NeurAL Research

We study learning and teaching in complex and interactive technology-enhanced learning environments, which integrate technology to organize learning activities into meaningful and relevant contexts. Cognitive and socio-cultural theories of learning and the design-based research paradigm inform much of our scholarship.

One contribution of our research is the conceptual, methodological, and empirical foundation for the use of neuroscience methods and tools in the study of learning. We were one of the first educational researchers to use Electroencephalography (EEG) to assess cognitive dynamics in an authentic learning task involving hypertext. As evidenced by the recent emphasis on the study of the brain (e.g., President Obama’s BRAIN initiative), neuroimaging methods like EEG have great potential for advancing our understanding of cognition and learning. To realize this potential, however, much work needs to be done to translate the frameworks, methods, and findings from cognitive neuroscience into useful and usable implications for research in education.