Ryan S. Baker (born 1977 in

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is in the Chicago metro area, west of the city. Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper. The city was ...

) is professor of

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

and

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, and also directs the Penn Center for Learning Analytics. He is known for his role in establishing the

educational data mining Educational data mining (EDM) is a research field concerned with the application of data mining, machine learning and statistics to information generated from educational settings (e.g., universities and intelligent tutoring systems). At a high lev ...

scientific community, for the Baker Rodrigo Ocumpaugh Monitoring Protocol (BROMP), and for establishing the first automated detector of student disengagement. He was awarded the Educational Research Award for 2018 by the Council of Scientific Society Presidents.

Early life and education

After graduating from the

Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science The Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) is a two-year residential early entrance college program serving approximately 375 high school juniors and seniors at the University of North Texas. Students are admitted from every region of ...

, Baker received a Sc.B. in

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

(2000) at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, and his Ph.D. (2005) in Human-Computer Interaction from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

's School of Computer Science. His doctoral advisers were

Kenneth Koedinger Kenneth R. Koedinger (born 1962 in Wisconsin) is a professor of human–computer interaction and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. He is the founding and current director of the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center. He is widely known f ...

and Albert T. Corbett.

Career

Baker is tenured Professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. His primary appointment is in the Teaching, Learning, and Leadership Division. He also affiliated with the Department of Computer and Information Science. Prior to joining Penn GSE, Dr. Baker was an associate professor in the Department of Human Development at

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

from 2013 to 2016; and an affiliate assistant professor at

Worcester Polytechnic Institute '' , mottoeng = "Theory and Practice" , established = , former_name = Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science (1865-1886) , type = Private research university , endowme ...

from 2013-2017. He also served as the Julius and Rosa Sachs Distinguished Lecturer at

from 2012-2013. In addition, Dr. Baker is an editor of Computer-Based Learning in Context, associate Editor of the Journal of Educational Data Mining and the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Education. He also is the co-Lead of the Big Data for Education Spoke of the NSF Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub.

Role in Development of Educational Data Mining Field

Baker was Founding President of the International

Educational Data Mining Educational data mining (EDM) is a research field concerned with the application of data mining, machine learning and statistics to information generated from educational settings (e.g., universities and intelligent tutoring systems). At a high lev ...

Society, and was one of the first (and current) Associate Editors of the Journal of Educational Data Mining. He served as founding Director of the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center DataShop, at one time the world's largest public repository for educational interaction data. Baker taught the MOOC Big Data and Education multiple times, on both the

Coursera Coursera Inc. () is a U.S.-based massive open online course provider founded in 2012 by Stanford University computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. Coursera works with universities and other organizations to offer online courses, ...

and edX platforms. He also founded the world's first Masters program in

Learning analytics Learning analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs. The growth of online learning since ...

Research on Automated Detectors

Baker developed automated detectors that make inferences in real-time about students' affect and motivational and meta-cognitive behaviors, including the first automated detector of student disengagement, and work to link these constructs to long-term student achievement. These automated detectors have been embedded into several online learning systems used at scale in the United States, including ASSISTments. Baker's research to develop automated detectors of engagement also led to the development of Baker Rodrigo Ocumpaugh Monitoring Protocol (BROMP), a protocol for classroom observation that has been used to study student engagement in a range of settings, including research on traditional classroom practices and informal field education.

Tools for EDM Research

* MOOC Replication Framework (MORF) * HART (Human Affect Recording Tool) * Bayesian Knowledge Tracing Brute Force model fitting code * Gaming Detector and Off-Task Behavior Detector * Models of Guessing and Slipping ) * A'/AUC Code: GUI and code for computing A'/AUC that does not fail for cases where multiple data points have same confidence * BrightBytes Early Warning System

Collaborations

Baker has co-authored peer-reviewed scientific papers with over 300 other scientists, including

Neil Heffernan Neil T. Heffernan (born June 1970 in Worcester, Massachusetts) is a professor of computer science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He is known for his role in the development of the ASSISTments online learning tool and app, which assists st ...

, Vincent Aleven,

Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing car designer, driver, engineer, and inventor. His name lives on in the McLaren team which has been one of the most successful in Formula One championship history, ...

Arthur C. Graesser Arthur C. Graesser (born 1950) is a professor of psychology and intelligent systems at the University of Memphis and is an honorary research fellow in education at the University of Oxford. He has served as the editor of the Journal of Education ...

George Siemens George Siemens is a Canadian expatriate professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Arlington and professor and director of the Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning at the University of South Australia. He is known for his theory ...

, and

Dragan Gasevic Dragan Gašević is Professor of Learning Analytics at Monash University. He is a researcher in learning analytics and co-developed several software systems such as P3, rBPMN Editor, LOCO-Analyst, OnTask, OVAL, and ProSolo. He is recognized as Aus ...

leading to him being listed as one of the most collaborative scientists in his field. As of this writing, Baker has around 300 papers, with over 20,000 citations and an h-index over 60.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Ryan S. 1977 births Living people Carnegie Mellon University alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty