This paper proposes a special session on the use of computational methods for analyzing educational data. Computation has permeated all disciplines because it provides unique opportunities to represent knowledge and understand complex phenomena. In education, disciplines such as learning analytics and educational data mining have emerged to better understand educational phenomena. This special session will discuss three different approaches to use computational methods to analyze qualitative educational data. After the discussion, the participants will be able to implement these methods using R programming, while reflecting on how they can use these methods in their own context.