Congratulations to Dr. Susanne Lajoie at McGill University and her research team for being awarded a Partnership Grant offered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for her application “Learning environments across disciplines” (LEADS).
Announced in May, LEADS will receive close to $2.5 million over seven years to advance the theoretical and practical understanding of technology-rich learning processes across a range of fields from medicine to psychology.
The goal of LEADS is to develop and test online learning environments for effectiveness, level of engagement and enjoyability. Students of all ages, from elementary school age to those in university, will be included in the study.
GRAND-NCE, one of the 12 original application partners, is committed to supporting the knowledge mobilization and training activities of the LEADS research team.
"The opportunity to work with LEADS and contribute to the study of digital media's unleashed potential in the learning arena is a natural fit for the GRAND network,” explains Dr. Kellogg S. Booth, Scientific Director, GRAND-NCE and LEADS application collaborator.
Ongoing study by GRAND researchers Drs. Cristina Conati, Lynn Hughes, Regan Mandryk and Bart Simon will offer valuable contributions to the LEADS group. These GRAND scholars have conducted extensive research in measuring affective and cognitive factors involved during game play; voice based, gestural and collaborative games; game design; and innovative ways to employ the motivational power of computer games to everyday activities.
"We look forward to working with the all-star team of GRAND experts as we explore the largely unchartered territory of learning in the digital age,” said Dr. Susanne Lajoie, Professor, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University and the Director of Leads. “GRAND’s network of digital media researchers is a resource that we expect to draw on throughout the project.”
Head quartered at McGill University, LEADS brings together expertise from more than 20 universities and centres around the world.
Read the official SSHRC Announcement.
Photo Credit: McGill University