As a team of learning scientists, we have come to understand its definition through the lens of learner agency, as central to the work in the ALIVE Lab. Learning sciences merge psychology, education, computer science, and neuroscience to unravel the complexities of how people learn and the best ways to teach. In our research, we focus on learner agency, recognizing it as individuals’ ability to make and act upon choices that significantly impact their lives. This involves managing cognitive, affective, and behavioural processes in various learning environments. We explore the multidimensional aspects of agency – intentionality, forethought, self-regulation, and self-reflectiveness – as they are integral to understanding and enhancing the learning process. Our goal in the ALIVE Lab is to understand these interactions deeply to contribute to educational development and research.
NARRATE NARRATE: learNer Agency emeRgence thRough Algorithm liTEracy PROBLEM: Algorithmic systems shape every aspect of our daily lives and impact our perception of the world. Actions we perform online are governed by algorithms, from the news we see to the products we buy and interact with, often needing an awareness of exactly when and how […]
AGENCY AND LEARNING AGENCY AND LEARNING IN IMMERSIVE AND VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS (ALIVE) Current assessment approaches are inadequate at identifying how students develop critical and reflective thinking – competencies key to education and careers in the 21st century. Facilitating authentic problem solving and scientific inquiry through environments similar to video games has shown considerable promise in
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ALIVE INVESTIGATOR about Current assessment approaches are inadequate at identifying how students develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and sophisticated scientific reasoning – key 21st-century skills. Feedback is one of the most powerful means to increase student learning. Feedback from formative assessments, or assessment for learning, carried out during instruction can help teachers tailor instruction and aid
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ALGORIthM LITERACY ALGORITHM LITERACY IN TEACHER EDUCATION Internet algorithms are automated mathematical processes that use different types of data to make decisions and recommendations. Increasingly, algorithms shape nearly every aspect of our daily lives (Kitchin, 2017). For example, algorithms are used in medicine to predict the likelihood that individuals will develop certain diseases (Miotto et
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pandemic transformed pedagogy When the WHO Director-General declared SARS-CoV-19, commonly known as COVID-19, a pandemic (WHO, 2020), K-12 school systems worldwide responded with an almost immediate suspension of in-class instruction. In British Columbia, Canada, the Minister of Education directed all schools to immediately suspend in-class instruction (Fleming, 2020), forcing over 500,000 students and 44,000 teachers
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Assessment for Learning in Immersive Virtual Environments (ALIVE) Current assessment approaches are inadequate at identifying how students develop critical thinking, problem solving, and sophisticated scientific reasoning – key 21st century skills. Feedback is one of the most powerful means to increase student learning. Feedback from formative assessments, or assessment for learning, carried out during instruction
