SVAD - School of Visual Arts & Design

Robb Lindgren is an assistant professor of Digital Media at the University of Central Florida. He received a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2009 in the Learning Sciences and Technology Design program. His dissertation was a series of studies on how the perspectives that designers give users in digital media technologies affect their ability to learn. He also received an MA in Psychology from Stanford in 2009.

Dr. Lindgren’s research interests are in how new media technologies can enhance human learning, particularly in STEM content areas (science, technology, engineering , and mathematics). His studies have utilized a number of different media technologies including digital video, virtual environments, interactive simulations, and multi-input interfaces. He is interested in whether these technologies can be used to convey "expert perspectives" - give learners the opportunity to experience important phenomena as if they were experts in the field. His research has so far found that some fairly simple manipulations, such as having people watch video recorded from a head-mounted camera, improves people's ability to identify with the learning content, and subsequently leads to higher performance outcomes.

Dr. Lindgren employs a number of methods to measure learning from media-based experiences, including having participants draw diagrams, administering paper-based assessments, and collecting physiological measures such as skin conductance level. By converging a multitude of indicators, his hope is to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the design characteristics that result in powerful learning technologies.

Select Publications

Lindgren, R. (in press, 2012). Generating a learning stance through perspective-taking in a virtual environment. Computers in Human Behavior.

Lindgren, R. & McDaniel, R. (in press, 2012). Transforming online learning through narrative and student agency. Educational Technology & Society.

Lindgren, R. , & Moshell, J. M. (2011). Supporting children’s learning with body-based metaphors in a mixed reality environment. Proceedings of the Interaction Design and Children Conference, 177-180.

Lindgren, R., & Schwartz, D. L., (2009). Spatial learning and computer simulations in science. International Journal of Science Education, 31(3), 419-438.

Schwartz, D. L., Lindgren, R., & Lewis, S. (2009). Constructivism in an age of non-constructivist assessments. In Tobias, S. & Duffy, T.M. (Eds.) Constructivist Theory Applied to Instruction: Success or Failure? New York: Taylor & Francis.

Pea, R., & Lindgren, R. (2008). Collaboration Design Patterns in Uses of a Video Platform for Research and Education. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies,1(4), 235-247.