2026
Article accepted in Innovative Higher Education
Why educators use but do not endorse artificial intelligence in higher education.
Cognitive presence detection article published in Educational Technology Research and Development
Transformer-based detection of cognitive presence in MOOC discussions.
IMLS Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program award for SALAMANDER
Co-PI on SALAMANDER: Strengthening Academic Librarians' AI Methods and Networks for Digital Ethics Research (2026 to 2028).
MIRA-Sim findings presented at the HAI-Agency Workshop, AIED 2026, Seoul
Defensible but not owned: Behavioral traces of epistemic ownership in an AI-mediated deliberation environment.
New conference presentation at ISLS 2026, Irvine
Tu, F., Yu, J. H., Chen, H., Ding, J., Dong, L., Hsieh, C.-J., Kim, H., & Watson, S. L. (2026, June). Measuring cognitive presence in online discussions: Interpretable AI and instructional insights from a MOOC context [Poster]. ISLS Annual Meeting, Irvine, CA.
Joined the editorial board of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning
Serving on the editorial board of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning (IJPBL).
New conference presentation at LAK26, Bergen
Yu, J. H., Wilhoit, H. Y., & Tu, F. (2026, April). Beyond interaction: Validating new pathways to success in MOOC-based microcredentials [Poster presentation]. 16th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK26), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Article accepted in Educational Technology Research and Development
Yu, J. H., Kim, H., Dong, L., Hsieh, C.-J., Duan, S., & Watson, S. (accepted). Linguistic patterns in reflective writing: Analyzing graduate students' professional aspirations. Educational Technology Research and Development.
Article accepted in Computers & Education
Yu, J. H., Tu, F., & Yelamar, K. S. (accepted). Structured flexibility in microcredentials: A temporal analysis of self-regulated achievement pathways. Computers & Education. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2026.105624
UNT Learning Institute Pilot Grant awarded for "Partner, Not Crutch"
Awarded $5,000 as PI for designing a metacognitive nudge to promote AI co-regulation. This work is the foundation of the adaptive scaffolding in MIRA-Agent.
2025
Best Paper Award, AERA 2025 Online Teaching and Learning SIG
Our paper using epistemic network analysis to examine the co-development of social and cognitive presence in asynchronous online courses received the Best Paper Award at AERA 2025, Denver, CO.
Two posters presented at LAK25, Dublin, Ireland
Presented research at the 15th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK25): latent growth modeling of MOOC discussion engagement trajectories, and tracking student certification pathways.
UNT COI Rising Star Faculty Award for the second consecutive year
Received the Rising Star Faculty Award from the UNT College of Information for the second year running, recognizing exceptional early-career contributions to research and teaching.
Best Paper Award, KSET 2025 Educational Technology International SIG
Recognized by the Korean Society for Educational Technology for advancing learning analytics through clustering and predictive modeling to uncover learner profiles in Korean K-8 digital textbook contexts.
Awarded Ewha Global Fellow 2025–2026
Selected as an Ewha Global Fellow by Ewha Womans University in Seoul — recognizing distinguished international scholars for collaborative research and educational exchange with Ewha faculty.