The givenness of the human learning experience and its incompatibility with information analytics

Lundie, D. (2017) The givenness of the human learning experience and its incompatibility with information analytics. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 49(4), pp. 391-404. (doi: 10.1080/00131857.2015.1052357)

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Abstract

The rise of learning analytics, the application of complex metrics developed to exploit the proliferation of ‘Big Data’ in educational work, raises important moral questions about the nature of what is measurable in education. Teachers, schools and nations are increasingly held to account based on metrics, exacerbating the tendency for fine-grained measurement of learning experiences. In this article, the origins of learning analytics ontology are explored, drawing upon core ideas in the philosophy of computing, such as the general definition of information and the information-theoretic account of knowledge. Drawing upon a reading of Descartes Meditatio II, which extends the phenomenology of Jean-Luc Marion into a pedagogy of intentionality, the article identifies a fundamental incompatibility between the subjective experience of learning and the information-theoretic account of knowledge. Human subjects experience and value their own information incommensurably with the ways in which computers measure and quantify information. The consequences of this finding for the design of online learning environments, and the necessary limitations of learning analytics and measurement are explored.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Lundie, Dr David
Authors: Lundie, D.
Subjects:L Education > LB Theory and practice of education
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social & Environmental Sustainability
Journal Name:Educational Philosophy and Theory
Publisher:Taylor and Francis
ISSN:0013-1857
ISSN (Online):1469-5812
Published Online:23 June 2015
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2015 Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia
First Published:First published in Educational Philosophy and Theory 49(4):391-404
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

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