Elizabeth Dvorsky
University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, PR·Education Research
Hands-on research experience is a key part of science education, but many universities cannot offer it to every student. The gap is especially important at the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, where 84% of students are Hispanic.
- Fields
Education Research
Computer Science
- Topics
STEM education
undergraduate research training
research skills
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2027
What they work on
- Design a blueprint, including curriculum structure and system architecture, for a gamified virtual experience that teaches scientific research skills to Spanish-speaking STEM undergraduates.
- Build an initial prototype of a virtual intelligent assistant that gives first-year and later undergraduates personalized, self-paced guidance in research skills, integrated into the university's online platform.
- Use design-based implementation research, with active input from undergraduates and faculty, to develop and test the prototype and assess how natural language processing can support learning effectively and ethically.
More about the research
This project asks whether a game-like virtual experience can give Spanish-speaking undergraduates guided, individualized practice in scientific research skills, starting in their first year.
Why it matters
Many undergraduates, especially at Hispanic-Serving Institutions, have limited access to research training. A Spanish-language, self-paced virtual assistant could give these students guided practice in research skills and critical thinking from their first year. Its adaptable design and the published findings could help other institutions and disciplines use AI-based tools to broaden access to research training.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Diane Litman
University of Pittsburgh, PA·Computer Science
Design and refine adaptive prompts, motivational nudges and automated reflection summaries in CourseMIRROR, a mobile reflection app, through iterative usability and feasibility testing.
Glen Miller
Texas A&M University-College Station, TX·Education Research
Catalog current and planned AI ethics education interventions across diverse U.S. colleges, including community colleges and minority-serving institutions, through a national survey.
Maciej Pankiewicz
University of Pennsylvania, PA·Education Research
Extend the Decimal Point mathematics learning game so that a large language model generates hints personalized to each student's problem-solving history, misconceptions and in-game learning behaviors.
The school
University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras: 2 labs on PI Pages, $34M a year on research, 90 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
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