April 28, 2023
The SoLAR ECR Research Grant serves to support promising early career researchers who demonstrate the potential to advance research and practice in learning analytics and increase the educational and socio-economic impacts of learning analytics. Proposed projects should improve our understanding of learning analytics and learning in general, result in positive impacts on education, and align with the topics identified for the current round. It is expected that the ECR grant will help successful applicants develop their career by enabling an initiative that is scalable or has potential to attract further funding.
Applicant eligibility
Applications from individuals based in academic or not-for-profit organizations are welcome, provided the individuals hold valid SoLAR membership when applying and for the term of the project. Applicants need to have been awarded with a PhD qualification no longer than 5 years prior to the application deadline. Each applicant may only submit one application, and each application can only have one named applicant. Past awardees or current SoLAR executive committee members are not eligible to apply.
2023 Themes – Enhancing Learning with Learning Analytics in an AI Powered World
With the rapid development of AI technologies, including generative AI such as ChatGPT, the impact on learning and thus understanding how learning takes place is a new evolution for learning analytics. How to measure and scaffold the learning process are important questions confronting learning analytics researchers and practitioners. We welcome proposals of research that explore the impact of AI on learning analytics research and practice. Example topics include, but are not limited to:
- Understand the impact of AI technologies on student learning and teaching;
- Identify innovative AI driven methodologies and tools to gain insights into learning;
- Understand how AI technologies impact different strands of learning analytics research, e.g., personalised feedback, writing analytics research, self-regulated learning, etc.;
- Explore how learning analytics can be used to foster insights into new AI literacies, such as prompt engineering;
- Explore the role of learning analytics in futures literacy;
- Examine how new generational AI impacts learning and assessment, and how learning analytics can help;
- Make sense of the intersections of humans and AI in practices of learning analytics;
- Enhance the use of learning analytics with explainable AI;
- Evaluate the impact of learning analytics on institutional strategy development and monitoring;
- Explore how institutions navigate ethical considerations of AI when adopting learning analytics;
- Explore how to ensure trustworthiness of learning analytics and AI in education in parallel with data protection and informed consent of data owners;
- Understand ways that algorithmic fairness & biases in AI technologies may affect learners.
Level of award
A total of $10,000 CAD is available to fund one to two projects. Funds will be managed directly by SoLAR via approved expense invoices.
Awardee(s) will also receive publicity via SoLAR’s channels to help them connect with the community, complimentary registration for a Learning Analytics Summer Institute (LASI) and the International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference (LAK).
For more information and the grant application, please visit: https://www.solaresearch.org/community/scholarships/ecr-research-grant/
Key dates
Application open: 22 March 2023
Submission deadline: 3 May 2023 (5pm EDT)
Results announcement: 30 June 2023