Embracing individual differences, heterogeneity and complexity in education research

Human behaviour is complex, multivariate and heterogeneous and can be conceptualized as a dynamic, interdependent process. Learning —like most psychological phenomena— is far from a simple or trivial phenomenon. It involves multiple cognitive processes, contexts and dimensions with complex and dynamic interplay. Therefore, most learning theories and frameworks describe learning with features typical of complex systems. These complexity features apply to a large array of theories, frameworks and constructs and also extend to interpersonal processes, groups, classrooms, and organizations.

However, learning is rarely explicitly framed, operationalized or empirically tested within a complex dynamic system framework. In other disciplines, embracing complexity has resulted in breakthroughs in physics, drug discovery, climate science and psychology. This talk will go through the main concepts of complex systems, address their main features and address novel methods used to capture the dynamics of complex systems, heterogeneity and individual differences.

Speakers

UTS is delighted to host Mohammed Saqr & Sonsoles López-Pernas from the Learning Analytics Unit, University of Eastern Finland, from Nov 6-12. They are extremely active in Learning Analytics, and recently won LAK24 Best Paper. Their open-access book Learning Analytics Methods and Tutorials: A practical guide using R is an example of their practical expertise, and they will be running two R tutorials on 12 November, from Chapter 15 (Social Network Analysis) and 19 (Psychological Networks).

Please contact Simon.BuckinghamShum@uts.edu.au if you would like to schedule a meeting with them or join these tutorials.

Event format

This event is running in a hybrid mode. Please choose your preferred attendance mode (in-person or online) when registering.