Highlighting 2025 AERA SIG Technology Instruction Cognition & Learning: Introduction to the Special Issue

Educational Research Association (AERA) conference held in Denver, Colorado.The SIG TICL focuses on theoretical foundations, fundamental research, and technical advances at the intersection of technology, instruction, cognition, and learning.Drawing from these areas, the eight studies featured in this issue examine how emerging technologies and pedagogical designs are reshaping learning experiences, learner engagement, and instructional practices across K-12 and higher education contexts, highlighting the interplay between technology, knowledge construction, and learning processes within digitally mediated environments.These studies address critical areas, including artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven personalization, technologysupported pedagogical design, cognition and metacognition, and design and equity-oriented perspectives.Together, they advance our understanding of how thoughtfully designed and implemented digital technologies can support adaptive, inclusive, and meaningful learning, while also raising important questions related to ethics, equity, and instructional responsibility in technology-rich educational environments.Serving as a bridge between conference scholarship and academic publishing, this special issue extends the reach of these contributions by sharing timely research insights with a broader scholarly audience.