Data-Intensive Research in Education: New Opportunities for Making an Impact

Join a facilitated discussion about the application of data science to education, drawing on a recent NSF-sponsored report. Participants share insights from DR K–12 projects.

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The Computing Research Association’s report from an NSF-sponsored workshop describes seven next steps for data-intensive research in education:

  1. mobilize communities around opportunities based on new forms of evidence;
  2. infuse evidence-based decision-making throughout a system;
  3. develop new forms of educational assessment;
  4. re-conceptualize data generation, collection, storage, and representation processes;
  5. develop new types of analytic methods;
  6. build human capacity to do data science and to use its products; and
  7. develop advances in privacy, security, and ethics.

In this session, participants will engage in facilitated discussion around emerging initiatives in data-intensive educational research, opportunities that data science offers for research, and ways that their project could benefit from participating in the steps listed above. The session’s facilitators were deeply involved in developing, implementing, and reporting on an NSF-sponsored workshop on this topic.

 Discussion questions include:

  • Do you have “big data” projects to report on?
  • What types of “big data” are generated by your project?
  • What advances in infrastructure, measures, analytics, and human capacity would aid you in generating findings from this data?
  • What resources are available at NSF for enhancing data-intensive research?
  • How might PIs collaborate in developing new initiative using data science?

The session will begin as a single discussion and then break into interactive groups to brainstorm on areas of specific interest.

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