Miri Barak

Miri Barak serves as a Professor of Science and Engineering Education at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and leads the Science and Learning Technologies (SLT) Lab. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, UK. Her career transitioned from industry as an R&D Engineer in Biotechnology & Food Engineering to academia, where she focuses on educational technology and pedagogy. Previously, she chaired the Institutional Review Board for Ethics in Behavioral Science Research and assisted the Technion’s Senior Vice President for Learning and Teaching Promotion.

Education:

• BSc in Biotechnology & Food Engineering (Cum Laude)
• MSc and PhD from the Technion’s Faculty of Education in Science and Technology
• Postdoctoral fellowship at MIT’s Center for Educational Computing Initiatives (CECI), US

Research interests emphasize

• Engineering Education: cultivating innovation through project-based and team approaches in hybrid/MOOC environments
• Science Education: leveraging location-based technologies and gamification to enhance knowledge construction and motivation. She also examines sociocultural factors in online learning and 21st century skill development.

Recent publications (2021–2022) explore technology-driven pedagogy, including gamification strategies, location-based learning for physics comprehension, and comparative studies on online/on-campus engineering education. Her work also addresses cultural dimensions in project-based learning and frameworks for assessing innovative thinking.

She leads international projects like AugmentedWorld (location-based learning), Games of Food (gamification), and MOOC development initiatives. No specific advisees are listed, but her academic roles suggest mentorship contributions. Her SLT Lab at the Technion pioneers online learning innovations and 21st century skill enhancement through technology.