Research Spotlight: Avery Closser
Q & A with Avery Closser, Ph. D., Assistant Professor in the School Teaching and Learning
What research are you currently working on?
I am currently leading an IES-funded project to examine whether and how subtle aesthetic changes to math problems (e.g., font colors, symbol spacing, symbol arrangement) can scaffold learning for elementary students in online activities. Our project team is designing two online experiments in an online tutoring system to examine the effects of perceptual scaffolding—subtle aesthetic features that highlight key information in math problems—on students’ performance and learning in online activities.
What is the broader impact of your research?
The aim of this area of research is to identify how we can leverage our natural resources (e.g., visual perceptual processes) to create adaptable, low-cost supports for learning in online settings. As humans, we look for patterns and groups, rather than individual objects, in everything we see. For example, we see the letter “X” instead of four intersecting lines. We look for these patterns to interpret information efficiently and make quick decisions. Over time, we get better at noticing the perceptual cues that give us important information. My goal is to understand how we can leverage this tendency to support learning and inform the design of content in educational technology. The beauty of this work is that if we can figure out when and how perceptual cues can support learning, we can develop recommendations for educational technology developers that are system agnostic, making this approach low-cost and potentially wide-reaching.
What other research topics are you interested in?
So far, I have centered this research in the context of K-12 mathematics. Looking ahead, I am excited to consider how perceptual cues can be leveraged in instruction and educational technologies for other STEM subjects. More broadly, I am interested in embodied learning and exploring opportunities for educational technologies to facilitate meaningful interactions between students and their learning environment.
