Learning Analytics: A Literature Review

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine recent publications on the emerging field of learning analytics, to describe its evolution or growth, to analyze the elements that differentiate it from other disciplines in terms of field, lines of work and maturity, and to determine how it relates to learning. Twenty-three papers were reviewed, based on the application of a method that incorporated a series of inclusion and exclusion criteria proposed for that purpose. The results indicate the main element differentiating learning analytics in terms of its field is the focus on improving or optimizing learning. It uses different techniques and methods from different fields to accomplish that goal. As a result, an important body of work also has emerged that is concerned with delimiting the field through models or frameworks for learning analytics.