Celebrating Shan Zhang's Ph.D. Candidacy
Shan Zhang successfully defended her qualifying examination on October 31, 2025, advancing to Ph.D. candidacy. We celebrate this milestone along with her remarkable achievement of surpassing 200 Google Scholar citations!
We're thrilled to celebrate a wonderful milestone: Shan Zhang successfully defended her Ph.D. qualifying examination on October 31, 2025, and is now officially a Ph.D. Candidate in Educational Technology at the University of Florida!
Double Celebration!
Along with advancing to Ph.D. candidacy, Shan's research impact has also surpassed 200 citations on Google Scholar (currently at 203 citations with an h-index of 6), reflecting the quality and influence of her scholarly contributions to AI in education, educational data mining, and learning analytics.
Research Impact
Since joining the VIABLE Lab in 2023, Shan has contributed to research across multiple high-impact venues. Her publications span top-tier journals and competitive conferences:
- Computers & Education (IF 10.5) - Systematic review on pedagogical agent design for K-12 education
- Journal of Educational Computing Research - Systematic review of reviews on AI literacy
- Journal of Research on Technology in Education - Scoping review on pedagogical agents in K-12 education
- Educational Psychology Review - Meta-analysis on pedagogical agents and student motivation
- AIED 2025 (Palermo, Italy) - Multiple presentations on AI in collaborative learning
- AECT 2025 (Las Vegas) - Research on AI in STEM education and student interactions with AI systems
- SIGCSE 2025 - LLM-based framework for analyzing programming knowledge
- AAAI 2025 (Philadelphia) - AI microcredential design for K-12 educators
- EDM 2025 (Palermo) - Mathematics learning analytics research
- International Conference on Computers in Education 2024 - Best Paper Nomination for predicting students' higher-order questions
Her research interests center on AI literacy, educational data mining, pedagogical agents, and understanding how students engage with AI systems in learning contexts. Beyond publications, Shan has taken on leadership roles, organizing the 9th Educational Data Mining in Computer Science Education (CSEDM) Workshop at EDM 2025 and serving on program committees including the AI Literacy for All (ALIT4ALL) Workshop at AIED 2025.
Looking Ahead
Chip Li, who has collaborated closely with Shan on multiple research projects, shared:"Shan is one of those rare colleagues who makes everyone's research better. Whether we're analyzing data together, brainstorming research ideas, or refining papers under tight deadlines, she always brings both brilliance and warmth to the work. I've learned so much from her thoughtful approach to research and her ability to see connections others might miss. This candidacy achievement is so well-deserved—congratulations, Shan!"
With Ph.D. candidacy achieved and over 200 citations reflecting her research impact, Shan now enters the dissertation phase where her most significant scholarly contribution will take shape.
Congratulations, Shan! We're excited to see where your dissertation research takes you and proud to support your continued contributions to educational technology research.
To learn more about Shan's research and publications, visit her team profile page.