This document discusses the relationships between learning analytics, assessment, pedagogy, and epistemology. It poses that: 1) Epistemology underlies assessment and how we decide what constitutes knowledge. Assessment also shapes pedagogy which is targeted at attaining creditworthy knowledge. 2) In practice, assessment often drives understanding of epistemology and shapes pedagogy by prioritizing exam skills over knowledge cultivation. 3) Learning analytics could help understand these relationships but may currently relate more to certain assessments and pedagogies over others. There is potential for learning analytics to help reform educational models and challenge current conceptions.

1. Learning Analytics and Knowledge
Assessment, Pedagogy, and
Epistemology
@sjgknight
http://kmi.open.ac.uk/people/member/simon-knight

2. Who am I?
• After graduating, I qualified to teach & taught
high school philosophy & psychology
• MA Philosophy of Education – explored what
implications for ‘knowledge’ might be if (e.g.)
Wikipedia is part of our mind
• MPhil EdRes – explored children’s beliefs about
knowledge in collaborative information retrieval
tasks
• PhD – applying this to LA and knowledge
mapping

3. What problem are we positioning to
solve…
• Education is undergoing some radical – and
contested – changes
• There is opportunity for LA to have an impact
on that change
• The technology is growing, now is an
opportunity to reflect on what our
contribution to what education looks like is

4. What is education doing?
• Purposes of education are contested, but
most would agree that the cultivation of
knowledge is key
• When we assess, we are aiming to assess the
learning of that knowledge
• And our pedagogy – our mode of teaching – is
primed to facilitate this knowledge cultivation

5. What is Assessment?
• Summative
• Formative/AfL

6. What is Pedagogy?
E.g.
• Instructivist
• Constructivist
• Apprenticeship

7. What is epistemology?
• What is truth
(Realist, constructivist, relativist?, coheren
ce v correspondence)
• Holist v. discrete
• Knowing how v. knowing that

8. What is epistemology?
• What is truth
(Realist, constructivist, relativist?, coheren
ce v correspondence)
• Holist v. discrete
• Knowing how v. knowing that
What is Assessment? What is Pedagogy?
• Summative • Instructivist
• Formative/AfL • Constructivist
• Coursework, open book, multiple • Apprenticeship
choice, etc. • Pragmatist

9. Does Epistemology drive everything?
In Theory….
Epistemology underlies Assessment: Pedagogy should be
How do we decide (assess) if targeted at cultivating
someone ‘knows’ knowledge/knowers
Pedagogy shapes assessment:
Use of Assessment (for learning) is
driven by pedagogic aims
Assessment shapes pedagogy:
Pedagogy is targeted at attaining
‘creditworthy’ knowledge

10. Does assessment drive everything?
In Practice….?
Assessment drives Pedagogy is (sometimes) taken
understanding of epistemology to implicate particular (‘soft’)
What can we assess in highly ways of ‘knowing’
reliable ways?
Assessment underlies pedagogy
e.g. Use of AfL is driven by assessment (which is
not necessarily related to epistemology but
‘right answerism’ & exam skill)

12. Denmark…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8341589.stm
Two minute movie on use of internet in exams in Denmark
How does this relate to the triad…

13. Why does this matter for LA?
Think about some LA that you’re aware of – where does it sit? What sorts of assessment and
pedagogy does it most relate to?

14. Why does this matter for LA?
Where should LA sit?
Our Learning Analytics are our Pedagogy (SBS)
All the important stuff with analytics happens… after we've done the analytics (Siemens)

15. Conclusions…
• There is a need for reform
• This reform will require us to consider where
LA’s force lies, and what its relationship is to
conceptualising education
• LA may have many roles
• Current models of education could be
challenged
• High level knowledge, and assessment for
learning are both highly important

16. • Thank you…

17. Can LA help us understand, how people understand these relationships?