Andrew Chiarella, PhD, MA, BA

My research interests focus on the empirical study of learning and instruction and technology-enhanced learning. This often involves how students can use and be taught learning strategies that improve their understanding and ways in which technology can be used to support that. Ideas from distributed and extended cognition influence how technology can be used in this way. As well, I have an interest in authentic learning and how technologies may be used to create that authentic context (e.g., simulations or mock experiences) or support students as they learn while completing authentic problems. I am also interested in how complexity can be used to understand collective behaviour and collaborative learning, especially larger groups interacting indirectly. This typically involves thinking about interacting groups of individuals as complex adaptive systems that self-organize and how they can be modelled using agent-based models and different network topologies (e.g., small world versus completely linked).

I received a doctorate in educational psychology from McGill University in 2009. Before completing graduate work in educational psychology, I completed an undergraduate degree in psychology, also at McGill. While completing my doctorate, I taught the undergraduate course in educational psychology and a graduate course in introductory statistical analysis several times at McGill. At Athabasca University, I design and coordinate courses in psychology and educational psychology and teach Learning and Instruction (EDPY310/ PSYC310) and Learning with Technology (EDPY480). Along with educational psychology (EDPY200), which I coordinate, these are core courses in the BSc minor in Learning Technology. My research interests focus on the empirical study of learning and instruction and technology-enhanced learning. This often involves how students can use and be taught learning strategies that improve their understanding and ways in which technology can be used to support that. As well, I also consider how technologies may be used to create authentic learning contexts or may support students as they learn and solve authentic problems. I am also interested in how complexity theory can be used to understand collective behaviour/intelligence and collaborative learning, as when very large groups interact indirectly. This typically involves thinking about these as complex adaptive systems that self-organize.