Research
Background
Dr. Harley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine at McGill and a Scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC). They are also the Director of Research at the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning, Director of the Simulation, Affect, Innovation, Learning, and Surgery (SAILS) Lab and an Associate Member of Institute for Health Sciences Education (IHSE) and Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University.
Dr. Harley’s research aims to enhance surgical and medical education and support health care workers by reducing adverse events and inefficiencies, especially those associated with the incidence of undesirable and unregulated emotions and burnout. They apply psychological and educational theories using interdisciplinary research methods and leverage advanced technologies, including virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI), to accomplish these aims. Dr. Harley's interdisciplinary research draws on mixed methods that include biometrics (i.e., skin conductance, automatic facial recognition software, eye-tracking) measures of emotion and cognition that help us assess learning and psychological well-being. Dr. Harley is a pioneer of innovative educational environments as exemplified by their research using VR and haptic robotics to support surgical training and professional actors to provide medical residents with practice combatting harassment during a high-fidelity medical simulation. Their research has led to partnerships with dozens of health professionals, The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, The Canadian Space Agency, and high-tech companies in VR and robotics.
Dr. Harley completed their FRQSC and SSHRC CGS-funded Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at McGill University in 2014. They held an FRQSC-funded postdoctoral position in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Montréal from 2014-2015 before joining the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta as an Assistant Professor from 2016-2019. They founded and served as Director of the Computer-Human Interaction: Technology, Education, and Affect (CHI-TEA) Laboratory while at the University of Alberta. In 2018, they won the Outstanding Early Career Researcher Award sponsored by the Technology, Instruction, Cognition, and Learning (TICL) SIG of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). One of Dr. Harley's great successes during their time at the U of A was leading the development and evaluation of the Edmonton Queer History App. The EQH App blends multimedia technology, archival research, and semi-structured interviews with queer rights pioneers to help address gaps in Canadian curriculum and public knowledge concerning queer history. Learn more here or navigate to the "EQH App" tab to check out media interviews, endorsements, publications, and access the app (free).
Visit Dr. Harley's SAILS Lab to learn more about their current research with advanced technologies, biometrics, psychological well-being, and simulation.
Selected publications below.
Selected Publications
Intelligent Educational Technologies (AI in Education & Medical Education)
Azher, S.+, Cervantes, A., Marchionni, C., Grewal, K.+, Marchand, H., & Harley, J.M. (2023). Virtual Simulation in Nursing Education: Headset Virtual Reality and Screen-based Virtual Simulation Offer A Comparable Experience. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 79, 61-74. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecns.2023.02.009
Harley, J.M., Bilgic, E.+, Lau, C.+, Gorgy, A.+, Marchand, H., Lajoie, S. P., Lavoie-Tremblay, M., & Fried, G. (2023). Nursing students reported more positive emotions about training during Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) after using a virtual simulation paired with an in-person simulation. Clinical Nursing Simulation, 81, 1-14. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecns.2023.04.006
Fazlollahi AM+, Bakhaidar M, Alsayegh A, Yilmaz R, Winkler-Schwartz A, Mirchi N, Langleben I, Ledwos N., Sabbagh, A., Bajunaid, A., Harley JM, & Del Maestro RF. (2022) Artificial Intelligence Tutoring Compared with Expert Instruction in Surgical Simulation Training: A Randomized Control Trial. JAMA Network Open, 5(2), e2149008-e2149008.
Bilgic, E., Gorgy, A., Yang, A., Cwintal, M., Ranjbar, H., Kahla, K., Reddy, D., Li, K., Ozturk, H., Zimmermann, E., Quaiattini, A., Abbasgholizadeh-Rahimi, S., Poenaru, D., & Harley, J.M. (2022). Exploring the Roles of Artificial Intelligence in Surgical Education: A Scoping Review. 224(1), 205-216. The American Journal of Surgery. DOI: DOI:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.11.023
Bilgic, E., Gorgy, A., Young, M., Abbasgholizadeh-Rahimi, S., & Harley, J. M. (2022). Artificial Intelligence in Surgical Education: Considerations for Interdisciplinary Collaborations. Surgical Innovation. DOI: 10.1177/15533506211059269
Antel, R. Abbasgholizadeh-Rahimi, S., Guadagno, E., Harley, J. M., & Poenaru, D. (2022). The use of artificial intelligence and virtual reality in doctor-patient risk communication: a scoping review. Patient Education and Counseling, 105(10), 3038-3050. DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2022.06.006
Kocabas, S., Bilgic, E., Gorgy, A., & Harley, J.M. (2021) Deconstructing Canada’s efforts to integrate artificial intelligence in medicine and medical education. McGill Journal of Medicine, 19(1). DOI: 10.26443/mjm.v19i1.871
Harley, J. M., Taub, M., Azevedo, R., & Bouchet, F. (2018). “Let’s set up some subgoals”: Understanding human-pedagogical agent collaborations and their implications for learning and prompt and feedback compliance. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 11(1), 54-66. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org
Bouchet, F., Harley, J.M., & Azevedo, R. (2018). Evaluating adaptive pedagogical agents’ prompting strategies effect on students’ emotions? In J. Vassileva, & R. Azevedo (Eds.) Lecture Notes in Computer Science: Vol. Intelligent Tutoring Systems (pp. 33-43). Switzerland: Springer. http://link.springer.com
Harley, J.M., Lajoie, S. P., Frasson, C., & Hall, N.C. (2017). Developing emotion-aware, advanced learning technologies: A taxonomy of approaches and features. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education 27(2). http://link.springer.com
Harley, J. M., Carter, C.K., Papaionnou, N., Bouchet, F., Azevedo, R., Landis, R. L., & Karabachian, L.R. (2016). Examining the predictive relationship between personality and emotion traits and students’ agent-directed emotions: Towards emotionally-adaptive agent-based learning environments. User Modelling and User-Adapted Interaction, 26, 177-219. http://link.springer.com
Biometrics
Harley, J.M., Liu, Y., Ahn, B.T., Lajoie, S.P., & Grace, A.P. (2020). Examining physiological and self-report indicators of empathy during learners’ interaction with a queer history app, British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(6), 1920–1937. DOI: 10.1111/bjet.13019
Ahn, B.T., & Harley, J.M (2020). Facial expressions when learning with a queer history app: application of the control value theory of achievement emotions. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(5), 1563–1576. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12989
Harley, J.M., Jarrell, A., & Lajoie, S.P. (2019). Emotion regulation tendencies, achievement emotions, and physiological arousal in a medical diagnostic reasoning simulation. Instructional Science, 47(2), 151-180. DOI: 10.1007/s11251-018-09480-z http://link.springer.com
Harley, J. M., Bouchet, F., Hussain, S., Azevedo, R., & Calvo, R. (2015). A multi-componential analysis of emotions during complex learning with an intelligent multi-agent system. Computers in Human Behavior, 48, 615-625. http://www.sciencedirect.com
Harley, J. M. (2015). Measuring emotions: A survey of cutting-edge methodologies used in computer-based learning environment research. In S. Tettegah & M. Gartmeier (Eds.). Emotions, Technology, Design, and Learning (pp. 89-114). London, UK: Academic Press, Elsevier. http://store.elsevier.com or http://sciencedirect.com
Jaques, N., Conati, C., Harley, J. M., & Azevedo, R. (2014). Predicting affect from gaze behavior data during interactions with an intelligent tutoring system. In S. Trausan-Matu., K. Boyer., M. Crosby., K. Panourgia (Eds.), Lecture Notes in Computer Science: Vol. 8474. Intelligent Tutoring Systems (pp. 29-38). Switzerland: Springer.
Psychological and Emotional Well-being
Harley, J.M., & Pekrun, R. (in press). Emotion Regulation in Education. To appear in J.J. Gross, & B. Ford (Eds). Handbook of Emotion Regulation (3rd Edition). Guilford Press (Taylor & Francis Group), New York, NY.
Ahn, B. T.+, Maurice-Ventouris, M.+, Bilgic, E.+, Yang, A.+, Lau, C. H.-H.+, Peters, H.+, Li, K.+, Chang-Ou, D.+, & Harley, J. (in press). A Scoping Review of Emotions, Stress, and Emotional Intelligence in Simulation Based Education. Advances in Simulation.
Di Stasio, M., Alston, L., & Harley, J.M. (2023). A snapshot of Gay-Straight Alliance Clubs and Student Well-Being in Alberta Schools. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 38(2) 144-158, DOI: 10.1177/08295735231170337
Haldane, C.+, Lou, N. M.+, & Harley, J. M., (2023). Social-historical accounts of identity processes and resilience: Experiences of prominent elders of the LGBTQ+ community. Journal of Homosexuality, 70(3), 387-426.
Harley, J.M, Montreuil, T. C., Lou, N. M., Feldman, L., Fried, G., Lavoie-Tremblay, M., Bhanji, F., Kennedy, H. (2022). Rethinking how health care professionals cope with stress: A process model for COVID-19 and beyond. Health Care Management Review, Review, 47(4), 350-359. DOI: 10.1097/HMR.0000000000000345
Lou, N. M., Montreuil, T. C., Feldman, L., Fried, G., Lavoie-Tremblay, M., Bhanji, F., Kennedy, H., Kaneva, P., & Harley, J.M. (2022). Nurses’ and physicians’ distress, burnout, and coping strategies during COVID-19: Stress and impact on perceived performance and intentions to quit. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions. 42(1), e44-e52. DOI: 10.1097/CEH.0000000000000365
Lou, N. M., Montreuil, T. C., Feldman, L., Fried, G., Lavoie-Tremblay, M., Bhanji, F., Kennedy, H., Kaneva, P., Drouin, S., & Harley, J.M. (2021). Notes from the field: Evaluations of healthcare providers’ perceived support from personal, hospital, and system resources: Implications for well-being and management in healthcare in Montreal, Quebec during COVID-19. Evaluation & the Health Professions. 44(3):319-322. DOI:10.1177/01632787211012742
Harley, J.M., Pekrun, R., Taxer, J.L., & Gross, J.J. (2019). Emotion regulation in achievement situations: An integrated model. Educational Psychologist, 54(2), 106-126. DOI: 10.1080/00461520.2019.1587297 https://www.tandfonline.com