Dr. Ryan Baker’s Keynote

Algorithmic Bias in Education

The advanced algorithms of learning analytics and educational data mining underpin modern adaptive learning technologies, for assessment and supporting learning. However, there has not been enough research on whether these algorithms are effective for all learners who use them.

In this talk, I discuss the evidence around algorithmic bias in education, cases where an algorithm works substantially less well for specific groups of learners. I review who is impacted, what the impacts are, and the gaps in the field's knowledge -- both in terms of "known unknowns" and "unknown unknowns." I conclude with potential directions to move research and practice towards better understanding how bias impacts educational algorithms, and how to address these problems so that learning systems become fairer and more equitable.

About Dr. Ryan Baker

Dr. Ryan Baker is an Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Penn Center for Learning Analytics. His lab conducts research on engagement and robust learning within online and blended learning, seeking to find actionable indicators that can be used today but which predict future student outcomes. Dr. Baker has developed models that can automatically detect student engagement in over a dozen online learning environments, and has led the development of an observational protocol and app for field observation of student engagement that has been used by over 150 researchers in 6 countries. Predictive analytics models he helped develop have been used to benefit hundreds of thousands of students, over a hundred thousand people have taken MOOCs he ran, and he has coordinated longitudinal studies that spanned over a decade. He was the founding president of the International Educational Data Mining Society, is currently serving as Editor of the journal Computer-Based Learning in Context, is Associate Editor of two journals, was the first technical director of the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center DataShop, and currently serves as Co-Director of the MOOC Replication Framework (MORF). Dr. Baker has co-authored published papers with over 300 colleagues.


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