What if we could use analytics and data-driven decision-making to improve learning outcomes for all students? That’s a question Assistant Professor Andrew Sowinski, of the Faculty of Engineering, has been mulling around for some time. Recently named Chair in University Teaching, Sowinski is embarking on a three-year research project funded by uOttawa’s Vice-Provost of Academic Affairs and the Teaching and Learning Support Service.
A passion for pedagogy and processes
Armed with a passion for teaching, Sowinski has long been experimenting with pedagogical processes and course formats. However, his interest peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic: the shifting educational conditions offered a wealth of fresh insights into the ways in which students learn.
Named as Chair in University Teaching for 2022, Sowinski will draw on this experience, as well as his dual research interests in data analytics and AI.
“I’m interested in processes,” says Sowinski. “My background is in chemical engineering, which is a process-oriented discipline, and it combines with my interest in data.” He sees clear links between these process-driven fields and the pedagogical process. Ultimately, he wants to see “more data-driven decisions around teaching, not just when it comes to student interventions, but even to guide course and curriculum design.”
Along with colleagues at the Faculty of Engineering, Sowinski is a founding member of the School of Engineering Design and Teaching Innovation (SEDTI), which gathers together experts in engineering education, AI ethics, and digital transformation. Previously, he served as the Student Experience Officer for the Faculty of Engineering, a role which also helped shape his mission to improve the learner experience.
Learning analytics: big data to enhance student outcomes
Learning analytics, a burgeoning field in education research, aims to collect, analyze, and deploy data from a learner’s environment—such as uOttawa’s Virtual Campus (BrightSpace) or uOcampus—to understand and improve learning outcomes. “Essentially, it’s pooling data from different sources at the University to improve the quality of the student experience,” says Sowinski.
He hopes to push the field further by creating tools and interventions that will maximize learner potential across the spectrum—including both students at risk and those already succeeding. He posits that this, in turn, will also open up more data-driven decisions around pedagogy, from the way a course is designed to how it is taught.
“In a way, engineering is an ideal environment to start a project like this,” he said, noting the discipline’s focus on process and its abundance of research expertise in data and AI.
A collaborative effort
As with all Chairs in University Teaching, the project is designed to spark collaboration across a wide range of academic units. The 2022 Chair will partner with colleagues at the SEDTI, engineering graduate students, Teaching and Learning Support Service, IT Services, Institutional Research and Planning, and other faculties.
The first phase, says Sowinski, will review and aggregate all data sources at uOttawa, investigate best practices, and establish the independent advisory committee. In the next phase, he aims to develop a chatbot, collect historical data, and pilot some of the intervention strategies in select courses. Finally, he will focus on refining the data collection procedures and student-facing chatbot dashboard, as well as integrating strategies into more University courses.
Privacy concerns are at the core of the project, notes Sowinski. Students will be a key part of the advisory group and will help shape the use of data. “It’s very important that students are part of this in the early days, and feel comfortable with how we are using the information. Ultimately, it’s their data.”
The results of Professor Sowinski’s research will feed back into uOttawa’s teaching and learning community, offering new tools to first-time and seasoned teaching faculty members alike. Ultimately, teachers and learners both stand to benefit from data-driven decisions to inform learning tools, course design, and curriculum development.
About the Chair in University Teaching
The Chair in University Teaching fuels uOttawa’s commitment to instructional excellence by offering a $20,000 annual fund for three years to faculty members to conduct research into innovative teaching and learning practices that will benefit the wider University community. Current chairholders include Simon Beaudry (2021 Chair), whose project explores ways to meet students’ psychological needs in adverse learning contexts, and Karine Vanthuyne (2020 Chair), whose project focuses on the decolonization and indigenization of curricula.