Principal Projects

Human-AI Collaboration Mechanisms in Elite Innovation Teams in Global Science and Technology Competition Contexts
Principal Investigator
The 19th Special Grant of the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation , 2026 - Present
This project takes the global finals of higher education science and technology innovation competitions as authentic high-pressure contexts. It investigates how high-performing teams develop collaborative innovation capabilities with GenAI participation, and builds an integrated framework of team collaboration, human-AI collaboration, and contextual mechanisms to support theory and practice for cultivating elite innovative talent in the intelligent era.

AI-Driven Teaching Platform Upgrading and Precision Service Model Innovation under the New Double High Plan for Vocational Education, with Smart Vocational Education Platform as an Example
Subproject Principal Investigator
Higher Education Press , 2025 - Present
This subproject studies big-data analytics models for precision platform governance.

Design and Practice of an AI-Assisted Programming Learning Platform for Developing K-12 Students' Computational Thinking
Principal Investigator
2026 - Present
This project develops a programming learning platform for K-12 students centered on AI-assisted web mini-game creation. Through level-based tasks, AI collaboration, code execution, and learning log collection, the platform supports students' computational thinking, programming ability, and human-AI collaboration skills through iterative project work.

Participated Projects

Design and Implementation of an AI-Agent-Driven Personalized Educational Companion Robot for Children
Beijing Normal University Research Achievement Translation and Incubation Project , 2026 - Present
This project develops a low-cost, maintainable, child-friendly, safe, and trustworthy educational service robot prototype and builds an integrated hardware-software-algorithm-content platform. By combining speech recognition, facial expression synthesis, sensor-based interaction, and affective computing, it forms a systematic solution for after-school learning and emotional support. The design embeds AI ethics, safety, and privacy protection standards to ensure sustainable and trustworthy educational use.

Development of Guidelines for Generative AI Use among K-12 Students
Education Management Information Center, Ministry of Education , 2025 - 2025

Fox and Field
2023 - Present
What types of scaffolds can narrow the computational thinking performance gap between experts and novices in programming courses? To explore this question, we designed Fox and Field, a block-based programming game with different types of scaffolding support. We deployed it with undergraduate students from both computer science and non-computer science majors, assessed their computational thinking knowledge, and logged their programming process data.

Code Beats
2020 - 2025
Making music can be a promising way to learn programming. We teach computational thinking through a curriculum in which students learn to code, manipulate, and create hip-hop beats while experiencing computational processes. As students compose beats, they learn fundamental computer science concepts and skills in an engaging and often seamless way.

Partner4CS
2020 - 2023
This project aimed to establish sustainable, high-quality professional development and support for middle school and high school computer science teachers by forming teams of university faculty and undergraduates in computer science, education, and mathematics education, while drawing on successful components from existing models across the country.

Publications

Journal Articles

^* Corresponding author

Examining computational thinking across disciplines in higher education classrooms: learning outcomes from student-generated artifacts [JCHE] [PDF]
Yifan Zhang, Amanda Mohammad Mirzaei, Chrystalla Mouza, Lori Pollock, and Kevin Guidry
Journal of Computing in Higher Education 38 (1), 1-37, 2026

Augmentation or Limitation? Generative AI’s Influence on College Students’ Creative Problem-Solving [TSC] [PDF]
Hanhuan Wang, Ting Da, Yuanrong Wang, Fenghao Luo, Yifan Zhang^*, Ahmed Tlili, Dong Yang, Yarong Wang, Jiaxin Xu, Xixian Zhu, Man Wan, Ronghuai Huang
Thinking Skills and Creativity, 102116, 2025

Learner-Centered Digital Learning Experience Design: A Case Study of the K-12 Educational Product 'Future Lab' [PDF]
Dejian Liu, Guoliang Zhang, Yifang Xiao, Yifan Zhang, Haijun Zeng
Modern Educational Technology

Global Smart Education Development Beyond 2030: Core Consensus and Practical Pathways—A Review of the Closed-Door Meetings at the 2025 Global Smart Education Conference [PDF]
Zhisheng Li, Lin Xu, Yifan Zhang, Asha Singh Kanwar
China Education Informatization

Conference Papers / Posters

Analyzing Computational Thinking Gameplay: Identifying Struggles and the Role of Experience [ACM DL] [PDF] [Poster]
Sotheara Veng, Yifan Zhang, Ekaterina Bergwall, and Teomara Rutherford
Proceedings of the 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2025

Scaffolding Expertise: Evaluating Scaffolds for Block-Based Coding Among Experts and Novices [ACM DL] [PDF]
Yifan Zhang, Teomara Rutherford
2024 International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence for Education (ISAIE 2024)

Examining Participation and Outcomes Among Middle School Students in a Virtual Camp on Coding with Music [ISLS Repo] [PDF] [Slides]
Yifan Zhang, Santiago Ospina Tabares, Ray Patt, Douglas Lusa Krug, Hilary Mead, Chrystalla Mouza, David Shepherd, and Lori Pollock
International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS)

Using Domain-Specific, Immediate Feedback to Support Students Learning Computer Programming to Make Music [ACM DL] [PDF]
Douglas Lusa Krug, Yifan Zhang, Chrystalla Mouza, Taylor Barnett, Lori Pollock, and David C. Shepherd
Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE). 2023.

A Case Study of Middle Schoolers’ Use of Computational Thinking Concepts and Practices during Coded Music Composition [ACM DL] [PDF] [Slides]
Yifan Zhang, Douglas Lusa Krug, Chrystalla Mouza, David C. Shepherd, and Lori Pollock
Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE). 2022.

Exploring Computational Thinking Across Disciplines Through Student-Generated Artifact Analysis [ACM DL] [Abstract] [Poster]
Yifan Zhang, Amanda Mohammad Mirzaei, Lori Pollock, Chrystalla Mouza, and Kevin Guidry
ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE). 2021.

Book Editors

On-Demand Learning in a Changing World: Philosophical, Technological, and Practical Perspectives on Workforce and Vocational Education
Dejian Liu, Paul Prinsloo, Asha Kanwar, Usama Kalim, Yifan Zhang
in press

Book Chapters

Smart Education in Action: Case Studies Mapping China’s Innovative Classroom Transformation [Chapter]
Yifan Zhang, Yujia Yang, Yang Zhang, and Huanhuan Wang
Innovative Practices in China's Smart Education: Ushering in a New Stage, 75-97, 2026

Innovating Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning: Success Stories from China [Chapter]
Yifan Zhang, Danwei Chen, Ting Da, and Xinyi Cao
Innovative Practices in China's Smart Education: Ushering in a New Stage, 165-184, 2026

Digital Intelligence Empowerment· Paradigm Shift: Smart Practices and Ecosystem Reconstruction in the Global Digital Transformation of Education [Chapter]
Ting Da, Yifan Zhang, Siyi Zhao, and Huanhuan Wang
Innovative Practices in China's Smart Education: Ushering in a New Stage, 99-111, 2026

Talks

Teachers’ Intentions Towards AI for Administrative Relief: A TOE-Enhanced TAM Lens
American Educational Research Association (AERA), April 2026

Co-Designing Metadata for Discoverability: Supporting K-12 Teachers’ Access to Educational Resources
American Educational Research Association (AERA), April 2026

Augmentation or Limitation? Generative AI’s Influence on College Students’ Creative Problem-Solving
The 9th Peking University Frontier Forum on Learning Sciences and Future Education, January 2026

Honors and Awards

The 19th Special Grant of the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
2026

Ministry of Education Postdoctoral YC Talent Program
2025

Daniel L. Chester Graduate Student Fellow
2022 - 2024

Full Doctoral Fellowship and Research Assistantship
2019 - 2024

Graduate Student Representative, Academic Program Review
2022