Adam Levick, Market Research and Analytics Analyst
@adlevick

At DEI we are fortunate to be in a space where we get to hear about goals and resolutions within teaching and learning on a daily basis: MOOC learners declaring that they will complete a course in forums, faculty researching new learning tools determined to make an important journal deadline, or U-M students from the many classes our projects touch resolving to do excellent work on the final project they’ve chosen. As part of our own drive to make more personalized and inclusive learning experiences for U-M students, we recently announced a goal to  transform 200 courses by 2017. Even with all these resolutions surrounding us as we enter 2016, we wanted to hear how the most time-honored resolution of all, the New Year’s Resolution, was being pursued within DEI.

Lauren Atkins Budde on assessment:

Learning initiatives are living creatures; and data analytics and other assessment tools, quantitative and qualitative alike, provide the feedback and insights they need to grow and evolve in the right direction.  I’m used to applying lessons and best practices learned from assessments; I’m interested in learning more about how to design effective assessments and especially the considerations that Steve uses in developing assessment plans for our initiatives.

Heidi Wong on moving from research to design:

In the upcoming semester, I’ll be working on a new project called Policymaker, a new tool being designed to assist with classroom simulation exercises by the Ford School of Public Policy. The timeline for the first prototype will be short, and we will have to move quickly between research and design. I hope to gain more experience working iteratively and building quick prototypes at varying degrees of fidelity that I can test and get feedback on. I hope to learn from those in the lab with expertise in design research and have a chance to practice methods that help to make the leap from synthesizing user research to making design decisions.

Cy Abdelnour on improving post sound editing skills:

My expertise on the Digital Education & Innovation Lab (DEIL) team lies within cameras and video editing skills. Michael Skib (whose recent works include this video for Gautam Kaul’s Finance: Valuation and Investing Specialization) is our specialist in audio and I could benefit from his experience by learning how to handle the audio process after it has been recorded.  

Ben Hayward on deepening his understanding of behavior change and tailored information:

The arrival of our Lead Behavioral Scientist, Holly Derry brings a tremendous amount of experience and creativity in the areas of behavior change and delivering tailored information to individuals within large and diverse online audiences. In the effort of deepening my own understanding of these areas I’ve just finished the excellent Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and have almost finished SWITCH, another great read by the Heath Brothers. And I have Carol Dweck’s Mindset waiting for me next.

Stephanie Teasley on helping others do what we do:

The LED Lab is considered to be the scholarly arm of the DEI.  The research coming from projects in the lab have visibility through journal publications, conference presentations, and other invitations to present in national summits, workshops, and the like. The question I am asked most often is: How can you do this work? Which usually means: What are the conditions at your institution that enable learning analytics research? The bottom line is that we are able to conduct our research because we can get the relevant student data out of our campus systems. My goal for 2016 is to pursue opportunities to help other institutions understand how they can develop their capacity for conducting learning analytics on their own campus. Early plans include participating in the Coursera Partners meeting in March and hosting a workshop for Higher Ed IT staff at the upcoming Learning Analytics Summer Institute hosted at U-M in June.

As always, we look forward to seeing these resolutions quickly turn into action at DEI. Come back soon to hear updates and keep up with news around DEI. If you haven’t had a chance, sign up for our email list now!