Xinran Zhu: Computational Research to Advance Educational Practice

Zhu was awarded her Ph.D. in Learning Sciences and Technologies from the University of Pennsylvania in 2024. Before completing her doctoral work, she did graduate studies in learning technologies and learning analytics at the University of Minnesota. Zhu earned her M.A. in Educational Psychology from the University of Connecticut.

What are your research interests and expertise?

My research interests lie at the intersection of learning sciences, learning analytics, and human-computer interaction. Grounded in research-practice partnerships, I develop pedagogical designs, technological innovations, and empirical understandings of learning in authentic settings. My recent work involves designing web applications to scaffold computer-supported collaborative learning, conducting computational research to derive actionable insights for educational practice, and investigating the potential of AI tools in augmenting human knowledge creation.