ILSSA Committee

📢 Deadline extended to Feb 28, 2026!
Apply to the ISLS Affiliates Programme to support and grow Learning Sciences in underrepresented regions.
🔗 mailchi.mp/40b5450272c0...

ISLS 2026 Roommate Matching Spreadsheet

HOUSING UPDATE
Good news for ILSSA folks! 🎉 We now have an early-access room block at Embassy Suites for ISLS 2026 (can expand if demand is high). Booking: www.hilton.com/en/attend-my...
Roommate matching sheet: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Shoutout to Santiago Ojeda Ramirez & Seth Van Doren!

Important update re: lodging for #ISLS2026 at Irvine!

🚨TLDR🚨 If you are even "most likely / maybe" attending ISLS in Irvine, you should reserve a hotel room ASAP!

Nothing will be charged & reservations can be cancelled until June 🙌

See details at bit.ly/ILSSA

a black cat is playing with an apple laptop computer . ALT: a black cat is playing with an apple laptop computer .

Happy Friday! We’re LIVE writing our #ISLS26 submissions together in the ILSSA Discord (bit.ly/join-ILSSA) for the next 4 hours!

Not in the mood to talk? Thats okay! We have a pomodoro timer going, so feel free to jump in as you're able or just send good vibes in the chat from afar 🕊️

Getting reasonable accommodations for ISLS has never been easier! Don't let this deter you from submitting and presenting your work at #ISLS26 in Irvine!

Learn more here:

welcome back to scholarly scribbles. a virtual, co-writing space open to all of ILSSA in the weeks leading up to the ISLS submission deadline. Fridays september 19th, september 26th, and october 3rd at 7-9 UTC, 14-16 UTC, and 16-18 UTC until the October 5th ISLS paper deadline! Join via the ILSSA Discord in the scholarly-scribbles-meet voice channel.

TIME ZONE CONVERSIONS Scholarly Scribbles SESSION A SESSION B SESSION C UTC 7:00 - 9:00 14:00 - 16:00 16:00 - 18:00 PST/PDT 00:00 - 2:00 07:00 - 09:00 09:00 - 11:00 EST/EDT 03:00 - 05:00 10:00 - 12:00 12:00 - 14:00 BST 08:00 - 10:00 15:00 - 17:00 17:00 - 19:00 CET/CEST 09:00 - 11:00 16:00 - 18:00 18:00 - 20:00 GST 11:00 - 13:00 18:00 - 20:00 20:00 - 22:00 IST 12:30 - 14:30 19:30 - 21:30 21:30 - 23:30 SGT 15:00 - 17:00 22:00 - 00:00 00:00 - 02:00 JST 16:00 - 18:00 23:00 - 01:00 01:00 - 03:00 AEST/AEDT 17:00 - 19:00 00:00 - 02:00 02:00 - 04:00

🔥 The ISLS deadline is almost upon us! 🔥 🚒 Don't panic ~ ILSSA is here to help get you to the finish line 🫶

Scholarly Scribbles is a supportive virtual co-writing space as we count down to the ISLS submission deadline

Write with us over the next 3 Fridays in Discord! Join via bit.ly/join-ILSSA

Morgan Vickery (she/her) is a recent Learning Sciences PhD graduate and visiting research scientist at Indiana University. Her research expands on sociocritical theories of the body to design ‘body-inclusive’ embodied learning environments that are responsive to young adolescents’ experiences of disability, trauma, queerness, and body-image. She is passionate about advocating for ethical, consensual, and youth-centered approaches to multimodal learning and is dedicated to designing spaces that enable multi-marginalized youth at the interactional, technological, and activity level. This is Morgan’s second year as co-chair and hopes to expand ILSSAs capacity to meet its members ‘where they are’ and advocate for societal action on behalf of soon-to-be and recent graduates.

John Louis-Strakes Lopez is a postdoctoral scholar in Data Science Education at University of California, Berkeley. John employs design-based research to study learning within data-rich learning environments, including data science codebooks, digital assessments, and learning analytics dashboards. John loves teaching and mentoring others! He hopes to make ILSSA a more interconnected space where early academics can learn and grow together across disciplines, cultures, and ways of researching!

To close out our board intros, meet our ✨ Co-Chairs! ✨
🔁 @morganavickery.bsky.social (standing) & 🆕 John Louis-Strakes Lopez (incoming)
Ready to lead ILSSA in 2025–2026—stay tuned for what’s next!🎉👀

Breneil Malcolm (pronouns: they/them) is a gender fluid critical intersectional scholar and PhD candidate in Learning, Design, and Technology with Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Penn State University. They focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) among underrepresented groups in learning and higher education. More specifically, they research identity, human sexuality, intersectionality, and agency using critical, feminist, queer and trans*, and intersectional methodologies, with an emphasis on transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming (TNBGNC) people. Breneil has taught courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels and across the humanities, behavioral sciences, and social sciences, including learning strategy, professional communication, positive psychology, and psychopathology for five years. Breneil’s range of experiences positions them as a scholar with a unique perspective, integrating their intersectional lived experiences of power, privilege, and oppression to fuel their work in social justice.

Santiago Ojeda-Ramírez is a Ph.D. candidate in Education at the University of California, Irvine, where he explores critical AI literacy, speculative design, and computing education among Latinx youth. His research aims to theorize and implement design as an interdisciplinary practice that draws from both the arts and STEM—pushing the boundaries of what can be known, expressed, and imagined in educational settings. Santiago's work centers on how Latinx students use cultural practices to critique and reimagine artificial intelligence, positioning themselves as designers of socially just technologies. He holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and an M.A. in Digital Humanities from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. After completing his studies, he volunteered at the National Museum of Colombia, where he became interested in informal learning spaces and the possibilities they hold for knowledge exchange. He then worked as a science and computer science teacher, where he witnessed how students were often positioned as consumers of technology rather than creative agents. In California, Santiago has co-developed interdisciplinary STEAM curricula in partnership with Latinx students and educators, creating opportunities for youth to build AI-powered artifacts that reflect their identities, values, and aspirations. His work demonstrates how collaborative design processes rooted in community knowledge can support deep engagement with technological tools and their broader social implications. He aspires to become a professor who mentors the next generation of Latinx researchers and cultivates learning environments where technology serves as a medium for cultural expression and collective transformation.

Next up, give a warm welcome to our 🌎 Central/South America Regional Representatives! 🌎
🌟 Breneil Malcolm & 🌟 Santiago Ojeda-Ramirez @santiagojedar.bsky.social
We’re thrilled to have them representing ILSSA across the Americas!

Faustine is a 3rd year PhD student at CIREL, a Learning Sciences Lab in France. Her work is centered on Collaborative Problem Solving simulation, focusing on the optimal experience (Group Flow), by observation of group dynamics (audio, video, physiology). Her research is based on a design approach, creating optimal learning environments for collaborative skills, including collaborative chatbots and scripts, learning analytics, in simulation environments.

Hi! I am Rani Prasad, and I am delighted to serve as the Asia/Pacific Regional Representative for ILSSA’s 2025–2026 term. I am based at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (TIFR) in Mumbai, India, where my work focuses on elementary education and environmental sciences, and I am exploring the concept of embodied cognition.

Yoojin Bae is a Graduate Research Associate and a Ph.D. student at the Department of Learning Sciences in the College of Education and Human Development, Georgia State University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of Education and Computer Science. She focuses on exploring how artificial intelligence can be leveraged to create adaptive learning environments. Currently, she is working with multimodal large language models to analyze multimodal data in educational contexts.

🌟 Meet our new Regional Representatives! 🌟

🇪🇺 FAUSTINE WAWAK – EU/UK
🌏 RANI PRASAD – Asia-Pacific
🌊 YOOJIN BAE – Asia-Pacific
We’re thrilled to have them representing ILSSA across the globe and helping strengthen our international community! ✨

Ashita Bawankule is a PhD student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She graduated with her bachelor's degree in computer engineering from Purdue University and received her master’s in education from UIUC. She is an international student from India and loves to read and bake. Her research interests include maker education, informal STEAM education, computational identity and empowerment, and family engagement. She works as a research assistant for the NSF funded Connected Spaces project, where she works on developing empowerment and identity driven computing curriculum for maker camps with middle and high school students. She has worked as the graduate research assistant for the UIUC’s Grainger College of Engineering’s Outreach and Engagement department, where she conducted community engaged outreach and research.

Seth is a PhD student at UC Irvine where he designs learning experiences and tools using participatory design research methods that center the values, desires, and aspirations of the groups that will engage with them. For his dissertation, he is working to co-design analytics that illuminate how people participate in and learn during collaborative design activities. Seth received a B.A. in Chemistry and a minor in Science and Mathematics Education from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to UC Irvine he worked as a research assistant at the Concord Consortium and BSCS , conducting design-based implementation research and engaging in co-design with youth, informal science educators, science content experts, and researchers. Outside of research, Seth loves to ride and race bikes, go camping (usually somewhere where it's nice to ride bikes), and find new places to drink really good coffee (via bike).

🎉 Introducing our newly elected ILSSA Board for 2025–2026! 🎉

Meet our Membership & Outreach team 👇

🌱 ASHITA BAWANKULE – Membership/Outreach Chair
🤝 SETH VAN DOREN – Membership/Outreach

We’re so excited to have them on board connecting and growing our ILSSA community!✨

I am Blessed Mhungu, a Ph.D. student in Curriculum, Instruction, and Science of Learning at the University at Buffalo, with a Master of Education in Educational Technology from the University of Cape Town. As an incoming ILSSA board member for 2025-2026, I bring expertise in educational technology integration, instructional design innovation, and cross-cultural learning sciences research. My research centers on leveraging technology to transform teaching methodologies and create inclusive learning environments. I explore the design of digital platforms that enhance student engagement while promoting collaborative, student-centered pedagogies. My work bridges theoretical learning sciences with practical applications, particularly exploring how AI tools can be ethically integrated into educational contexts to empower learners rather than replace human-centered instruction. Having studied across African and North American educational systems, I possess unique insights into diverse learning contexts and challenges. I am committed to advancing equitable learning systems throughout Africa and the Middle East, where I aim to develop culturally responsive educational technologies that address regional needs while maintaining global standards. I am passionate about fostering ethical reasoning among educators and students, ensuring they develop critical thinking skills to navigate our increasingly digital landscape responsibly. Through ILSSA, I seek to amplify underrepresented voices in learning sciences, facilitate knowledge exchange between developed and developing educational contexts, and promote research that drives meaningful change in underserved communities. My goal is creating sustainable, technology-enhanced learning ecosystems that honor local cultures while preparing learners for global citizenship and professional success.

Yetunde Mabadeje-Oladapo is a third year PhD student in the Learning sciences and Educational Psychology program at the University of Iowa, USA. Her research focuses on science education in informal contexts, such as nature based learning programs and after school clubs as she explores how playful embodied learning opportunities promotes systems thinking and science reasoning in these spaces. She also conducts qualitative research on students’ experiences in learning spaces and offers recommendations for integrating these insights into effective learning designs. Beyond her primary research, Yetunde is a graduate research assistant at the center for teaching, University of Iowa where she plays a key role in supporting all of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) programming and actively contributes to SoTL research initiatives at the Center.When she’s not immersed in research or academic projects, she prioritizes rest, enjoys seasonal thriller movies, and quality time with her husband and/or friends.

Next up, let's give a warm welcome to our 🌍 Africa + Middle East Regional Representatives! 🌍

🏵️ YETUNDE MABADEJE-OLADAPO
& 🌀 BLESSED MHUNGU

Jinho Kim is a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in the Learning Sciences program at Georgia State University (GSU). She holds a B.A. in Education, a B.S.E. in Computer Science, and an M.A. in Education, which informs her current research interests. Her work focuses on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, particularly in supporting adult learners and providing formative feedback. As part of the NSF-funded AI Institute, AI-ALOE, she has contributed to projects aimed at enhancing concept learning in online environments. She is also collaborating with the GSU College of Nursing to investigate how AI-powered simulations can improve nursing education. These interdisciplinary experiences have strengthened her appreciation for research that bridges education, computer science, and healthcare. An active member of the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS), she has participated in multiple conferences and contributed to the community by serving as a virtual host for the pre-conference social and as a Hybrid Ambassador during the annual meeting. In addition to her involvement with ISLS, she currently serves as Secretary of the Learning Sciences - Graduate Student Association at GSU.

I am an artist, researcher, and educator whose work centers on the transformative potential of arts-based learning. As someone with dyslexia, I bring a deeply personal perspective to the ways we think about expression, sensing-making, and learning beyond traditional conventions. My academic and creative interests converge around the idea of process-driven art—art that values the process of creation as an experience of inquiry, reflection, and transformation, rather than solely focusing on the final product. Currently, I am a PhD student at the University of Washington's Learning Sciences & Human Development, College of Education, where I explore how the arts can be resources for learning. My research investigates the affordances of the arts, particularly in relation to learning, identity and social justice. My work seeks to expand how we think about knowledge, ability, and the possibilities of education through the arts.

Aman is an PhD student in the Digital Environments for Learning, Teaching, and Agency (DELTA) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is interested in how students think about the ways in which scientific knowledge is created and how science can be taught collaboratively. He is originally from Mumbai, India.

🥁 annnnddddd we're back! 🥁

It's that time of year to introduce your newly-elected ILSSA board members! First up -

📑 JINHO KIM as secretary
🪙 AMAN DESAI as treasurer &
☎️ YISHA ZHAO as communications chair

Welcome to the ILSSA team!!

📢 Shoutout to Mary DiCioccio for winning ISLS-Helsinki bingo!

Mary is a PhD Candidate at UBuffalo working on her dissertation on math + music integration at a summer jazz camp ~

Check out instagram.com/math.musician for her music and MaryDiCioccio.com to follow her academic work!

a poster that says friends do n't let friends not vote Alt: a poster that says friends don't let friends not vote

TODAY is the deadline to vote in ILSSA elections!

All students affiliated with @islsnews.bsky.social / @islsilssa.bsky.social are eligible to vote...so vote!

🗳️ Ballots can be accessed via your email (for ISLS members), the ILSSA Discord, or by emailing ilssacommittee@gmail.com 🗳️

a kermit the frog is holding a sign that says vote . ALT: a kermit the frog is holding a sign that says vote .

🗳️ ITS TIME TO VOTE for your 2025-26 ILSSA Board! 🗳️

All students affiliated with @islsnews.bsky.social /
@islsilssa.bsky.social are eligible to vote...so vote! 😎

Ballots can be accessed via your email, the Discord, or by emailing 📨 ilssacommittee@gmail.com

ILSSA Want to join the ILSSA Board?

⏰ FINAL CALL for nominations to join the 2025-2026 ILSSA Board! ⏰

Our members advocate for student interests, organize initiatives, and broaden participation of/for students.

Plus, collaborate with @islsnews.bsky.social members & list your service on your CV!

Visit bit.ly/ILSSA for details!

If you're in Helsinki, come by the Thirsty Scholar TONIGHT at 19:00! Free 🍕 + 🍺 available for purchase!

⚠️ Every drink sold means more money that can be given to waitlisted applicants of the ILSSA Annual Meeting Assistance Scholarship ⚠️

ILSSA Election Info 2025 Calling all Learning Sciences students, The International Learning Sciences Student Association (ILSSA) was created for students, by students, and we invite nominations for student members of ISLS to...

Corrected link to committee election information: drive.google.com/file/d/1yqFb...

If you're in Helsinki, come by the Thirsty Scholar TONIGHT at 19:00! Free 🍕+🍺 available for purchase! #isls2025 #isls25

⚠️ Every drink sold means more money that can be given to waitlisted applicants of the ILSSA Annual Meeting Assistance Scholarship! ⚠️

📣 We are officially looking for nominations to join the ILSSA Board! 📣

Interested in supporting a global network of LS junior scholars? Want to get a 'behind the scenes' peek into ISLS operations?

Full call/form for nominations (due June 24th): mailchi.mp/3cb58f5d38c9/i…

Share your Helsinki ISLS journey via #isls2025!

📣 We are officially looking for nominations to join the ILSSA Board! 📣

Interested in supporting a global network of LS junior scholars? Want to get a 'behind the scenes' peek into ISLS operations?

Full call/form for nominations (due June 24th): mailchi.mp/3cb58f5d38c9...

Come hang out at our ANNUAL ILSSA SOCIAL on Thursday, June 12th, 19:00-22:00 at 🍻 The Thirsty Scholar 🍻

🍕 Free pizza available & drinks available for purchase 🍕

Add us on Whova, join the Discord via bit.ly/ILSSA, and share with your travel buddies! See you soon!

ISLS Board Election ends June！

check your email for subject: *BALLOT: ISLS Board Member Election 2025* (from ISLS Executive Officer, steasley@umich.edu).

only currently registered members can vote -- if you are a member & did not recieve it, reach out to steasley@umich.edu!

In the Asia-Pacific region? Want to learn about the learning sciences community?

Register for our "Getting into the Learning Sciences: A Student Gathering Event in the Asia-Pacific Region"

🗓️ May 9th, 2025 at 7–9 PM (HKT)
🔥 Featuring Dr. Carol Kwai Kuen Chan

Sign-Up: forms.gle/1qHqS5wBjimm...

ILSSA Annual Meeting Assistance Scholarship_Call for Applications ILSSA Annual-Meeting Assistance Scholarships CALL FOR APPLICATIONS Dear ILSSA community, In light of the many challenges impacting students and recent graduates, ILSSA has decided to dedicate a pool...

@everyone

__🪩**CALL FOR APPLICATIONS TO ILSSA Annual-Meeting Assistance Scholarships***__
> Any *students, candidates, and recent graduates* are eligible to apply! ***Review of applications will begin on April 20th***

**Application form: **[Applications](forms.gle/KLqYGcNmSYYm...)

Call for Virtual Host & Hybrid Ambassadors Call for Virtual Host & Hybrid Ambassadors! - Helsinki 2025 Dear ISLS Community, As you might have already seen, this year we’re launching our Hybrid Ambassador program for the Annual Meeting. The In...

✨Call for Virtual Hosts & Hybrid 'Ambassadors'✨

This year, we are expecting more virtual participants than ever at ISLS, & we want to ensure that marginalization doesnt limit who can contribute ✊

Want to help us make it happen? Apply to be a VIRTUAL HOST / HYBRID AMBASSADOR!
@islsnews.bsky.social

Hey students & recent grads! 👋

Check out the ISLS Call for Equity Travel Assistance (financial aid)! 🗓️ Due April 20th

ILSSA Annual Meeting Assistance Scholarship_Call for Applications ILSSA Annual-Meeting Assistance Scholarships CALL FOR APPLICATIONS Dear ILSSA community, In light of the many challenges impacting students and recent graduates, ILSSA has decided to dedicate a pool...

🪩CALL FOR APPLICATIONS 🪩
ILSSA Annual-Meeting Assistance Scholarships

ILSSA is dedicating a pool of funding to support students, candidates, and recent graduates in attending this year's ISLS annual meeting!

See the full call & application here!
docs.google.com/document/d/1...