The Future of Education
Martin Smith-Gahrsen
Institution: University of Agder, Department of religion, philosophy, and history
Country: Norway
I am currently employed as an assistant professor at the University of Agder (UiA), where I teach ethics, philosophy, and didactics of religious education to primary teacher education students and students in subject disciplines. I joined UiA in 2020 and, in recent years, have taught religious education-related topics at all levels of teacher education and disciplinary studies. I have also researched topics within religious education didactics, particularly related to action research projects involving the use of virtual reality (VR) in schools.
I have published several articles on the didactic use of virtual reality in both primary and higher education, focusing on philosophical dialogue, excursion-based pedagogy, and ethical awareness.
In the autumn of 2025, I will begin my doctoral candidacy in religious education didactics at the University of Agder with the working title: «When it feels real: Exploring categorial Bildung, resonance and empathy with virtual reality-enabled teaching-learning resources in religious education (RE)».
In this dissertation, four empirical approaches will be explored, embedding virtual reality-based teaching resources in learning cycles, hypothesizing that these resources may act as potential enhancers of Bildung-oriented learning processes aligning with Wolfgang Klafkis’ theories of categorial Bildung and Hartmut Rosas concept of resonance. The four projects are based on the principles of action research and involve interventions connected to religious aesthetics, philosophical inquiries, virtual field trips, and empathy enhancements. Previous studies have found that VR-enabled teaching holds potential to unleash categorically pregnant learning processes, involving both embodied and experientially vivid personal entanglements on the one hand and engaging students in the fundamental tenets of a school subject on the other (Smith-Gahrsen et al., 2024; Smith-Gahrsen & Beckmann, 2024). Yet, these findings are still not fully conceptualized, particularly when it comes to the potential opening of axes of resonance, thereby leaving room for further empirical and theoretical explorations.
Areas of expertise: Religious education didactics, virtual reality-enabled learning cycles, professional digital competence.
I have published several articles on the didactic use of virtual reality in both primary and higher education, focusing on philosophical dialogue, excursion-based pedagogy, and ethical awareness.
In the autumn of 2025, I will begin my doctoral candidacy in religious education didactics at the University of Agder with the working title: «When it feels real: Exploring categorial Bildung, resonance and empathy with virtual reality-enabled teaching-learning resources in religious education (RE)».
In this dissertation, four empirical approaches will be explored, embedding virtual reality-based teaching resources in learning cycles, hypothesizing that these resources may act as potential enhancers of Bildung-oriented learning processes aligning with Wolfgang Klafkis’ theories of categorial Bildung and Hartmut Rosas concept of resonance. The four projects are based on the principles of action research and involve interventions connected to religious aesthetics, philosophical inquiries, virtual field trips, and empathy enhancements. Previous studies have found that VR-enabled teaching holds potential to unleash categorically pregnant learning processes, involving both embodied and experientially vivid personal entanglements on the one hand and engaging students in the fundamental tenets of a school subject on the other (Smith-Gahrsen et al., 2024; Smith-Gahrsen & Beckmann, 2024). Yet, these findings are still not fully conceptualized, particularly when it comes to the potential opening of axes of resonance, thereby leaving room for further empirical and theoretical explorations.
Areas of expertise: Religious education didactics, virtual reality-enabled learning cycles, professional digital competence.
