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Center for the Analytics of Learning and Teaching

Center for the Analytics of Learning and Teaching Epistemic Network Analysis

What is Discussion-based Epistemic Network Analysis?

Epistemic Network Analysis is a network analysis method developed by the Epistemic Analytics lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

ENA supports thick descriptions based on big data about learning to assess learner performance. Epistemic frames, the theory that supports ENA, understands expertise in complex domains as a network of connections among codes assigned to different elements of collaborative discourse such as knowledge, skills, values, and decision-making processes.

Online discussion is one such domain where ENA is being used, in this case, to assess learner performance and expertise through class discussions taking place on Canvas.

How did DB-ENA come about?

C-ALT was interested in working with online discussion data to unveil the network of connections among the content (codes) that students and instructors use during collaborative discourse.

What has C-ALT done with ENA?

C-ALT began examining online discussion data from a fall semester course to answer the following research question:

How can ENA be used to show the connections that students are making, in an online discussion, between the concepts that are being learned in a learning science master’s level course?

To answer that question, Quantitative Ethnography methods were utilized to analyze, code, transform, and format the data to be used on ENA. The codes that represent the content students should discuss were:

  • Concept of learning (CoL)
  • Retrieval practice (RP)
  • Space out practice (SoP)
  • Interleaving (I)
  • Elaboration (E)
  • Illusions of mastery (IoM)
  • Effortful learning (EL)
  • Beyond learning styles (BLS)
  • Growth mindset (GM)
  • Reflection of theory and practice (RTP)

In the examples below, we see the network of concepts from two different students:

Student 1 is on the left; Student 2 is on the right. The thickness of the lines between the codes indicates the strength of connections. The size of the dots represents the amount of time that each code appears on student’s individual discussions.

Related Publications Discussion-based ENA Research

Moraes, M. C., McKenna, K., & Folkestad, J. (2020, March 10). Using epistemic network analysis on online discussion to visualize student’s content connections [Poster presentation]. CHHS Research Day, Fort Collins, United States.

How do I get involved with discussion-based ENA?

If you are interested in getting involved with discussion-based ENA, contact James Folkestad at james.folkestad@colostate.edu.