STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Learning Analytics in STEM Education Research Institute

Effective Years: 2020-2024

North Carolina State University (NCSU) will establish the Learning Analytics in STEM Education Research (LASER) Institute to build learning analytics capacity in STEM education research. The institute will provide professional development for early and mid-career STEM education researchers in learning analytics, a computational research methodology. The goal of the institute is to increase the capacity of researchers to understand and improve STEM learning and learning environments through the use of new sources of data and analytical approaches. The institute will be anchored by a week-long intensive training program consisting of hands-on learning labs, presentations from experts in the field, support for research planning and data analyses, and opportunities for networking and collaboration. In addition, follow up support will occur throughout the year. The institute will prepare STEM education research scholars to: 1) understand the methodologies, applications, and ethical issues of learning analytics as these relate to understanding and improving STEM education, 2) gain proficiency in R, a free software environment applied to computational analysis techniques (e.g., network analysis, text mining, machine learning, and data dashboards) using real-world STEM education data, and 3) expand professional networks in support of STEM education research efforts. This research institute is funded by ECR (the core research program of the Education and Human Resources directorate) and attends specifically to critical aspects in research capacity building. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.