The 3rd Workshop on Philosophy of Learning Analytics (POLA) at the 13th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK23). University of Texas at Arlington March 13, 2023
As learning analytics (LA) continues to mature as a field, it also continues to draw expertise from multiple disciplines with practitioners from diverse backgrounds bringing varying skill sets. However, practitioners also bring their own disciplinary based philosophies to the field, whether they are conscious of them or not. Differences in philosophical assumptions underpinning varying approaches to LA can at times introduce confusion or even dissonance. These issues can be exacerbated when philosophical positions remain hidden and mitigated with increased transparency of diverse views.
We argue that there is a need to encourage conversations about the various ways that learning analytics research is (and can be) philosophically grounded, the extent to which our philosophies underpin our choice of theory, and the degree to which they influence our research and practice. To this end, this 3rd Workshop on The Philosophy of Learning Analytics (POLA@LAK23) will explore the theme:
The inter-relationships between philosophies and theories in learning analytics, and the extent to which they influence research and practice.
The workshop is particularly pertinent to the LAK23 conference theme, “Towards trustworthy learning analytics”, as transparent accounting for philosophical positions makes visible to all the disciplinary assumptions that underpin different approaches to research and practice.
We can assume that all learning analytics practitioners share the same ultimate passion and goal, to find qualitative and quantitative ways to improve the learning experience for learners. However, the pathways we take are highly diverse, which can result in resistance when trying to bridge discourse between disciplines. We suggest that learning analytics as a transdisciplinary field would benefit from improving the visibility and understanding of the diverse philosophical positions that underpin learning analytics work.
An absence of philosophical discussions within the learning analytics community can have significant ramifications which may prevent the field from maturing. For example, confusion can result from trying to explain what is and is not in scope when different views inform those decisions. Further, the absence of philosophical understanding can slow the field down when attempting to test, experiment and scale up ideas and methods, as each of these areas can meet resistance from others that take different philosophical positions. Further, dominant philosophical positions can unwittingly silence alternative views, and blind peer review processes to the need for diverse approaches.
There is still considerable debate on ethics of learning analytics (e.g., Corrin et al., 2019, Ferguson 2019, Kitto and Knight 2019, West et al. 2020), which greater philosophical understandings would help resolve. Selwyn’s (2020) provocations express the need to dig deep and assess whether the current direction of learning analytics is indeed what we want for the field. More importantly, Selwyn questions what is actually needed in society and what is missing from our background disciplines when moving into this transdisciplinary space. Finally, greater philosophical awareness would allow for the creation of momentum, as the field is reaching a critical turning point: it is needs to move beyond a few practitioners working in isolation or practicing in few classrooms to institutional or national plans to adopt and follow ethical use of learner data for pedagogical purposes. This last point is being made frequently (e.g., Ferguson 2012, Selwyn 2020 West et al. 2020), and while a recent survey showed that institutions are willing (Tsai and Gasevic 2017), when attempting to put in place these methods, we often fail (Ferguson 2012, Buerck 2014, Munguia et al. 2020).
Participants are invited to submit a 500 word abstract outlining a topic which they would like discussed at the workshop.
Abstracts will be reviewed by the workshop organizers in terms of: (1) relevance and significance to POLA theme, (2) potential for constructive discussion and debate, and (3) potential for ongoing influence within the LA community. Participants whose abstracts are selected will be invited to present a 4-5 minute lightning talk during the workshop.
Please submit your contribution via email to one of the facilitators.
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Corrin, L., Kennedy, G., French, S., Buckingham Shum S., Kitto, K., Pardo, A., West, D., Mirriahi, N., & Colvin, C. (2019). The Ethics of Learning Analytics in Australian Higher Education. A Discussion Paper.https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/research/research-projects/edutech/the-ethical-use-of-learning-analytics.
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Ferguson, R. (2019). Ethical Challenges for Learning Analytics. Journal of Learning Analytics, 6(3), 25–30.https://doi.org/10.18608/jla.2019.63.5
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Munguia, P., Brennan, A., Taylor, S., & Lee, D. (2020). A learning analytics journey: Bridging the gap between technology services and academic need. The Internet and Higher Education. 46: 100744.
Selwyn, Neil. “Re-Imagining ‘Learning Analytics’ … a Case for Starting Again?” The Internet and Higher Education 46 (July 2020): 100745.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2020.100745
Tsai, Y. S., & Gašević, D. (2017). Learning analytics in higher education—challenges and policies: A review of eight learning analytics policies. Proceedings of the 7th International Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference (pp. 233–242).
West, D., Luzeckyj, A., Toohey, D., Vanderlelie, J., & Searle, B. 2020. Do academics and university administrators really know better? The ethics of positioning student perspectives in learning analytics. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 36(2), 60-70. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.4653