Intraindividual research in education
2018/19 Public Seminar Series Event
Students’ experiences of learning are comprised of dynamic sequences of intraindividual processes that take place in real-time throughout school days and weeks. Researchers can investigate these processes in diary, intensive longitudinal, or micro-analytic studies. Important questions posed by these are (1) whether learning processes are stable or variable, and (2) how instruction can promote such processes. Indeed, there is a current surge in intraindividual studies using experience sampling or ecological momentary assessment for collecting such real-time data owing to user-friendly electronic devices (e.g., iPads, tablets). Real-time data have advantages above cross-sectional data for drawing inferences and theorizing about processes, as retrospective reporting is minimized and contextual closeness maximized. Multilevel Structural Equation Models are used for analyses of hierarchically nested data (i.e., learning experiences nested in students). In all, the intraindividual (process, situation-specific, within-person) approach to educational research offers a unique window into learners’ and teachers’ experiences of learning and teaching, which is different from that of an interindividual (cross-sectional, between-person) approach. In this inaugural talk I will present key findings from the Learning Every Lesson (LEL) study and other recent studies. Some implications for policies on personalized learning are suggested.
About the speaker
Lars-Erik Malmberg is Professor of Quantitative Methods in Education. He started off as a primary school teacher in Finland. He is Docent in Education with particular focus on quantitative methods, at Åbo Akademi University, Vasa, Finland, where he earned his Doctorate of Education. He completed his post-doc at Yale University and enjoyed the prestigious Research Councils UK (RCUK) academic fellowship 2007-12. He has more than 70 publications (peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and reports). He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Learning and Instruction 2018-21 (impact factor 3.97). His current research interests are on intraindividual approaches to learning processes, and modelling of intensive longitudinal data. He has published on effects of education, child care and parenting on developmental and educational outcomes, and teacher development. He applies advanced quantitative models to the investigation of substantive research questions in education. Together with his colleagues he recently completed the ESRC-funded seminar series called “Network on Intrapersonal Research in Education”
