The next MRER lecture is entitled 'Learning at the Intersection of Cognition, Motivation, and Technology: Present Findings, Principles for Practice, and Future Trends'
The lecture will be held on Thursday 22 March at 17:00 in the Open Access Area, Room 224, Faculty of Education, Old Humanities, University of Malta Msida Campus.
Chair: Prof. Carmel Borg, Editor, Malta Review of Educational Research (MRER)
Abstract
One of the great promises of educational technology is that it offers new ways to leverage research findings from cognitive, brain, and learning sciences. Attention, memory, and thinking skills all play pivotal roles in learning, and the research literature offers a rich set of ideas for how to take advantage of these mechanisms in teaching with technology.
But, there is a complication: These cognitively-optimized approaches often require more effort from students, not less, and students lacking self-regulation skills will miss out on the benefits technology can bring. In this talk, Dr. Michelle Miller will present and lead discussion about teaching approaches that combine technology and learning science in powerful ways. She will also discuss several of her research efforts that are currently underway, including online resources developed at her university for promoting student meta-cognitive awareness, and a new project on educational applications of immersive virtual reality.
But, there is a complication: These cognitively-optimized approaches often require more effort from students, not less, and students lacking self-regulation skills will miss out on the benefits technology can bring. In this talk, Dr. Michelle Miller will present and lead discussion about teaching approaches that combine technology and learning science in powerful ways. She will also discuss several of her research efforts that are currently underway, including online resources developed at her university for promoting student meta-cognitive awareness, and a new project on educational applications of immersive virtual reality.
Bio-note
Michelle D. Miller is Director of the First Year Learning Initiative, Professor of Psychological Sciences, and President’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow at Northern Arizona University. Dr. Miller’s academic background is in cognitive psychology; her research interests include memory, attention, and student success in the early college career. She co-created the First Year Learning Initiative at Northern Arizona University and is active in course redesign, serving as a Redesign Scholar for the National Center for Academic Transformation. She has written about evidence-based pedagogy in scholarly as well as general-interest publications including College Teaching, Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, and The Conversation. Dr. Miller’s current work focuses on using psychological principles to help create more effective and engaging learning experiences.