About
Hello! I am a first year Ph.D. student in Education specializing in Teaching, Learning, and Education Improvement (TLEI) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). My advisors are Professor Mark Warschaeur and Professor Kylie Peppler. I am especially interested in digital learning, primarily in evaluating and developing educational technology that can leverage the unique strengths of diverse students. Through this research, I intend to better understand the learning theories and design elements that make these tools effective, and implement them through research-practice partnerships. Before my graduate studies, I received my B.A. in Psychology from San Jose State University. I also worked on the Rapid Online Assessments of Reading project at Stanford University where I designed and developed gamified, online reading assessments.
My work in the Digital Learning Lab centers on Converse to Learn, an NSF-funded collaboration with PBS KIDS. Our research investigates how children learn STEM concepts through interactive videos, using Conversational Agents (CAs) to enable their favorite characters to respond in real-time. Think Dora the Explorer, but if Dora could actually answer you! Through this project, I aim to enhance this technology to make STEM learning more engaging and impactful for students of all backgrounds.
Chat with me!
I have experienced first-hand how powerful mentorship is. As a first generation Vietnamese-American college student, I would not have been able to pursue a Ph.D. program without financial supports and amazing mentors who took a chance on me. If you are someone who has been historically underrepresented in academia (e.g. low-income, first-generation, queer) or just someone who is anxious about academia then feel free to reach out to me (jasetran@uci.edu) for advice or anything else. I am more than happy to chat because research is for everyone!
Upcoming conferences
This will be regularly updated with conferences I will be attending or have recently attended:
Skills
