Learning Analytics and Stakeholder Inclusion: What do We Mean When We Say "Human-Centered"?

Abstract

Given the growth in interest in human-centeredness within the learning analytics community - a workshop at LAK, a special issue in the Journal of Learning Analytics and multiple papers published on the topic - it seems an appropriate time to critically evaluate the popular design approach. Using a corpus of 165 publications that have substantial reference to both learning analytics and human-centeredness, the following paper delineates what is meant by "human-centered" and then discusses what the implications are for this approach. The conclusion reached through this analysis is that when authors refer to human-centeredness in learning analytics they are largely referring to stakeholder inclusion and the means by which this can be achieved (methodologically, politically and logistically). Furthermore, the justification for stakeholder inclusion is often coached in terms of its ability to develop more effective learning analytics applications along several dimensions (efficiency, efficacy, impact). With reference to human-centered design in other fields a discussion follows of the issues with such an approach and a prediction that LA will likely move toward a more neutral stance on stakeholder inclusion, as has occurred in both human-centered design and stakeholder engagement research in the past. A more stakeholder-neutral stance is defined as one in which stakeholder inclusion is one of many tools utilized in developing learning analytics applications.