Call for Abstracts for the 2026 Special Issue: Learning Analytics in Higher Education: Actionable Insights for Teaching Practice

The Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology (JoTLT) is seeking proposals for abstracts for a special issue focused on Learning Analytics in Higher Education: Actionable Insights for Teaching Practice.

This special issue seeks contributions that move learning analytics beyond prediction and description toward meaningful pedagogical action. We are particularly interested in work that demonstrates how learning analytics can inform teaching practice, instructional decision-making, course and program design, and institutional support for learning.

To this end, we invite perspectives that reflect different faculty roles and priorities, including:

• Classroom-focused perspectives that emphasize instructional decision-making and day-to-day teaching practice
• Program-focused perspectives that examine curriculum design, coherence, assessment, and program-level improvement
• Research-focused perspectives grounded in experimental design, learning sciences, or related methodological approaches.

Submissions may focus on one perspective or integrate multiple perspectives, provided they clearly articulate how learning analytics inform pedagogical action.

Submission Guidelines

JoTLT invites 300–500-word abstracts submitted via this form by March 1, 2026 for data-driven articles, case studies, reflective essays, or critiques. Abstracts will be anonymously reviewed, and invitations to submit a full manuscript will be sent the week of March 16, 2026. Full manuscripts will be due June 1, 2026, followed by anonymous peer review. The target publication date for this special issue is December 2026.

Manuscript Categories

Please indicate the category of your submission when submitting your abstract. Submissions may not exceed 7,500 words, excluding references.

• Articles
  Data-driven formal research projects with appropriate analysis. These studies, either quantitative or qualitative, should demonstrate research rigor and contribute significant new understanding related to learning analytics and pedagogy.
• Case Studies
  In-depth analyses of specific teaching situations or challenges where learning analytics were used to inform practice. Case studies should be grounded in the literature and include a description of the context or problem, analytics-informed interventions, evidence of effectiveness (quantitative or qualitative), reflection on implications, and potential generalization to other settings.
• Reflective Essays
  Scholarly, practice-oriented reflections that examine what learning analytics are, how they can be used in teaching and learning contexts, and what instructors, designers, or institutions need to consider when adopting analytics-informed approaches. These must be well-grounded in the literature.
• Critiques
  Critiques should deconstruct the selected work through systematic, detailed assessments of published work related to learning analytics in higher education and be well-grounded in the literature.  The critique should provide analysis of the works' contributions, assumptions, and implications for teaching and learning. The title of the manuscript should clearly indicate that the manuscript is a critique.

For questions or additional information, please contact the JoTLT Editorial Team: Carrie Hansel (Guest Editor), Kathryn Berlin (Co-editor in Chief,) or Michael Morrone (Co-Editor in Chief) at facet@iu.edu.

Submit now!