Date: 3^rd December, 2019

Time: 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.

Venue: Room1002, Administration Building, Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University.

【Speaker Introduction】：Ding Dan is a PhD in Information Systems and Analysis at the National University of Singapore, and a researcher at the Institute for Application of Learning Science and Educational Technology (ALSET). She has been serving as a reviewer for Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Information & Management and some other magazines, and she has given presentations at several international conferences on information systems and economic management.

【Lecture Abstract】：Social networks play a critical role in determining educational outcomes. However, it has been difficult to fully characterize and estimate peer influence largely due to the empirical challenges in using observational data. In this paper, we develop a three-stage co-evolution framework to characterize the multiplexity of two interrelated networks, and assess the prevalence and extent of peer influence in academic outcomes among a cohort of college students. Specifically, we leverage a Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC)-based method to jointly model peer influence and individual network formation. Using a granular and de-identified student-level dataset spanning four years, we characterize the dependency between course enrolment, in-course social interactions, and academic performance. Our results emphasize the presence of a significant and positive effect of peer influence on academic performance. Results from this study shed light on how course enrolments and in-course relations evolve over the duration of a university program, and how students’ performances are subsequently affected by their own decisions as well as peers’ behaviors. Our findings offer important implications for researchers and managers.