Christina Sondermann

Christina Sondermann is a Junior Group Leader in Teaching and Learning at the Deutsches Institut für Erwachsenenbildung (DIE), the German Institute for Adult Education, where she has been active since 2019. Since 2025, she has served as Head of the Junior Research Group 'Video-based Learning for Adults – Investigation of Innovative Video Design to Optimize Learning Processes in Adult and Continuing Education.' Prior to this, she worked as a research associate at DIE since 2023 and completed her doctoral studies there from 2019-2024 in the junior research group 'Audiovisual Knowledge and Information Media.'

Dr. Sondermann earned her doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) summa cum laude in 2024 from the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Tübingen. She holds an M.Sc. in Psychology from the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University Bonn (2016-2019) and a B.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Cologne (2013-2016).

Her research focuses on video-based learning in adult education, particularly examining the effects of instructor presence in educational videos, optimal design of teaching-learning videos, and visibility of teachers in learning videos. Her work combines educational psychology with practical applications in adult continuing education.

Her publication record demonstrates a strong focus on how visual elements in educational videos affect learning outcomes, with particular attention to the role of 'talking heads' and instructor presence. Her research employs methodologies including eye-tracking studies to understand cognitive processing during video-based learning.

Dr. Sondermann is an active member of several professional organizations including the American Educational Research Association (AERA), German Society for Psychology (DGPs), European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), and the Society for Empirical Educational Research (GEBF).

She leads research projects focused on optimizing video design for adult learners and contributes to advancing the field of educational technology through her empirical investigations of multimedia learning principles in adult education contexts.