
Doctor of Philosphy (University of Sydney)
I am the leader of the Digital Learning for Change Research Group in the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice. I am also the Research Engagement Leader for VISER in the Research Infrastructure portfolio. I give priority to researching the processes of learning and teaching, particularly with technology. Technology can play a central role in learning and teaching in all subjects, but particularly those in which the complexity of the learning materials could benefit from the use of tools (such as immersive technologies, simulation models, virtual worlds, mobile devices, eBooks, physical and online learning environments) that enable students to understand, create or investigate a particular topic and that support teachers in their pedagogical practice. Digital pedagogies, understanding complex socio-environmental systems, collaborative learning, the learning sciences more generally, and the development of innovative methods to inform design for learning in complex learning environments are important themes of my research. I take a systems view of learning, and consider the activity of both learners and instructors to be as important as the learning outcomes themselves. My main contribution in this area has been the development of methodological tools to generate actionable knowledge for teachers, learners and the designers of learning. Over the last ten years, I have co-developed a method of scaffolding teachers to include learning analytics in their teaching as well as identifying indicators of successful collaboration and progress towards the completion of a task that can be used to provide feedback to learners, instructors, designers and researchers. I also do research about how scientists learn to do interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, the design and use of physical and digital learning environments, entrepreneurship education, makerspaces, and environmental education.Projects (Chief investigator)
- Digital SERF
- Impact of eBooks: exploring student health, learning and implications for policy and practice
Additional information
- Thompson, K., Chapman, S. & Kanasa, H. (2020). Tools to mediate learning and self-assessment in a STEAM unit of work. In K. Thomas & D. Huffman (Eds.), Challenges and Opportunities for Transforming from STEM to STEAM Education (pp. 24–50). IGI Global. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/203357
- Knight, S. & Thompson, K. (2022). Developing a text-integration task for investigating and teaching interdisciplinarity in science teams. Research in Science Education, 52(1), 191–203. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202288
- Gosselin, D., Thompson, K., Pennington, D. & Vincent, S. (2020). Learning to be an interdisciplinary researcher: incorporating training about dispositional and epistemological differences into graduate student environmental science teams. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 10(3), 310–326. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/201308
- Howard, S., Thompson, K., Yang, J. & Ma, J. (2019). Working the system: Development of a system model of technology integration to inform learning task design. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(1), 326–341. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202671
- Flynn, P., Thompson, K. & Goodyear, P. (2018). Designing, using and evaluating learning spaces: The generation of actionable knowledge. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 34(6). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/203410
- Muñoz-Cristóbal, J., Hernández-Leo, D., Carvalho, L., Martinez-Maldonado, R., Thompson, K., Wardak, D. & Goodyear, P. (2018). 4FAD: A framework for mapping the evolution of artefacts in the learning design process. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 34(2), 16–34. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202499
- Lodge, J., Thompson, K., Horvath, J., De Barba, P. & Blumenstein, M. (2018). Learning analytics in the classroom. ASCILITE 2018 Conference Proceedings: Open Oceans: Learning Without Borders - 35th International Conference of Innovation, Practice and Research in the use of Educational Technologies in Tertiary Education, 559–561. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/203406
- Martinez-Maldonado, R., Goodyear, P., Carvalho, L., Thompson, K., Hernandez-Leo, D., Dimitriadis, Y., Prieto, L. & Wardak, D. (2017). Supporting collaborative design activity in a multi-user digital design ecology. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, 327–342. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202492
- Alhadad, S. & Thompson, K. (2017). Understanding the mediating role of teacher inquiry when connecting learning analytics with design for learning. Interaction Design and Architecture(s), 33, 54–74. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202493
- Pennington, D., Bammer, G., Danielson, A., Gosselin, D., Gouvea, J., Habron, G., Hawthorne, D., Parnell, R., Thompson, K., Vincent, S. & Wei, C. (2016). The EMBeRS project: Employing model-based reasoning in socio-environmental synthesis. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 6(2), 278–286. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202485
- Contingency Planning for Educational Continuity: Perspectives from the COVID-19 Experience
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Andy Yeh - EMERGENCY REMOTE LEARNING (ERL) IN AUSTRALIAN HIGHER EDUCATION: THE EXPERIENCE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS FROM MALAY-SPEAKING COUNTRIES
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Naomi Barnes - Using Professional Learning Communities to Enhance Mid-Career Teacher Digital Competence
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Michelle Mukherjee