Pearson, a US-based provider of educational content and services, has acquired Learning Catalytics, a cloud-based learning analytics and assessment system developed by Eric Mazur, Brian Lukoff and Gary King of Harvard University.
Learning Catalytics reportedly allows faculty to obtain real-time responses to open-ended or critical thinking questions, determine which areas require further explanation, and then automatically group students for further discussion and problem solving. The system is said to support numerical, algebraic, textual and graphical responses. The comprehensive and advanced analytics also help faculty better understand student performance in real time while lecturing.
By actively engaging students with questions and receiving their immediate responses, faculty can see a graphical representation of the current state of learning in their classes. They can then adjust their teaching method, in real-time, and provide more in-depth instruction on areas of common misunderstanding. Learning Catalytics also empowers faculty to author questions directly, or further develop questions written by other faculty whose questions they can rate, comment and improve upon.
Learning Catalytics was co-founded by Eric Mazur, a thought leader in the flipped classroom movement and a Pearson author, Brian Lukoff, an education researcher and software engineer, and Gary King, a social scientist and statistician.
