Rate My Professor Christopher Hoadley

Christopher Hoadley is a professor in the Department of Learning and Instruction in the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo, with joint appointments in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and a courtesy appointment in Information Science. He serves as director of the University at Buffalo Institute for Learning Sciences. Hoadley holds a PhD in Science and Math Education and an MS in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and an SB in Cognitive Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His academic career encompasses associate professor positions at New York University Steinhardt School (2008-2022), where he directed Educational Technology programs and founded the Games for Learning master’s program, and at Penn State University (2002-2008) in Instructional Systems and Information Sciences and Technology. He served as program officer at the National Science Foundation (2013-2016), leading the Cyberlearning and Future Learning Technologies program, and as a Fulbright Scholar in India and Nepal (2008-2009) studying sustainability education. Earlier roles include research cognitive scientist at SRI International (1998-2002), consulting assistant professor at Stanford University, and visiting assistant professor at Mills College.

Hoadley’s research specializes in learning sciences, educational technology, computer-supported collaborative learning, design-based research methods—a term he coined in the late 1990s—collaborative technologies, computer science education, and the role of informatics in education. A fellow of the International Society of the Learning Sciences, which he co-founded and led as first president (2002-2003), he also chaired the American Educational Research Association’s Special Interest Group for Education in Science and Technology (now SIG Learning Sciences). Awards include the STAR Award for mentorship (2013) and Fine Outreach for Science Fellowship (2009). He has authored or co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, including lead authorship on “Design-based research: An emerging paradigm for educational inquiry” (Educational Researcher, 2003), “Changing how and what children learn in school with computer-based technologies” (The Future of Children, 2000), “Roles, design, and the nature of CSCL” (Computers in Human Behavior, 2010), and recent works such as “Design-based research: What it is and why it matters to online learning environments” (Educational Psychologist, 2022) and editorship of “Advancing Educational Equity in Computer Science: A Guide for Educators and Their Allies” (2025). Hoadley is series editor for Springer’s Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Book Series and serves on editorial boards for journals including International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning and Journal of Science Education and Technology.