Jari Metsämuuronen and Jake McMullen Appointed as Professors of Learning Analytics
The recruitment of these professors will enhance learning analytics research within the EDUCA flagship project, as well as the research and development of digital learning environments at the Turku Research Institute for Learning Analytics (TRILA).
The research projects led by the newly appointed professors aim to improve the diagnosis of learning in digital environments and the identification of learning gaps while offering students more personalized, game-based options for skill development.
Before joining the University of Turku, Jari Metsämuuronen worked at the The Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC). He specializes in psychometrics, evaluation research, and research methods, and his professorship will particularly focus on development projects related to next-generation psychometrics.
Jake McMullen, who has previously worked at the University of Turku, will concentrate on the development of mathematics learning and proficiency in his professorship. McMullen has extensive experience in studying individual differences in mathematical development and in designing and testing learning environments aimed at reducing these differences in students’ learning outcomes.
“I am taking on a new interdisciplinary role in the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Education, aiming to enhance collaboration between faculties, particularly in the field of STEM education. The goal is to support the development of digital learning environments that leverage learning analytics as a tool to enrich learning experiences and foster the STEM skills students need in the 21st century,” McMullen states.
“These new recruitments are highly significant for the development of learning analytics research. The increasing datafication and artificial intelligence are transforming our education system and, consequently, learning itself, both now and in the future. TRILA is building an ecosystem for learning and teaching under the EDUCA flagship, with the goal of creating scalable interventions and assessments. These new professorships will further strengthen the University of Turku’s leading position in learning analytics,” says Mikko-Jussi Laakso, Director of TRILA.
The field of learning analytics has grown significantly both at the University of Turku and on a national level in recent years. Learning analytics is at the core of the new national EDUCA flagship initiative. EDUCA is the joint flagship of the Universities of Jyväskylä, Turku, Helsinki and Aalto University, and it is coordinated by the University of Jyväskylä.
Key objectives in the field of learning analytics research include developing a learning and teaching ecosystem model, municipal collaboration models, knowledge management practices, and research-based intervention models for both classroom and individualized teaching, without increasing teachers’ workloads. Notably, TRILA and its widely used learning environment ViLLE, along with study pathways and diagnostic tools such as the FUNA and MUREA tests, have become nationally significant tools in teachers' everyday work. A new research project will develop the DigiArvi tool to support teachers in grade-level assessments.
With new research projects and recruitments, TRILA will expand its research focus to include the utilization of machine learning models and artificial intelligence.