Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences

By Layla Mikel Villanueva (5 BS Computer Science – Digital Game Design and Development)

The Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences (ALLS) participated in the first day of Areté’s Sandbox Open House 2025, presenting “Digital Materials for Bullying Prevention” last November 19, 2025 at The Eduardo J Aboitiz Sandbox Zone (3/F George SK Ty Learning Innovation Wing, Areté). It is a series of projects developed with the Ateneo de Manila Public Mental Health Collaborative and in partnership with the Department of Education. These evidence-informed digital materials to prevent bullying are as follows:

• Learning Empathy through Play: Designing an Anti-Bullying Digital Card Game for Grade 7 Filipino Students
  • A collaborative digital card game that guides Grade 7 students in navigating situations that may be considered as bullying and its respective coping strategies.
• Da Mosang Series: Digital Bullying Prevention Materials for Parents of Grade 7 Students
  • A series of comics and short-form videos that educates parents of grade 7 students in dealing with feelings and emotions with their children.
• Short-form Anti-bullying Videos for High School Students as Part of DepEd’s Campaign
  • A series of animated short-form videos for high school students that educates them about different forms of bullying and how to cope when one

These projects were presented at the open house as part of Arete’s Sandbox Residency Programs.

Presentation of “Learning Empathy through Play”

(Photo taken from Areté’s Facebook page) Group photo of all the project groups alongside their mentors from the Ateneo de Manila Public Mental Health Collaborative

The Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences (ALLS) participated in the ACM Global Computing Education Conference (CompEd 2025) organized by SIGCSE in Gaborone, Botswana, from October 21 to 25, 2025.

Dr. Arnel B. Ocay, a postdoctoral fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University, attended the conference as the representative of Dr. Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo, Head of ALLS. The five-day event comprised a two-day pre-conference and a three-day main conference. The pre-conference featured working groups and a collaborative workshop on the consortium for Generative AI in CS education. The main conference, on the other hand, showcased research paper presentations, panel discussions, and interactive sessions. The sessions covered a diverse range of topics, including tools, current trends, ethnicity, language, and inclusivity, with direct implications for computing education pedagogies across international educational contexts.

Dr. Ocay’s participation highlights Ateneo’s growing engagement with the global computing education community, particularly through the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE). The conference provided valuable opportunities to connect with educators and researchers from around the world, especially those from developing countries who share similar challenges and aspirations in advancing computing education, particularly the use of AI in computing education. During the event, Dr. Ocay exchanged insights with members of CompEd and other delegates to explore avenues for future collaboration. He also had the chance to meet one of the keynote speakers, Capt. Kgomotso Phatsima, an inspiring Ambassador of Youth in Aviation and Aerospace in Botswana and the first female pilot of the Botswana Defense Force.

This global endeavor has been generously supported by the Salome L. Tan Foundation and the Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences (ALLS).

Group photo of the participants on the second day of the CompEd 2025 Main Conference.

A photo of the CompEd participants at the second day’s keynote session.

Capt. Kgomotso Phatsima (right) with Dr. Ocay (left) after her keynote speech.

At the International Education Forum, held during the K-EDU EXPO in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo, Professor of Information Systems and Computer Science at the Ateneo de Manila University and Head of the Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences, delivered a keynote address titled “Promoting Educational Equity through Culturally-Responsive AI” during the session “Thinking About Education.”

The session gathered global leaders in education and technology, including Isabelle Howe, CEO of the Stanford Learning Accelerator, who spoke on “The Role of Education in the AI Era”; Choi Yu-jin, CEO and Co-founder of Classum, who discussed “Developing Capabilities Using AI”; and Kim Joo-ho, Professor of Computer Science at KAIST, who presented “Growth Using AI.” A panel discussion chaired by Professor Chan Lee of Seoul National University examined how educators can strengthen human capabilities through AI while promoting collaboration, equity, and ethical responsibility.

In her keynote, Dr. Rodrigo emphasized that AI in education must be grounded in culture—responsive to students’ lived experiences, classroom realities, and national contexts. Drawing from both global and Philippine examples, she illustrated how cultural factors influence the success of AI-based educational tools and how equitable design can empower under-resourced communities.

Dr. Rodrigo’s participation underscored the Philippines’ growing leadership in advancing ethical, inclusive, and context-aware uses of AI to achieve educational equity across the Asia-Pacific region.

The K-EDU EXPO was hosted by the Gyeongsangbuk-do Office of Education and was an APEC 2025-affiliated event.

Dr. Rodrigo, 10th from the left. Photo from Jiyoung Park.

Dr. Rodrigo during the panel discussion. Photo from Jiyoung Park.

This article was produced with the assistance of ChatGPT and was reviewed by ALLS for correctness.

By Almira Princess Redoble (5 BS Computer Science – Digital Game Design and Development)

CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — A collaborative paper between the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health (ASMPH) and the Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences (ALLS) was featured in the recently concluded AI Horizons PH 2025 at UP Cebu this October 16-17, 2025. Entitled “The Development and Testing of a Virtual Patient for Philippine Medical Education,” the study was presented by Almira Princess Redoble, a student assistant at ALLS taking BS Computer Science – Digital Game Design and Development, in front of policymakers, industry professionals, and leaders from the academia on the second day of the two-day conference. The four critical sectors of cybersecurity and national security, business process outsourcing and creative industries, disaster risk reduction, and social good and inclusive growth were explored and represented through 20 technical presentations and real-world case studies. The conference also allowed for a glimpse at international AI policymaking; representatives from the Asian Development Bank and the Korea Legislation Research Institute discussed trends in AI, Governance, and Development across Asia and Korea’s approach to an AI Legal Framework, respectively.

For more information on the conference, please go to https://ai-horizons.up.edu.ph/home/.

The first day of AI Horizons PH 2025, with the speakers in the front row.

Ms. Almira Redoble (center, in orange) during the panel Q&A session.

(Screenshot taken from the livestream) Ms. Almira Redoble discusses the background behind the collaborative research.

(Screenshot taken from the livestream) Ms. Almira Redoble presents the strategy taken for the development of the virtual patient.

Research papers from Ateneo de Manila University were among the contributions to the recently concluded 27th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCII 2025), held in a hybrid format from June 22 to 27, 2025, in Gothenburg, Sweden.

During the session titled AI Systems in Under-resourced Contexts, Director Joseph Benjamin Ilagan of Ateneo Business Insights Laboratory for Development (BUILD), presented his paper titled An Adaptive Simulated Startup Financial Modeling Mentor Using a Large Language Model to Address Shortages in Skilled Advisors: Architecture and Design Considerations. This work aimed to develop a financial modeling mentor framework using large language models (LLMs) to support entrepreneurship education. During the same session, Dr. Maria Mercedes Rodrigo, Head of Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences (ALLS), on the other hand, presented their research called Caladrius, a collaborative project with the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, that aimed to design a virtual patient for Philippine medical education using ChatGPT. In the Applications of Augmented Cognition session, Dr. Arnel Ocay presented his postdoctoral research titled A Field Study on the Use of Gen AI to Support Computing Education, conducted with Dr. Rodrigo’s mentorship. This study explores the potential use of Gen AI tools to support computing education in the Philippine context.

The Human-Computer Interaction International (HCII 2025), now in its 27^th year, serves as a convening platform for academics, professionals in the discipline, and researchers to share research endeavors that promote technological advancements in the field of human-computer interaction. HCII 2025 brought together scholars in the field to discuss diverse thematic areas and joined together in sub-conferences to promote advancements in HCI practices and innovations.

To read more about the HCII 2025 complete program, please access the official website of the conference at https://2025.hci.international/index.html.

Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, presents insights from his paper during the session on “AIS in Under-resourced Contexts” at HCII 2025. The session was chaired by Dr. Maria Mercedes Rodrigo.

Dr. Maria Mercedes Rodrigo followed with a presentation on a collaborative project focusing on the development of a virtual patient system. In the photo, Dr. Rodrigo responds to questions from the audience following her talk.

Dr. Arnel Ocay presents his postdoctoral research on the use of generative AI in computing education during a virtual session titled Applications of Augmented Cognition. His presentation highlights the recent findings on the influence of Gen AI tools in industry and computing education. The session was chaired by Martha Crosby.