What excites me about our field is the potential to bridge research and practice: to design learning environments that honor students’ full linguistic and semiotic repertoires, and to support teachers in implementing these innovations in real classrooms.
Assistant Professor
I enjoy creating instructional materials and interacting with students. I’m passionate about teaching in Learning, Design, and Technology because I enjoy creating learning experiences that adapt to students’ needs and help them take ownership of their learning.
What excites me about our field is the potential to bridge research and practice: to design learning environments that honor students’ full linguistic and semiotic repertoires, and to support teachers in implementing these innovations in real classrooms. It’s about creating educational spaces where all learners can thrive and see themselves as capable contributors to scientific communities. Thus, my research also focuses on the innovative and equitable technology integration in K-12 education, including the use of AI, VR, and game-based learning.
I believe in modeling the practices I teach. Whether I’m guiding pre-service teachers or mentoring doctoral students, I strive to create spaces where learners feel empowered to take intellectual risks, reflect deeply, and co-construct knowledge. My courses often include design-based projects, critical inquiry, and community-engaged learning, all of which reflect my commitment to preparing educators who are not only technologically fluent but also pedagogically intentional and equity-minded
In my classes, I hope students gain more than just content knowledge—I want them to develop the confidence, agency, and critical awareness to become thoughtful designers of learning environments and advocates for equity in education. My goal is to create a space where students feel empowered to take intellectual risks, explore complex ideas, and engage deeply with the sociocultural dimensions of learning and technology.
Dr. Ai-Chu Elisha Ding teaches graduate courses for the Learning Design and Technology program. Her research examines the innovative and equitable technology integration and professional development in K-12 education. Specifically, she has focused on supporting multilingual learners (MLs) and struggling learners in STEM education through innovative technologies and pedagogies such as virtual reality (VR), game-based learning (GBL), and artificial intelligence (AI). She is specifically interested in looking into the multimodal and translanguaging affordances of emerging technologies for supporting MLs. She has also worked closely with both pre-service and in-service teachers on their professional development and technology integration. Her past grant project sponsored by the Indiana Department of Education provide support to middle school STEAM teachers on designing and incorporating GBL along with using VR and block programming to enhance student collaboration and multimodal meaning making. She is currently the chair of the Technology as Agent of Change for Teaching and Learning (TACTL) SIG for the American Educational Research Association (AERA).
Learn more about Dr. Ai-Chu Elisha Ding.