Dr. Juan Cristóbal
Castro-Alonso
STEM and Educational
Psychology Researcher
Using quantitative randomized controlled experiments, our team investigates diverse variables that influence the teaching and learning of topics about natural science, health science, and STEM. The areas that we are passionate about are visuospatial processing in working memory, cognitive load theory, gender differences, instructional multimedia designs, manipulation and gestures, and embodied cognition.
About me
In my academic endeavors, I’ve been granted a Minor in Literature, Major in Biochemistry, Master's in Communication and Education, and PhD in Education. As such, I could add to my background in biology and chemistry, a fruitful experience in educational research, which has been focused on educational psychology and multimedia about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) topics. As I have the qualification and experience in design, production, and evaluation of instructional multimedia, I have led and worked collaboratively in educational and multimedia projects.
Now, I have the privilege to lead a research team of the STEM area at the Center for Advanced Research in Education, Institute of Education, Universidad de Chile. We are developing and investigating computer adapted tests that measure different visuospatial processing abilities, as these are key assets to learn and thrive in the STEM disciplines. We investigate important variables that can influence performance in these visuospatial tests, such as gender, age, educational background, and multimedia cognitive load. At home in Santiago, in the company of my lovely wife Claudia and our three children, I can still enjoy blessings such as novels, classical and rock music, Claudia’s homemade food, and movies.