Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles:
Acosta, A. & Slotta, J.D. (2018). CKBiology: An active learning curriculum design for secondary biology. Frontiers in Education, 3, 1-19. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2018.00052.
Book Chapters:
Acosta, A., & Slotta, J.D. (2019). CKBiology: An active learning curriculum design for secondary biology. In Cassidy, R., Charles, E. S., Slotta, J. D., and Lasry, N. (Eds). Active Learning: Theoretical Perspectives, Empirical Studies and Design Profiles. Lausanne: Frontiers Media. doi: 10.3389/978-2-88945-885-1
Simon, R., Acosta, A., & Houtman, E. (2013). “Memeration”: Exploring academic authorship in online spaces. In R. Ferdig, & K. Pytash (Eds.), Exploring Multimodal Composition and Digital Writing (pp. 54-68). Hershey, PA: doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-4345-1.ch004 Download PDF
Theses:
Acosta, A. (2018). Scripting and orchestration of a Knowledge Community and Inquiry curriculum for secondary biology. Doctoral dissertation. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. Download PDF
Acosta, A. (2013). The role of epistemic cognition in complex collaborative inquiry curricula. MA Thesis. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto. Download PDF
Peer-reviewed Proceedings:
Acosta, A. and Slotta, J.D. (2018, August). Scripted idea improvement in a learning community curriculum for grade 12 biology. Proceedings of the 2018 Knowledge Building Summer Institute. August 14-17. Toronto, ON: Institute for Knowledge Innovation and Technology. Download PDF
Acosta, A. and Slotta, J.D. (2018). Representations of progress in a learning community curriculum for grade 12 biology. Proceedings of the 13th International Conference of the Learning Sciences – Volume 1 (pp. 432-439). June 23-27. London: International Society of the Learning Sciences, Inc. Download PDF
Acosta, A., and Slotta, J.D. (2018). Orchestration supports for knowledge integration in a blended learning community curriculum for grade 12 biology. In M.C. Linn and B.S. Eylon (Chairs), Knowledge Integration in the Digital Age: Trajectories, Opportunities and Future Directions. Proceedings of the 13th International Conference of the Learning Sciences – Volume 2 (pp. 1262-1263). June 23-27. London: International Society of the Learning Sciences, Inc. Download PDF
Slotta, J.D. and Acosta, A. (2017). Scripting and orchestrating learning communities: A role for learning analytics. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning – Volume 1 (p. 343-350). June 20-22. Philadelphia PA, USA. International Society of the Learning Sciences, Inc. Download PDF
Hod, Y., Charles, E.S., Acosta, A., Ben-Zvi, D., Chen, M-H., Choi, K., … Kapur, M. (2016, June). Future learning spaces for learning communities: New directions and conceptual frameworks. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference of the Learning Sciences – Volume 2 (p. 1063-1070). June 20-24. Singapore. International Society of the Learning Sciences, Inc. Download PDF
Cober, R., Acosta, A., Lui, M., Moher, T., Kuhn, A., Quintana, C., & Slotta, J.D. (2015, June). The use of visual evidence for planning and argumentation. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning – Volume 2 (p. 548-551). June 7-11. Gothenburg, Sweden. International Society of the Learning Sciences, Inc. Download PDF
Moher, T., Slotta, J.D., Acosta, A., Cober, R., Dasgupta, C., Fong, C., Gnoli, A., Silva, A., Lopez Silva, B., Perritano, A., & Peppler K. (2015, June). Knowledge construction in the instrumented classroom: Supporting student investigations of their physical learning environment. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning – Volume 2 (p. 631-638). June 7-11. Gothenburg, Sweden. International Society of the Learning Sciences, Inc. Download PDF
Zimmerman, T., Najafi, H., Acosta, A., Slotta, J.D., O’Hara, M., & Krauss, A. (2015, June). Pioneer Valley Citizen Science Collaboratory: A CSCL approach to designing citizen science projects. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning – Volume 2 (p. 771-772). June 7-11. Gothenburg, Sweden. International Society of the Learning Sciences, Inc. Download PDF
Acosta, A., Lui, M. and Slotta, J.D. (2014). Exploring group-level epistemic cognitions within a Knowledge Community and Inquiry curriculum for secondary science. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference of the Learning Sciences – Volume 2 (p. 673-680). June 23-37. Boulder CO, USA. International Society of the Learning Sciences, Inc. Download PDF
Lui, M., Kuhn, A., Acosta, A., Niño-Soto, M., Quintana, C., and Slotta, J.D. (2014). Using mobile tools in immersive environments to support science inquiry. CHI EA ’14: CHI ’14 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems. April 26-May 1. Toronto, Canada. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. Download PDF
Lui, M., Kuhn, A., Acosta, A., Quintana, C., and Slotta, J.D. (2014). Supporting learners in collecting and exploring data from immersive simulations in collective inquiry. CHI’14: Proceedings of the 2014 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. April 26-May 1. Toronto, Canada. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. Download PDF
Chen, B., Scardamalia, M., Acosta, A., Resendes, M., and Kici, D. (2013). Promisingness Judgments as Facilitators of Knowledge Building. Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning – Volume 2 (pp. 231-232). June 17-19. Madison WI, USA. International Society of the Learning Sciences, Inc. Download PDF
Resendes, M., Chen, B., Acosta, A., and Scardamalia, M. (2013). The effect of formative feedback on vocabulary use and distribution of vocabulary knowledge in a grade two knowledge building class. Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning – Volume 1 (pp. 391-398). June 17-19. Madison, USA: International Society of the Learning Sciences, Inc. Download PDF
Peer-reviewed Presentations:
Acosta, A. (2019, April). Visualizing collaborative processes in a knowledge community and inquiry curriculum for grade 12 biology. In J.D. Slotta (Chair), The Knowledge Community and Inquiry Model: Synthesizing a Decade’s Research for a Widening Audience. Structured poster session at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. April 5-9. Toronto, Canada.
Najafi, H., Slotta, J.D., Haklev, S., and Acosta, A. (2019, April). Opportunities for collaboration and reflection in a teacher professional development MOOC. In L. Harrison (Chair), Innovating MOOC Pedagogies. Structured poster session at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. April 5-9. Toronto, Canada.
Acosta, A. (2018). CKBiology: An active learning curriculum design for grade 12 biology. In J.D. Slotta (Chair), Knowledge community and inquiry (KCI) – a model for guiding active learning designs. Symposium conducted at the Supporting Active Learning & Technological Innovation in Studies of Education 2018 Conference. May 31. Montreal, Canada.
Acosta, A. and Slotta, J.D. (2017). Intelligent group formation in knowledge communities. Poster presented at the 12th European Conference on Technology-Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL). September 12-15. Tallinn, Estonia. Download PDF
Acosta, A., Brooks, S. and Slotta, J.D. (2017). Orchestrational patterns within a knowledge community and inquiry approach to secondary physics. Paper presented at the 2017 Conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE). May 27-31. Toronto, Canada.
Slotta, J.D., Acosta, A., and Zimmerman, T. (2017). Social network scaffolds for a citizen science community. In O. Sagy (Chair), The ecology of citizen science: An opportunity for learning. Symposium conducted at the 2017 American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. April 27–May 1. San Antonio, TX.
Acosta, A. (2017). The Design of Learning Analytics to Support a Knowledge Community and Inquiry Approach to Secondary Science. Poster presented at the 7th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge. March 15-17. Vancouver, Canada. Society for Learning Analytics Research. Download PDF
Acosta, A., Fong, C., and Slotta, J.D. (2016, April). Using temporal analytics to track idea growth and obsolescence in a knowledge community and inquiry approach to elementary astronomy. In B. Chen, A.F. Wise, S. Knight, and B. Haugan Cheng (Chairs), Putting Temporal Analytics into Practice: The 5th International Workshop on Temporality in Learning Data. Workshop conducted at the 6th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge. April 21-25, 2016. Edinburgh, UK. Society for Learning Analytics Research. Download PDF
Cober, R., Fong, C., Peebles, B., Acosta, A., and Slotta, J.D. (2014). Getting a Feel For It: A Hands-on Approach for Expressive Activities in Middle-school Astronomy. Roundtable presentation at the American Educational Research Association 2014 Annual Meeting. April 4-6. Philadelphia, USA. American Educational Research Association.
Acosta, A. and Slotta, J.D. (2013). Evaluating knowledge community curricula in secondary science using model-based design research. Paper presented at the 17th Annual Knowledge Building Summer Institute. August 6-9. Puebla, Mexico: Knowledge Society Network. Download PDF
Tissenbaum, M., Zukowski, M., Cober, R., Acosta, A., and Slotta, J.D. (2013). Rock, Paper, Awesome. Student design challenge demonstration presented at the 7th International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction. February 10-13. Barcelona, Spain: Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. Download PDF
Acosta, A. (2012). Using serendipity to advance knowledge building activities. Paper presented at the 16th Annual Knowledge Building Summer Institute. August 7-11. Toronto, Canada: Institute for Knowledge, Innovation and Technology.
Invited Talks and Workshops:
Acosta, A. (2024, February). Keynote: Web3 and the Internet of Value. Si Her Summit.
Acosta, A., Tacheva, N., and Howard, K. (2023, July). Virtual Panel Discussion: The Benefits of Immersive Learning. SI HER DeFi.
Acosta, A., Aldouni, T., Baer, A., and Reeds, A. (2022, February). Panel Discussion: What’s actually going on in crypto/blockchain and why you should be paying attention. Ivey Alumni Network, Toronto, Canada.
Acosta, A., Fong, C., Hoyt, D., Nyhog-Young, J., Padamsi, Z., and Ramdeo, A. (2019, December). Panel Discussion: What can you do with a graduate degree in SMT Education? Centre for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, OISE/University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Acosta, A. (2018, May). Invited talk: Scripting and orchestration of a Knowledge Community and Inquiry curriculum for secondary biology. Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, USA.
Acosta, A. (2017, March). Invited guest lecture: Design-based research. CTL1041: Research Methods in Education, Isabelle Kim, Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning, OISE/University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Acosta, A. (2016, November). Invited guest lecture: Computer-supported collaborative learning and design-based research. CTL1016: Cooperative Learning Research and Practice, Isabelle Kim, Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning, OISE/University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Cober, R. and Acosta, A. (2014, December). Workshop: Tangible technologies in the primary/junior classroom. CTL7016: Integrating Technology, P/J Second Year Course, Heather Birch, Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning, OISE/University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Tapscott, D., and Acosta, A. (2014, February). Rethinking Education for an Age of Networked Intelligence. 9th Annual Ontario Education Research Symposium. February 18-20. Toronto, Canada: Ontario Education Research Panel. See Video
Cober, R. and Acosta, A. (2013, November). Workshop: Intro to tangible technologies and soft circuits. CTL1926: Knowledge, Media and Learning, Jim Slotta, Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning, OISE/University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Cober, R. and Acosta, A. (2013, March). Workshop: Tangible and embodied interactions design (Part 2). CTL1926: Knowledge, Media and Learning, Jim Slotta, Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning, OISE/University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Cober, R. and Acosta, A. (2013, February). Workshop: Tangible and embodied interactions design (Part 1). CTL1926: Knowledge, Media and Learning, Jim Slotta, Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning, OISE/University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Simon, R. & Acosta, A. (2013, February) Academic writing in online spaces: Multimodal practices as forms of scholarly engagement. Presented at the 34th Ethnography in Education Research Forum. February 22-23. Philadelphia, USA: University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.
Slotta, J.D., Acosta, A. and Lui, M. (2013, April). Seminar: Technology for science education. EDU1480Y: Science – Chemistry, Pre-service Curriculum & Instruction (Intermediate/Senior), Cheryl Ann Madeira, OISE/University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Acosta, A., Chen, B., Resendes, M., Gachuhu, R., and Perreault, C. (2012, August). Knowledge Forum Rebuild. Interactive session presented at the 16th Annual Knowledge Building Summer Institute. August 7-11. Toronto, Canada: Institute for Knowledge, Innovation and Technology.
TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS
Acosta, A. (2016, February). Current research in science and technology education. (Designer, Instructor). Tiferes Bais Yaakov High School. Toronto, Canada
Acosta, A. (2011, February). Technology-enhanced learning. (Designer, Instructor). William Lyon Mackenzie C.I., Toronto District School Board, Toronto, Canada.
editorial review
Developmental and Content Editor, Blockchain Research Institute, 2021-present
Conference Reviewer, American Educational Research Association, 2023
Journal Reviewer, Journal of Learning Analytics, 2017
Conference Reviewer, Knowledge Building Summer Institute, 2018
Conference Reviewer, Canadian Society for the Study of Education, 2016
Conference Reviewer, Interaction Design and Children, 2015
Conference Reviewer, OISE Graduate Student Research Conference, 2015
Open online teaching
Acosta, A., Tapscott, D., and Tapscott, A. (n.d.) Web3 and Blockchain Fundamentals [MOOC]. INSEAD and Coursera. Instructor and Course Creator. https://www.coursera.org/learn/web3-blockchain-fundamentals
Acosta, A., Tapscott, D., and Tapscott, A. (n.d.) Web3 and Blockchain Leadership for Transformation [MOOC]. INSEAD and Coursera. Instructor and Course Creator. https://www.coursera.org/learn/web3-and-blockchain-leadership-for-transformation
Acosta, A., and Tapscott, D. (n.d.) Web3 and Blockchain Transformations of Global Supply Chains [MOOC]. INSEAD and Coursera. Instructor and Course Creator. https://www.coursera.org/learn/web3-and-blockchain-transformations-in-global-supply-chains
ACADEMIC HONOURS AND AWARDS
Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), 2015-2018
OISE Academic Excellence Award, 2015-2017
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (declined in order to accept SSHRC CGS), 2015
Research Fellowship, Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning, 2014
Best Student Paper Nominee (co-author), 10th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, 2013
Dr. and Mrs. R.L. Peterson Memorial Scholarship, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, 2008
Chair’s Circle of Excellence, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, 2002
Alisa Acosta 