Xu Wang
xwanghci@umich.edu
Assistant Professor
Computer Science and Engineering
University of Michigan

My Group: Lifelong Learning Lab (Website to come soon!)

My research is to support more people learn in effective ways. I draw techniques and theories from Human-Computer Interaction, Learning Sciences, and Artificial Intelligence to develop computational methods and systems to support scalable teaching and learning. See more in my [CV].

I'm looking for Ph.D. students and research interns to join my lab!
For prospective Ph.D. stduents, please apply through the Michigan CSE admissions website. Feel free to send me an email after applying. We do not require GRE scores this year and please also check your eligibility for the application fee waiver.

For students who are interested in doing a research internship, please send me an email with your CV.

Bio
Xu Wang is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan starting January 2021. Xu recently completed her Ph.D. in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, advised by Dr. Ken Koedinger and Dr. Carolyn Rose. She conducts interdisciplinary research within the fields of Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Artificial Intelligence and Education. Her Ph.D. dissertation explores techniques using student solutions to semi-automatically generate authentic questions for deblierate practice of higher-order thinking. Her system UpGrade has been used by more than 600 students at CMU. Her work has been published at many top-tier conferences and journals in Human-Computer Interaction and Educational Technologies. Before coming to CMU, she received a Masters in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor’s in Science from Beijing Normal University. She has also worked in the User Interface Research Group at Autodesk Research.
Contact
xwanghci@umich.edu
Google Scholar
Twitter: @xuwanghci
Github

News

Jan 1, 2021: Officially started my job at UM!

Dec 22, 2020: Our paper on ELK: a role-playing system to exercise communication strategies got accepted to CSCW'21! More details to come soon!

Dec 22, 2020: Our paper on Value Cards, an educational toolkit to teach the social aspects of ML got accepted to FAccT'21!

Dec 12, 2020: Our paper "Seeing Beyond Expert Blindspots: Online Learning Design for Scale and Quality" got conditoinally accepted to CHI'21! More details to come soon!

Dec 1, 2020: Moved to Ann Arbor!!

Oct 8, 2020: Our paper on understanding the use of live streaming for education received an Honorable Mention Award at CSCW'20.

Oct 1, 2020: First time serving on the program committee of CHI'21.

Aug 30, 2020: Defended and submitted my dissertation: Harnessing Student Solutions to Support Learning at Scale. Read more here
Teaching

Winter 2021: I'm teaching a new graduate seminar course -- EECS598: Technologies to Optimize Human Learning. Course Poster

Publications

Practice-Based Teacher Questioning Strategy Training with ELK: A Role-Playing Simulation for Eliciting Learner Knowledge
Xu Wang, Meredith Thompson, Kexin Yang, Dan Roy, Ken Koedinger, Carolyn Rose, Justin Reich
(to appear) CSCW'2021 Paper pre-print · Coding Manual for Questioning Strategy · Try out the system here!


Value Cards: An Educational Toolkit for Teaching Social Impacts of Machine Learning through Deliberation
Hong Shen, Wesley Deng, Aditi Chattopadhyay, Steven Wu, Xu Wang, Haiyi Zhu
(to appear) FAccT'2021 Paper pre-print

"I was afraid, but now I enjoy being a streamer!": Understanding the Challenges and Prospects of Using Live Video Streaming for Online Education
Xinyue Chen, Si Chen, Xu Wang and Yun Huang
CSCW'2020 Best Paper Honorable Mention
Paper pre-print

UpGrade: Sourcing Student Open-Ended Solutions to Create Scalable Learning Opportunities
Xu Wang, Srinivasa Talluri, Carolyn Rose and Ken Koedinger
Learning@Scale'2019
pdf · ACM DL · slides

Leveraging Community-Generated Videos and Command Logs to Classify and Recommend Software Workflows
Xu Wang, Benjamin Lafreniere, Tovi Grossman
CHI'2018
pdf · ACM DL

Contrasting Explicit and Implicit Scaffolding for Transactive Exchange in Team Oriented Project Based Learning
Xu Wang, Miaomiao Wen, Carolyn Rose
CSCL'2017
pdf · ISLS Repository · slides

An Intelligent-Agent Facilitated Scaffold for Fostering Reflection in a Team-based Project Course
Sreecharan Sankaranarayanan, Xu Wang, Cameron Dashti, Marshall An, Clarence Ngoh, Majd Sakr, and Carolyn Rose
AIED'2019
pdf · Springer

Coordinating Collaborative Chat in Massive Open Online Courses
Gaurav Tomar, Sree Sankaranarayanan, Xu Wang, Carolyn Rose
ICLS'2016
pdf · ISLS Repository

Public Peer Review Motivates Higher Quality Feedback
Xu Wang, Yali Chen, Amanda Godley, Carolyn Rose
ICLS'2018
pdf · ISLS Repository  · Slides

When Optimal Team Formation is a Choice – Self-Selection versus Intelligent Team Formation Strategies in a Large Online Project-Based Course
​Sree Sankaranarayanan, Cameron Dashti, Chris Bogart, Xu Wang, Majd Sakr, Carolyn Rose
AIED'2018
pdf · Springer

Transactivity as a Predictor of Future Collaborative Knowledge Integration in Team-Based Learning in Online Courses
​Miaomiao Wen, Keith Maki, Xu Wang, Steven Dow, James Herbsleb, Carolyn Rose
EDM'2016
pdf · ERIC



Towards triggering higher-order thinking behaviors in MOOCs
Xu Wang, Miaomiao Wen, Carolyn Rose
LAK'2016
pdf · ACM DL

Investigating How Student’s Cognitive Behaviors in MOOC Discussion Forums Affect Learning Gains
Xu Wang, Diyi Yang, Miaomiao Wen, Ken Koedinger, Carolyn Rose
EDM'2015
pdf · ERIC



A Case Study of Augmented Reality Simulation System Application in a Chemistry Course
​Su Cai, Xu Wang, Feng-Kuang Chiang (Undergraduate Thesis)
Computers in Human Behavior
pdf · Elsevier

Using the Augmented Reality 3D Technique for a Convex Imaging Experiment in a Physics Course
​Su Cai, Feng-Kuang Chiang, Xu Wang,
International Journal of Engineering Education
pdf

Simulation Teaching in 3D Augmented Reality Environment
​Su Cai, Xu Wang, Mengnan Gao, Shengquan Yu
IIAI'2012
pdf · IEEE DL