About
Jason A. Chen is a Professor of Educational Psychology at the William & Mary School of Education. The questions that drive his research have to do with the variety of ways that emerging technologies can be used as a tool for motivation, engagement and learning. Rather than assuming that technology is inherently motivating for students (it's not!), Jason is interested in understanding how to design learning environments (especially digital ones) to direct people’s motivation toward difficult learning tasks. Prior to arriving at W&M in 2012, Jason was a high school chemistry and physics teacher in Seattle (2001-2003) and Atlanta (2004-2006), and did a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (2010-2012).
Associated IES Content
Basic Processes FY2024
FY2021
FY2020
FY2022
PurpleState 2.0: Investigating the Impact of a Virtual Internship on Argumentative Reading and Writing in Civic Education
FY2018
The College of William and Mary
Published works
Chen, J.A. (accepted). Virtual reality and educational psychology. In P. Schutz & K. Muis (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology. New York, NY: Routledge.
Chen, J. A., & Stoddard, J. D. (2020). A virtual internship to prepare high school students for civic and political action. Educational Technology Research and Development. doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09847-5
Chen, J. A., Tutwiler, M. S., & Jackson, J. F. L. (2020). Mixed-reality simulations to build capacity for advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the geosciences. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000190
Kier, M. W., Chen, J. A. (2019). Kindling the fire: Fueling preservice science teachers’ interest to teach in high-needs schools. Science Education, 103(4), 875-899.
Chen, J. A., Star, J. R., Dede, C., & Tutwiler, M. S. (2018). Technology-rich activities: One type does not motivate all. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 54, 153–170. doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2018.06.011
Chen, J. A., Tutwiler, M. S., Metcalf, S. J., Kamarainen, A. M., Grotzer, T. A., Dede, C. J. (2016). A multi-user virtual environment to support students’ self-efficacy and interest in science: A latent growth model analysis. Learning and Instruction, 41, 11-22. doi: 10.1016/j.learninstruc.2015.09.007
Chen, J. A., & Metcalf, S. J., Tutwiler, M. S. (2014). Motivation and beliefs about the nature of scientific knowledge within an immersive virtual ecosystems environment. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 39, 112-123.
Chen, J. A., & Pajares, F. (2010). Implicit theories of ability of Grade 6 science students: Relation to epistemological beliefs and academic motivation and achievement in science. Contemporary Educational Psychology,35, 75-87. [Recognized as Contemporary Educational Psychology’s 4th most highly cited article published since 2010].