The Department of Curriculum and Instruction and Faculty of Education and Human Development welcomed Dr Jason CHEN, Gerdelman Family Term Distinguished Associate Professor from the College of William & Mary’s School of Education in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, as the visiting professor in November 19-23, 2018. He conducted two seminars which centered on his expertise in applications of virtual environments. In his seminar entitled ‘Educational Technologies: Motivational Affordances and Constraints’, he discussed how a virtual learning environment could enhance students’ motivation for scientific inquiry. His study found that although the novelty of technology was effective in generating student engagement, it was the collaborative nature of the virtual learning environment that sustained students’ engagement and interest in learning. His seminar entitled ‘Doing Good in Education’, discussed other applications of virtual environments, such as exploring how implicit attitudes influence decisions that may have moral or ethical consequences. One project focused on the use of a virtual mixed-reality simulation, where geoscience professors could recognize implicit prejudicial attitudes that affect the faculty hiring process. His seminar also discussed other applications of the social- cognitive theory in educational contexts by exploring moral disengagement among K-12 teachers.
During his visit, Dr Chen also gave valuable input to the ongoing research projects of colleagues from the Positive Psychology in Education Area of Strength members and research staff members from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
Commentaires