Learning Institute

The Learning Institute at UNT is a research unit focused on exploring the many dimensions of learning sciences, with the goal of applying research findings to inform curricular and pedagogical practices. Serving as a catalyst for scholarly inquiry, creative problem-solving, and community building, the institute brings together faculty, staff, and students from across disciplines to develop a contextualized understanding of human learning, directly advancing student success and driving institutional innovation.

The Learning Institute

• Explores human learning by engaging faculty, staff, and students with broad expertise and disciplinary perspectives to identify and tackle important questions.
• Catalyzes research by pursuing new funding and scholarly opportunities that will be enhanced by the intellectual and resource power of a research institute.
• Builds on existing research strengths in learning science, instructional technology, teaching and learning in both formal and informal settings, while opening new avenues of research through interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Fosters partnerships between researchers and practitioners to enhance curricular and pedagogical design with a positive impact on student success.
• Supports the Teaching Hub and Curriculum Connector in the three-dimensional development of new strategies, policies, and practices that support student success.

The Learning Institute will engage faculty, staff, and students through a series of opportunities: informal gatherings, seminars featuring both external and internal experts, and the facilitation of research communities and projects.

Current Projects

We have a number of research topics that we are planning to pursue this year within small research communities:

• Design and study of learning environments 
• Gen AI and technology-supported learning
• Community-engaged research/research practice partnerships
• Systems and organizational learning 
• STEM and data science education  

Learning Institute Leadership & Partners

The Learning Institute is led by co-directors who bring a wealth of broad experience to their work: Dr. Carrie Allen, from Educational Psychology in the College of Education, and Dr. Yunjo An, from Learning Technologies in the College of Information.

They are joined by a Steering Committee composed of faculty and staff with relevant expertise to provide a breadth of perspective and to ensure involvement of different campus units. The steering committee members will help shape the development, direction, goals, and practices of the unit; prioritize projects and recruit participants; and oversee financial and human resources to ensure meaningful impact.

The Learning Institute is intended to be a unit that connects the broad learning science researchers at UNT. In particular, we anticipate working closely with:

• Division of Research and Innovation
• Toulouse Graduate School
• Community partners (ISD's, CC's, and community partners in the larger regional learning ecosystem
• The many, many academic colleges and departments where learning scientists live!

Interested in Learning More?

Please contact us at learning.institute@unt.edu.