Big data in education: supporting learners in their role as reflective practitioners

Recent discussions on the topic of big data in education currently revolve heavily around the potential of learning analytics to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of educational processes and the ability to reduce drop-out rates (with focus on prediction and prescription). This chapter refers to the pedagogical perspective in order to provide learners with appropriate digital tools for self-organization, and enable them to further develop their competences and skills. The normative orientation towards the reflective practitioner in the digital age highlights the necessity to foster reflection on big data approaches in education.
For this, a conceptual framework for digital learning support is introduced and illustrated via four case studies. This conceptual framework can be applied in two ways: First, it serves as a heuristic model for identifying and structuring the design questions that must be answered by developers of learning environments. Secondly, the conceptual framework provides guidance when it comes to generating and detailing relevant research questions that can then be transferred and processed in specific research designs.