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 a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 United State ...

) is professor of

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and

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

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, 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 leve ...

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, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

(2000) at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, and his Ph.D. (2005) in

Human–Computer Interaction Human–computer interaction (HCI) is the process through which people operate and engage with computer systems. Research in HCI covers the design and the use of computer technology, which focuses on the interfaces between people (users) and comp ...

from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

's School of Computer Science. His doctoral advisers were Kenneth Koedinger 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, 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 affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

from 2013 to 2016; and an affiliate assistant professor at

Worcester Polytechnic Institute The Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a Private university, private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1865, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities and now h ...

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

from 2012-2013. Baker is associate editor of Computer-Based Learning in Context and associate Editor of the Journal of Educational Data Mining. 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 leve ...

Society. 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 an American global massive open online course provider. It was founded in 2012 by Stanford University computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. Coursera works with universities and other organizations to offe ...

and

edX edX is an American For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit massive open online course provider. It was founded by MIT and Harvard. It is a subsidiary of 2U (company), 2U. History edX was founded in May 2012 by the admi ...

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

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.

Collaborations

Baker has co-authored peer-reviewed scientific papers with over 500 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 driver, automotive designer, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . McLaren was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Champ ...

, Arthur C. Graesser,

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 theor ...

, and Dragan Gasevic leading to him being listed as one of the most collaborative scientists in his field. Baker has over 500 papers, with over 30,000 citations and an h-index over 60.

References

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