Avery Harrison Closser
Assistant Professor
![Avery Harrison Closser](https://education.ufl.edu/faculty/files/2024/08/avery-closser.jpg)
Address
College of Education, Norman Hall 0501E
Website
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About
Avery Harrison Closser, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Emerging Technologies and Learning in the School of Teaching and Learning. Her research intersects educational technology, learning sciences, and cognitive psychology in pursuit of leveraging the inherently embodied nature of learning to improve instructional content in educational technologies. Dr. Closser specializes in experimental testing and is particularly interested in advancing practices that lead towards more open and rigorous research.
Affiliations
- School of Teaching and Learning
- Institute for Advanced Learning Technologies
Research Interests
Causal Inference, Cognition, Elementary Education, Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Design and Analysis, Mathematics Education, Methodological Research, Middle School / Jr. High, Psychological Studies, Quantitative Research, Research Design, Technology
Education
- Learning Sciences & Technologies, Ph.D. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
- M.S. Learning Sciences & Technologies, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- B.A. Honor in Psychology, University of Richmond (UR)
Professional Appointments
- 2024-Present Assistant Professor of Emerging Technologies and Learning, School of Teaching and Learning, University of Florida
- 2022-2024 Postdoctoral Research Associate Human Development and Family Science, Purdue University
Activities and Honors
- Open Education Research Fellowship (2023-2024)
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2019-2022)
Selected Grants
Now I See It: Supporting Flexible Problem Solving in Mathematics through Perceptual Scaffolding in ASSISTments
Role
- PI
Funding Agency
- Institute of Education Sciences
Project Period
- 2023-2025
Award Amount
- $400,000
Examining the Effects of Perceptual Cues on Middle School Students’ Online Mathematical Reasoning and Learning
Role
- Co-PI
Funding Agency
- National Science Foundation
Project Period
- 2023-2026
Award Amount
- $667,617
Selected Publications
Books / Book Chapters
- Chan, J. Y. C., Closser, A. H., Drzewiecki, K. C., Lee, J. E., Smith, H., & Ottmar, E. (2023). Grasping patterns of algebraic understanding: Dynamic technology facilitates learning, research, and teaching in mathematics education. In K. M. Robinson, D. Kotsopoulos, & A. Dubé (Eds), Mathematical Teaching and Learning: Perspectives on Mathematical Minds in the Elementary and Middle School Years.
Articles
- Closser, A. H., Botelho, A. F., & Chan, J. Y.-C. (2024). Exploring the impact of symbol spacing and problem sequencing on arithmetic performance: An educational data mining approach. Journal of Educational Data Mining, 16(1), 84-111. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11403249
- Closser, A. H., Sales, A., & Botelho, A. F. (2024). Should we account for classrooms? Analyzing online experimental data with student-level randomization. Educational Technology Research and Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-023-10325-x
- Chan, J. Y.-C., Nagashima, T., & Closser, A. H. (2023). Participatory design for cognitive science: Examples from the Learning Sciences and Human-Computer Interaction. Cognitive Science, 47(10), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.13365
- Closser, A. H., Chan, J. Y.-C., & Ottmar, E. R. (2023). Resisting the urge to calculate: The relation between inhibition skills and perceptual cues in arithmetic performance. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 76(12), 2690-2703. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218231156125
- Ngo, V., Perez, L., Closser, A. H., & Ottmar, E. (2023). The effects of operand position and superfluous brackets on student performance in math problem-solving. Journal of Numerical Cognition, 9(1), 107-128. https://doi.org/10.5964/jnc.9535
- Chan, J. Y.-C., Closser, A. H., Ngo, V., Smith, H., Liu, A., & Ottmar, E. (2023). Examining shifts in conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and mathematical flexibility in the context of two game-based technologies. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 39(4), 1274-1289. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12798
- Chan J. Y.-C., Ottmar, E. R., Smith, H., & Closser, A. H. (2022). Variables versus numbers: Effects of symbols and mathematical knowledge on students’ problem-solving strategies. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 71, 102114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2022.102114
- Closser, A. H., Erickson, J. A., Smith, H., Varatharaj, A., & Botelho, A. F. (2022). Blending Learning Analytics and Embodied Design to Model Students’ Comprehension of Measurement Using Their Actions, Speech, and Gestures. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction (IJCCI) Special Issue on Learning Analytics of Embodied Design: Enhancing Synergy, 32, 100391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2021.100391
- Arroyo, I., Closser, A. H., Castro, F., Smith, H., Ottmar, E., & Micciolo, M. (2022). The Wearable Learning Platform: A computational thinking tool supporting game design and active play. Technology, Knowledge, and Learning. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-022-09601-1
- Smith, H., Closser, A. H., Ottmar, E. R., & Chan, J. Y.-C. (2022). The impact of algebra worked example presentations on student learning. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 36(2), 363-377. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3925
- Smith, H., Closser, A. H., Ottmar, E. & Arroyo, I. (2020). Developing math knowledge and computational thinking through game play and design: A professional development program. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 20(4).
- Harrison, A., Smith, H., Hulse, T., & Ottmar, E. (2020). Spacing out!: Manipulating spatial features in mathematical expressions affects performance. Journal of Numerical Cognition, 6(2), 186-203. https://doi.org/10.5964/jnc.v6i2.243
- Hulse, T., Daigle, M., Manzo, D., Braith, L., Harrison, A., & Ottmar, E. (2019). From Here to There! Elementary: A game-based approach to developing number sense and early algebraic understanding. Educational Technology Research and Development, 67(2), 423-441. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-019-09653-8
Other Publications
- Schellinger, A., Zacamy, J., Roschelle, J., Closser, A., & Zepeda, C. D. (2024, April). Considerations for Conducting Research in Digital Learning Platforms. Digital Promise. https://doi.org/10.51388/20.500.12265/210
- Closser, A. H., Chan, J. Y.-C., Smith, H., & Ottmar, E. R. (2022). Perceptual learning in math: Implications for educational research, practice, and technology. Rapid Community Report Series. Digital Promise and the International Society of the Learning Sciences. https://repository.isls.org//handle/1/7668