Towards learning analytics adoption: A mixed methods study of data-related practices and policies in Latin American universities

In Latin American universities, Learning Analytics (LA) has been perceived as a promising opportunity to leverage data to meet the needs of a diverse student cohort. Although universities have been collecting educational data for years, the adoption of LA in this region is still limited due to the lack of expertise and policies for processing and using educational data. In order to get a better picture of how existing data‐related practices and policies might affect the incorporation of LA in Latin American institutions, we conducted a mixed methods study in four Latin American universities (two Chilean and two Ecuadorian). In this paper, the qualitative data were based on 37 interviews with managers and 16 focus groups with 51 teaching staff and 45 students; the quantitative data were collected through two surveys answered by 1884 students and 368 teachers, respectively. The findings reveal opportunities to incorporate LA services into existing data practices in the four case studies. However, the lack of reliable information systems and policies to regulate the use of data imposes challenges that need to be overcome for future LA adoption.In Latin American universities, Learning Analytics (LA) has been perceived as a promising opportunity to leverage data to meet the needs of a diverse student cohort. Although universities have been collecting educational data for years, the adoption of LA in this region is still limited due to the lack of expertise and policies for processing and using educational data. In order to get a better picture of how existing data‐related practices and policies might affect the incorporation of LA in Latin American institutions, we conducted a mixed methods study in four Latin American universities (two Chilean and two Ecuadorian). In this paper, the qualitative data were based on 37 interviews with managers and 16 focus groups with 51 teaching staff and 45 students; the quantitative data were collected through two surveys answered by 1884 students and 368 teachers, respectively. The findings reveal opportunities to incorporate LA services into existing data practices in the four case studies. However, the lack of reliable information systems and policies to regulate the use of data imposes challenges that need to be overcome for future LA adoption

The Study of Literacy Coaching Observations and Interviews with Elementary Teachers

The purpose of this study is to examine the coaching interactions of two literacy coaches and four classroom teachers in order to explore how these interactions serve to support teacher learning. The analysis of the study describes how the coaches support teacher reflection and teaching for processing strategies during guided reading lessons. The literature review suggests that reflective practice (Schön, 1996) involves thoughtfully considering one’s own experiences while being coached by a professional in the discipline. I conducted observations and interviews for two cycles of teaching and coaching sessions per teacher coach dyad, for a total of eight guided reading lessons, 16 pre/post conferences, and conducted interviews with each teacher and literacy coach. The research questions for this study are: 1. How does the discourse found within the coaching interactions support teachers in their learning as described by the coaches? 2. How does the discourse found within the coaching interactions support teachers in their learning as described by the teachers? 3. What patterns of discourse are seen within coaching interactions? a. How do the interactions support teacher reflection during the dialog? b. How do the interactions support the teachers’ understanding of teaching for processing strategies within small group reading instruction? 4. What if any are the differences related to training and knowledge of the coaches? The findings of this study are presented through: (a) case studies; (b) the participants’ descriptions of coaches supporting student and teacher learning; and (c) a description of the characteristics and interaction patterns within pre-and post-conferences. My analysis showed that these coaches support reflection-on-action through their post- conferences with teachers and that the support varies with the expertise of the literacy coach. Analysis of the data revealed that these teachers believe that literacy coaches support them in the following ways: (a) by giving them feedback; (b) giving them confidence; (c) making connections to learning theory; (d) praising their teaching; (e) helping foster teacher reflection; (f) identifying professional texts; (g) providing language to use while teaching reading and writing; and (h) identifying observable evidence of how the teachers’ supported student learning

Administrative support staff in schools : ways forward

The aims of the research were to establish: • the impact of administrative support in school; • how teachers employ any time released by the presence of extra administrative support; • how the effective use of administrative support, including teacher time released, can best be used to support pupil attainment

A review of the research literature relating to ICT and attainment

Summary of the main report, which examined current research and evidence for the impact of ICT on pupil attainment and learning in school settings and the strengths and limitations of the methodologies used in the research literature

TLAD 2011 Proceedings:9th international workshop on teaching, learning and assesment of databases (TLAD)

This is the ninth in the series of highly successful international workshops on the Teaching, Learning and Assessment of Databases (TLAD 2011), which once again is held as a workshop of BNCOD 2011 - the 28th British National Conference on Databases. TLAD 2011 is held on the 11th July at Manchester University, just before BNCOD, and hopes to be just as successful as its predecessors.The teaching of databases is central to all Computing Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems and Information Technology courses, and this year, the workshop aims to continue the tradition of bringing together both database teachers and researchers, in order to share good learning, teaching and assessment practice and experience, and further the growing community amongst database academics. As well as attracting academics from the UK community, the workshop has also been successful in attracting academics from the wider international community, through serving on the programme committee, and attending and presenting papers.Due to the healthy number of high quality submissions this year, the workshop will present eight peer reviewed papers. Of these, six will be presented as full papers and two as short papers. These papers cover a number of themes, including: the teaching of data mining and data warehousing, databases and the cloud, and novel uses of technology in teaching and assessment. It is expected that these papers will stimulate discussion at the workshop itself and beyond. This year, the focus on providing a forum for discussion is enhanced through a panel discussion on assessment in database modules, with David Nelson (of the University of Sunderland), Al Monger (of Southampton Solent University) and Charles Boisvert (of Sheffield Hallam University) as the expert panel

TLAD 2011 Proceedings:9th international workshop on teaching, learning and assesment of databases (TLAD)

This is the ninth in the series of highly successful international workshops on the Teaching, Learning and Assessment of Databases (TLAD 2011), which once again is held as a workshop of BNCOD 2011 - the 28th British National Conference on Databases. TLAD 2011 is held on the 11th July at Manchester University, just before BNCOD, and hopes to be just as successful as its predecessors.The teaching of databases is central to all Computing Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems and Information Technology courses, and this year, the workshop aims to continue the tradition of bringing together both database teachers and researchers, in order to share good learning, teaching and assessment practice and experience, and further the growing community amongst database academics. As well as attracting academics from the UK community, the workshop has also been successful in attracting academics from the wider international community, through serving on the programme committee, and attending and presenting papers.Due to the healthy number of high quality submissions this year, the workshop will present eight peer reviewed papers. Of these, six will be presented as full papers and two as short papers. These papers cover a number of themes, including: the teaching of data mining and data warehousing, databases and the cloud, and novel uses of technology in teaching and assessment. It is expected that these papers will stimulate discussion at the workshop itself and beyond. This year, the focus on providing a forum for discussion is enhanced through a panel discussion on assessment in database modules, with David Nelson (of the University of Sunderland), Al Monger (of Southampton Solent University) and Charles Boisvert (of Sheffield Hallam University) as the expert panel

Student Learning in Higher Education: a Commentary

This commentary begins by summarizing the five contributions to this special issue and briefly recapping the background to the topic of student learning in higher education. Narrative and systematic reviews are compared, and the relative value of different bibliographic databases in the context of systematic reviews is assessed. The importance of measures of effect size is stressed. The relationship of the five contributions to early research on levels of processing and approaches to learning is discussed, along with the presage–process–product model of student learning and historical discussions that are relevant to the current theoretical discussions. This field has benefited from the development of more robust instrumentation, but researchers must continue to develop new kinds of measure, including online measures of students’ strategy use. Researchers need to consider ways of enhancing the quality of student learning through the use of problem-based curricula and other student-centered approaches. Finally, it is suggested that researchers into student learning need to evaluate whether their concepts, methods, theories, and findings are valid in online environments and to investigate how curricula in higher education can build upon those in secondary education