STEMscopes: contextualizing learning analytics in a K-12 science curriculum

In this paper, we discuss a scalable approach for integrating learning analytics into an online K-12 science curriculum. A description of the curriculum and the underlying pedagogical framework is followed by a discussion of the challenges to be tackled as part of this integration. We also include examples of data visualization based on real student and teacher data. With more than one million students and fifty thousand teachers using the curriculum, a massive and rich dataset is continuously updated. This repository depicts teacher and students usage of an inquiry-based science program, and offers exciting opportunities to leverage research to improve both teaching and learning. The growing dataset, with more than a hundred million items of activity in six months, also poses technical challenges such as data storage, complex aggregation and analysis with broader implications for pedagogy, big data, and learning.