New research at Reykjavik University is exploring that question using LessonLab’s Taito platform. The PhD project is led by doctoral researcher Atli Snær Ásmundsson under the supervision of Professor Helgi Thor Ingason.

Emotions play a key role in learning. A student who feels frustrated or disengaged may experience a simulation differently from one who feels curious and motivated. The research examines how closely signals identified by AI correspond to what students report about their own emotional experience. Students’ accounts are central to understanding what those signals mean.

LessonLab’s Taito platform serves as the research environment. In case-based management simulations, students engage in AI-powered stakeholder conversations that reflect real-life situations. The study analyzes their textual conversations, facial expressions, and speech, then compares AI-generated interpretations with students’ own descriptions of their experience.

Pilot data have already been collected from nearly 200 participants, and early findings were presented at EURAM 2026. As the research progresses, we will share what it reveals about the relationship between AI-generated signals and students’ experiences of learning.