为学习分析建立理论基石,明确其可测范围与边界。
Defining the Scope of Learning Analytics: An Axiomatic Approach for Analytic Practice and Measurable Learning Phenomena
- 基于心理学与方法论构建五条公理,定义学习分析核心结构
- 证明学习状态不可直接观测,未来学习无法确定预测
- 适合教育数据科学、学习分析研究者参考
学习分析(LA)虽在实践和技术上迅速发展,但其理论基础仍不清晰。本文首次提出一套公理化理论,正式界定学习分析的本质结构、适用范围与局限性。该框架源于学习的心理学定义及学习分析的方法论需求,包含五个公理,分别规范离散观察、经验建构、状态转移与推断过程。由此推导出一系列定理与命题,阐明学习分析的认识论立场:学习状态本质上不可观测、时间顺序不可还原、可达状态受约束、未来学习无法确定性预测。进一步将学习分析结构与实践形式化,证明公理的充分性与必要性,并表明贝叶斯知识追踪、仪表盘等多元方法均可统一纳入此框架。该理论为分析方法设计与学习数据解读提供指导,避免行为主义误判与范畴错误,通过显式推断层连接观测与状态。本工作将学习分析确立为以可观测性为基础的状态转移系统科学,奠定其作为学术学科发展的理论根基。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Learning Analytics (LA) has rapidly expanded through practical and technological innovation, yet its foundational identity has remained theoretically under-specified. This paper addresses this gap by proposing the first axiomatic theory that formally defines the essential structure, scope, and limitations of LA. Derived from the psychological definition of learning and the methodological requirements of LA, the framework consists of five axioms specifying discrete observation, experience construction, state transition, and inference. From these axioms, we derive a set of theorems and propositions that clarify the epistemological stance of LA, including the inherent unobservability of learner states, the irreducibility of temporal order, constraints on reachable states, and the impossibility of deterministically predicting future learning. We further define LA structure and LA practice as formal objects, demonstrating the sufficiency and necessity of the axioms and showing that diverse LA approaches -- such as Bayesian Knowledge Tracing and dashboards -- can be uniformly explained within this framework. The theory provides guiding principles for designing analytic methods and interpreting learning data while avoiding naive behaviorism and category errors by establishing an explicit theoretical inference layer between observations and states. This work positions LA as a rigorous science of state transition systems based on observability, establishing the theoretical foundation necessary for the field's maturation as a scholarly discipline.
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