David Chandross
Explorer and Innovator
David Chandross holds a Ph.D. in education, an M.Ed. in medical education, and an M.Sc. in cognitive neuroscience. He works as a game designer with Canadaā€™s premier training center for palliative care, where he applies learning science and game-based design to support complex, high-stakes professional learning. His work sits at the intersection of cognition, empathy, and practice, using games to help learners engage deeply with challenging human and clinical realities.
Gamified Problem-Based Learning in Compassion-Based Gameworlds
This session explores how emerging AI tools and compassionate design can be combined to create online learning experiences that feel human, purposeful, and engaging. Participants will see how problem-based learning scenarios can be generated and refined using AI prompts, not to automate thinking, but to deepen it. The session also examines how compassion research can inform the design of game worlds that support empathy, care, and ethical decision-making rather than competition for its own sake.
Participants will explore what it takes to design virtual characters that feel alive and relational, characters learners respond to as more than placeholders or scripts. The focus is on practical design choices that bring warmth, energy, and humanity into digital learning environments, even when the delivery is fully online.
Takeaway: AI can scale learning, but compassion is what makes it meaningful.
