The GRACE Lab initiative
GRACE Lab connects instructional design, simulation-based learning, and interactive technology. Its primary users are nursing students: the initiative is building opportunities to consider patient perspectives, practice communication, and reflect on the meaning of a response.
The initiative’s first product is GRACE, a gamified branching role-play prototype developed alongside an instructional model for empathy learning. Educators and facilitators are learning partners and potential collaborators.
GRACE: Gamified Role-play for Affective and Cognitive Empathy.
From doctoral research to a learning prototype
GRACE originates in doctoral research in Technology and Vocational Education. The work brings together learning design and prototype development to explore an instructional approach to cognitive and affective empathy.
Cognitive empathy is considered here through activities that invite learners to understand a patient’s perspective. Affective empathy is explored through attention to emotions and responses within learning scenarios. These are design focuses, not claims of demonstrated learning outcomes.
The prototype gives the model a practical form: patient conversations, branching decisions, and opportunities for structured reflection.
Principles behind the experience
- Human connection: patient perspectives sit at the center of scenario design.
- Purposeful interaction: dialogue choices encourage learners to think about their responses.
- Structured reflection: experience is paired with debriefing and evaluation.
- Research-informed development: the model and prototype are refined through development and validation work.
- Honest communication: development status, limitations, and future directions are stated openly.
Where the work stands
GRACE is in development and validation, with research implementation in preparation. This website provides a fictional two-turn preview and introduces the product direction. Research participation, assessment, and participant information are handled separately.
Learning effectiveness has not yet been established. AI-assisted authoring and reflective support are future exploration areas, not current features.
Explore the product and current status or read the research approach.