Are you looking to make an impact in education using data?
The Master of Science in Educational Psychology – Learning Analytics program at UW–Madison is a fully online and skills-based degree designed for working professionals. Offered through the nation’s No. 1-ranked Department of Educational Psychology, the program is led by world-class faculty who give students the skills and tools to use data to help improve educational outcomes in a range of learning environments.
Participants also collaborate with students in their program cohort and build vital professional relationships.
Following is a Q&A with Karissa Ebert, who graduated from the Learning Analytics master’s program (LAMP) in 2024. Ebert previously earned a BS in rehabilitation psychology from UW–Madison.
How did you get interested in this field of learning analytics?
Ebert: I spent a lot of my undergrad working as a research assistant with the Learning, Cognition, and Development Lab, led by Dr. Haley Vlach at UW–Madison. I absolutely loved my time there and it was what first brought me into the world of educational psychology.
Fast forward, I graduated from UW with my bachelor’s degree in 2020 in rehabilitation psychology and ended up in a couple different early childhood education related roles. In 2021, I started working at MiRegistry, an organization that supports the professional growth of early childhood education (ECE) professionals in Michigan.
I had thought a lot about pursuing graduate study in the past, but wanted to find the right fit before committing to a course of study. When I got an email from (LAMP program director) Julia Rutledge, who I had as a professor in the class How People Learn, I thought, “I’m just going to check it out.”
After expressing my interest in the Learning Analytics program, opportunities within my organization began to open up. It became really clear to me how important data — and how we collect and communicate that data — is to the ECE world. The Learning Analytics program and the work I aspired to do at MiRegistry just felt like they would compliment each other perfectly, which is what ultimately made me want to apply to the program.
How did you decide that UW–Madison was the right place to pursue this degree?
Ebert: My undergraduate experience at UW–Madison was amazing, filled with opportunities that shaped my personal and professional development. Having earned my bachelor’s degree from the School of Education, I was familiar with how supportive the faculty within the School are and how thorough the curriculum itself is in each and every program.
UW–Madison has a reputation as a highly research-driven institution. It was great to see that the Learning Analytics program had a real-world focus, teaching skills that could be applied to the actual environments that those working in the education field are in every day.
These factors, and more, made me feel confident that this was the place where I would be set up for real-world success, and that UW would support my growth into a future leader.
What are you doing professionally today?
Ebert: Currently, I work as a data specialist for MiRegistry, collaborating with our director of information management to oversee the collection and communication of Michigan’s early childhood education workforce data. I also serve on the BJEDI and Data & Standards committees for the National Workforce Registry Alliance, which has deepened my understanding of how data relates to the growth of the field and how it can highlight existing challenges that the workforce faces.
What was your most meaningful experience with the Learning Analytics program?
Ebert: The program was full of really great, meaningful experiences. However, the one that I felt the most personal growth from was completing my capstone project.
My project focused primarily on family and home-based care providers in Michigan. I wanted to explore how we could better provide resources to support this population, utilizing email tickets, which provided a really rich source of qualitative data.
This project pulled together everything I had learned throughout the program — seriously, nothing was left unaccounted for! Completing each step of the process made me feel extremely confident in the skills that I had gained, and I could see them displayed in the final product. It felt like the culmination of a really positive journey, especially knowing that my work made an actual difference in a real-world community.
What class or professor had the greatest impact on you, and why?
Ebert: The Learning Analytics program is full of amazing faculty that genuinely want you to succeed as a student.
Dr. Maria Widmer was the professor that had the greatest impact on my overall experience. Maria was the instructor for the Visualizations and Communications course, and was on my Board of Directors for my capstone project. She was extremely positive and was the biggest cheerleader! At the same time, she was honest and provided meaningful suggestions for alternate paths forward when things weren’t working.
Working with data is not always straightforward, and it’s often not easy. Especially during my capstone, there were times where I doubted that I was making the right choices. Maria helped me stay confident in my abilities, and was just a really great guide for what it looks like to be a real leader in this field.
How, if at all, has the Learning Analytics program at UW–Madison helped you get to where you are today?
Ebert: I genuinely feel like UW–Madison, and the Learning Analytics program, has been a driving force of getting to where I am today.
It was kind of a “butterfly effect” kind of situation. I decided on a whim to take EdPsych 300 as an undergraduate student, which led me to learning about the Learning, Cognition, and Development Lab — eventually resulting in me being right back in the Department of Educational Psychology for my graduate degree. The connections and foundation I built early in my college years with the Department of Educational Psychology have supported me far beyond what I could have ever imagined.
Specifically, the Learning Analytics program helped me get to where I am today by providing me skills and allowing me to apply them in real-world situations. While completing the program, I was learning something new every day, and then applying it to my job immediately. This resulted in a really constant cycle of growth that I don’t think I could have gotten in another program.
What are your future goals or plans?
Ebert: Right now, I hope to learn as much as I can from leaders in the early childhood education field regarding best practices in working with data, while also continuing to engage in initiatives that center on equity. I’ve learned that there is a lot of potential for growth when it comes to more equitable data collection, and that oftentimes qualitative sources are untapped — or aren’t widely shared. Tapping into these qualitative sources, like quotes and stories, adds a powerful and human-centered element that I believe can be hugely impactful in communication with stakeholders and policymakers.