The last decade has seen a heightened focus on the phenomenological, behavioural, cognitive and physiological correlates of the “aha” moment, a sudden shift in both individual and collective understanding that irrevocably transforms the understanding of a particular problem, situation or context. Not only do the resulting insights reflect a deeper and more accurate understanding of a given problem, but they are almost always experienced as extremely positive and exhilarating. The pursuit of pedagogical strategies to enable “transformative learning”, while long-standing in adult education theory, is now also being pursued in other contexts.

Research has shown that these transformative moments can be identified as they occur using a range of measures that have also been linked to cognitive performance and affect, such as electrodermal activity, pupillometry, blink and saccade rates and heart rate variability. Behavioural signals such as posture and facial changes have also been correlated with transformative cognitive experiences.

Our goal is to deepen our understanding of how transformative learning affects adaptive systems. By creating an accessible, intelligent and extensible platform to support the development and delivery of transformative VR experiences, we can achieve truly meaningful and sustainable EDI training outcomes.