One important aspect of big data in education is the use of structured, embedded data to expand learning and assessment options in argument-defined processes (Cope & Kalantzis, 2016). In the past, the assessment of a learners' competency for assignments involving "nonformal reasoning" (Walton, 2008, as cited in Cope & Kalantzis, p. 4)—such as written works, case analyses, and legal arguments—have required the use summative processes that were completed by expert/teacher assessors at the end of the learning event. New technologies are making it possible to codify some of the “expert” knowledge of what a good or bad argument is by enabling rubric-based evaluations. Importantly, these tools allow a crowdsourced evaluation of the assignment not only by the teacher, but also by student peers and the learner themselves. A good example of this is the rubrics used in this course for participants to evaluate one another’s update submission. Also, there is the ability to provide feedback during the learning event and at the end, which enables both formative and summative assessment that the learner can use to improve their competency in-flight. In addition, these computer-mediated process allow for collection of both quantitative and qualitative data for each individual assignment, but also for a set of assignments over time, either for a given learner or for a class, cohort, or overall program. The vastly expanded data analytics abilities made possible by these “digitally mediated, network-interconnected learning environments” (Cope & Kalantzis, 2016, p. 2), provide both educators and learners a much more robust understanding of program and individual results.

Screen Shot of Rubic from this Course in Scholar

Scholar Rubric Example

Scholar Rubic Screen Shot

REFERENCES

Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2016). Big Data Comes to School: Implications for Learning, Assessment, and Research. AERA Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858416641907

Walton, D. (2008). Informal logic: A pragmatic approach. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

__PRESENT

__PRESENT

__PRESENT