I am a learning scientist whose work explores technology-mediated social learning with a focus on public engagement with science and scientific data. Drawing on my background as a middle school teacher and a theatre designer, I create human-data interaction experiences that encourage learners in classrooms and free-choice settings to play with data through tangible, embodied, and social designs. I earned my Ph.D. in the Learning Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago, specializing in geospatial analysis and visualization. My designs of interactive learning technologies have been exhibited at venues including the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, the New York Hall of Science, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and the Georgia Aquarium.
I am currently an assistant professor in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech. I direct the Technology-Integrated Learning Environments (TILEs) Lab and lead interdisciplinary learning research efforts spanning topics from artificial intelligence to air pollution. I teach graduate and undergraduate students in the College of Computing in Educational Technologies and Learning Research Design. As area leader for the Cognitive and Learning Sciences group, I lead the Learning Sciences and Technologies seminar for PhD students and advise students in the CS and HCC PhD programs as well as the MS-CS and MS-HCI programs.
You can contact me at jessica.roberts AT cc {dot} gatech {dot} edu.
Work
Georgia Institute of Technology. Assistant Professor, School of Interactive Computing. 2019-present
Carnegie Mellon University. Postdoctoral Research Associate. Human-Computer Interaction Institute. 2017-2019
Northwestern University. Learning Sciences Researcher, TIDAL Lab. 2015-2017
Education
University of Illinois at Chicago, PhD in Learning Sciences
Specialization: Geospatial Analysis and Visualizations for Learning
Dissertation: Connecting Visitors to Data: Exploring Tools for Mediating Learning Talk at an Interactive Museum Exhibit
Committee: Leilah Lyons (chair), Susan Goldman, Tom Moher, Michael Horn, Robb Lindgren
Northwestern University, BS in Interdepartmental Studies in the School of Speech
Specialization: Theatre and film lighting design
Coursework: advanced lighting design, hand and computer-aided drafting, freehand drawing for stage design, film production, advanced lighting and cinematography
Select theatre credits: the Theatre and Interpretation Center’s All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (lighting designer, 2003), Arts Alliance Production’s Graffiti Dancers (lighting director, 2003; lighting designer, 2001-2002; assistant stage manager, 2000), The Dolphin Show’s Damn Yankees (lighting designer, 2002) and The Secret Garden (associate lighting designer, 2001), and Arts Alliance’s Garden Party Hello, Again (lighting designer, 2003).
Teaching experience
| 2022- | Learning Research Design (graduate) | Georgia Tech |
| 2020- | Educational Technology (undergraduate/graduate) | Georgia Tech |
| 2018 | Learning Media Methods (undergraduate, co-instructor) | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 2017 | Evaluating Institutions: Research and Evaluation Methods in Museums (graduate) | University of Illinois at Chicago |
| 2017 | Human-Computer Interaction (undergraduate/graduate) | North Central College, Naperville, Ill. |
| 2007-2009 | Paralegal and attorney training for domestic violence pro bono clinic (professional) | Latham & Watkins LLP |
| 2005-2009 | LSAT, GMAT, ACT Test preparation (high school and post-baccalaureate) | Kaplan Test Prep |
| 2003-2006 | Self-contained elementary school (4th, 7th, and 8th grades) | Chicago Public Schools |
