item response theory is item parameter invariance. Sometimes, however, item parameters are not invariant across different test administrations due to factors other than sampling error; this phenomenon is termed item parameter drift. Several methods have been developed to detect drifted items. However, most of the…

Digital learning games are useful educational tools with high motivational potential. With the application of games for instruction there comes the need of acknowledging learning game experiences also in the context of educational assessment. Learning analytics provides new opportunities for supporting assessment in and of educational games. We…

Interdisciplinary studies foster integration of ideas across disciplines. The knowledge building pedagogy, with its 12 principles and associated technology, Knowledge Forum®, provides multifaceted support for linking ideas across disciplines and communities. This exploratory study aims to assess the extent to which elementary-school students…

One of the characteristics of massive open online courses (MOOCs) is that the overall number of social interactions tend to be higher than in traditional courses, hindering the analysis of social learning. Learners typically ask or answer questions using the forum. This makes messages a rich source of information, which can be used to infer…

Personalization is crucial for achieving smart learning environments in different lifelong learning contexts. There is a need to shift from one-size-fits-all systems to personalized learning environments that give control to the learners. Recently, learning analytics (LA) is opening up new opportunities for promoting personalization by providing…

Well-designed digital games hold promise as effective learning environments. However, designing games that support both learning and engagement without disrupting flow is quite tricky. In addition to including various game design features (e.g., interactive problem solving, adaptive challenges, and player control of gameplay) to engage players,…