Learning analytics and educational paths

Our research contributes leadership, mentoring and consultation to develop learners’ capabilities to engage proactively in different learning processes. We emphasize the importance of attaining skills in regulating individual, environmental and social challenges to promote psychological well-being. We encourage educational discourse that considers individual backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives in the community. 

The research provides knowledge about educational pathways and choices on both the individual and cohort level. We generate new understanding about utilizing learning analytics as a support for learning, guidance and leadership. We investigate how the knowledge produced by the analysis of register data and existing large datasets can be used to guide and support people to reach their personal goals and to lead organisations with knowledge. We work in multidisciplinary collaboration to design and develop digital solutions, and to study user experiences.  

We investigate the boundaries and contexts bridging technologies and learners to understand the use of technology in teaching and learning. Further, to investigate and scaffold the learning of knowledge work competence, we have developed scalable research instruments and theoretical and pedagogical models implemented in higher and secondary education.   

Our mission is to 

• Study and teach strategies for psychological well-being.  

• Build contemporary designs for learning to close the gap between renewing work-life and educational practices. 

• Facilitate guidance and lifelong learning through expanding knowledge of learning pathways and available choices.  

• Provide theoretical and methodological approaches to better understand learners and learning within different contexts and in relation to new technologies. 

• Implement contemporary theoretical understanding to the design of digital solutions and their use through multidisciplinary collaboration.  

 Find out more in current projects:  

• KoKiVa Nuorten koulutusalakiinnostus ja valintojen tukeminen työelämävierailuilla sukupuolisensitiivisesti

• EARLI Emerging Field Group Unpacking collaboration - Multimodal collaboration analytics and mixed methods designs for exploring collaborative problem solving 2022-2024

• EARLI- Centre for Excellence in Research (https://www.earli.org/ECER): Digital tracing and analysis of collaborative learning with knowledge objects (2020–2024) https://earli.org/sites/default/files/2020-01/E-CER%20description_10.01.2020_1.pdf 

• ILeD- Innovating Learning Design in Higher Education, Erasmus+ project 2022-2025

Past projects:

• Compleap: this international project aimed at creating competence development ecosystem, providing learning analytics support and guidance for lifelong learners. Project resulted in a creation of a proof of concept prototype utilizing national level registry data and testing services with lifelong learners. It has been tested in three vocational education and training institutions in Finland. Project was funded by European Commission. https://www.compleap.eu/  (2017–2019) 

• AnalyticsAI is coordinated by the University of Oulu, and involve seven Finnish Universities: Aalto University, University of Eastern Finland, University of Lapland, LUT University, Tampere University and University of Turku. The project intends to facilitate the students' learning processes at the University level and the subsequent transition to working life by utilising learning analytics to support individual study paths, planning of studies, teaching and guidance, educational leadership, and at a broader scale, university governance. Project funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture https://analytiikkaaly.fi/en/  (2018–2022) 

• We support together! Interdisciplinary and digital collaboration in support of learning (Tuetaan yhdessä! Monialainen ja digitaalinen yhteistyö oppimisen tukena), Ministry of Education and Culture 2017-2019