Last updated: Feb 5, 2025
RENE F. KIZILCEC
208 Gates Hall 107 Hoy Rd, Ithaca, NY 14853 +1 (607) 255-8327 | kizilcec@cornell.edu http://rene.kizilcec.com/ http://learning.cis.cornell.edu/ |
EMPLOYMENT
2024 – present Associate Professor, Department of Information Science, Cornell University
Graduate field member, Communication (since 2021)
Graduate field member, Physics (since 2021)
Minor graduate field member, Data Science (since 2020)
2018 – 2024 Assistant Professor, Department of Information Science, Cornell University
2017 – 2018 Assistant Research Professor, School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems
Engineering, Arizona State University
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Communication, Stanford University, 2017
M.S., Statistics, Stanford University, 2015
B.A. (1st class honors), Philosophy and Economics, University College London, 2011
SELECTED AWARDS
2025 LEAP Fellow, MIT Solve
2024 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow (Computer Science)
2024 Ann S. Bowers Research Excellence Award, Bowers College, Cornell University
2023 Best Paper Award (83 submissions, 23 accepted, 2 awards), ACM Learning at Scale
2023 Community-Engaged Practice and Innovation Award, Einhorn Center, Cornell University
2023 Best Short Paper Honorable Mention, Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge
2023 LEAP Fellow, MIT Solve
2022 Best UG Paper Award (72 submissions, 22 accepted, 1 award), ACM Learning at Scale
2021 Jacobs Foundation Research Fellow
2021 Best Paper Honorable Mention (63 subm., 19 accepted, 3 nominated), ACM Learning at Scale
2021 Best UG Paper Award (24 submissions, 10 accepted, 1 award), ACM Learning at Scale
2021 Outstanding Reviewer 2020, American Education Research Association (AERA)
2019 Best Paper Award (70 submissions, 24 accepted, 2 awards), ACM Learning at Scale
2018 Best Paper Award (58 submissions, 24 accepted, 1 award), ACM Learning at Scale
2017 Best Paper Award (105 submissions, 14 accepted, 1 award), ACM Learning at Scale
2017 Nathan Maccoby Outstanding Dissertation Award, Stanford University
2015 Computational Social Science Fellowship, Stanford University ($10,000 research funding)
2014 Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellowship (Ph.D. funding for 3 years)
SELECTED GRANTS
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, “National Tutoring Observatory” (2 years; $1,000,000; PI Rene Kizilcec, Co-PIs Justin Reich, Ken Koedinger, Rachel Slama), 2025
Gates Foundations, “National Tutoring Observatory” (2 years; $3,921,000; PI Rene Kizilcec, Co-PIs Justin Reich, Ken Koedinger, Rachel Slama), 2024
Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship Program 2024-26 (2 years; $75,000), 2024
NSF, “CAREER: Improving educators trust in and effective uses of predictive learning analytics to support students” (5 years; $807,582; PI Rene Kizilcec), 2023
Schmidt Futures Foundation, “Fairness Analysis & Transfer Learning Hub” (2 years; $475,000; PI Kizilcec; Co-PIs Chris Brooks, Renzhe Yu), 2022
CIFAR and Jacobs Foundation, “Developing a Universal Framework for Teachers’ Adoption of Best Practices” (2 years; Canadian $50,000; PI Rene Kizilcec, Co-PIs Allyson Mckey, Lisa Bardach, Jamie Jirout, Dana McCoy, Luca Maria Pesando, David Yeager), 2022
Cornell-UCL Global Strategic Collaboration Award, “The Role of Transparency Frames in Human-AI Interaction and Trust” (1 year; $5,000 + £4,000; Co-PIs Rene Kizilcec, Mutlu Cukurova), 2022
USyd-Cornell Partnership Collaboration Award, “Testing a Framework for designing and evaluating scalable online assessment in a global higher education context”, (1 year; $7,500 + AUD 10,000; Co-PIs Rene Kizilcec, Elaine Huber), 2022
Jacobs Foundation Research Fellowship Program 2022-24 (3 years; CHF 165,000), 2021
Schmidt Futures Foundation, “Instrumenting the Realizeit Platform” (2 years; $500,000; PI Rene Kizilcec; Co-PI Ryan Baker), 2021
Google Award for Inclusion Research Program, “Investigating How to Mitigate Bias in Predictive Models of Student Success Across Diverse Institutions” (1 year, $60,000; Co-PIs Chris Brooks, Rene Kizilcec), 2021
Cornell Center for Social Science Small Grant, “How University Status Impacts the Stigma Attached to Online Degrees” (1 year; $10,000; Co-PIs Heeyon Kim, Rene Kizilcec), 2021
Cornell Center for Social Science Conference Grant, “Learning at Scale Conference at Cornell Tech” (1 year; $3,000), 2021
NSF, “Medium: Deterring objectionable behavior and fostering emergent norms in social media conversations” (4 years; $1,197,740; PI Drew Margolin; Co-PIs Rene Kizilcec, Natalie Bazarova, Vanessa Bohns, Dominic DiFranzo), 2021
Northeastern Center for Inclusive Computing Data Grant (2 years; $60,000; PI Hakim Weatherspoon; Co-PI Kizilcec), 2021
Cornell Center for Social Science Small Grant, “Content & Impact of Diversity Statements in Course Syllabi” (1 year; $12,000; PI Rene Kizilcec), 2020
Cornell Engaged Development Grant, “Plant-rich Diet” (2 year; $60,000; PI Marianne Krasny; Co-PI Rene Kizilcec), 2020
Mindset Scholars Network/Gates, “Learning Environments and the Mindsets and Performance of Students Within Them” (1.5 years; $75,000; PI Neil Lewis Jr.; Co-PI Rene Kizilcec), 2019
Cornell Active Learning Initiative, “Promoting Active Learning in Large Information Science Courses” (3 years; $950,000; PI Steven Jackson; Co-PI Rene Kizilcec), 2019
Cornell China Center Innovation Grant, “Environment and Education SDGs: Building capacity for local environmental practice through online learning in China” (2 years; $60,000; PIs Marianne Krasny and Rene Kizilcec), 2019
Cornell Engaged Planning Grant, “Teaching Programming through Semantic Gamification” (1 year; $30,000; PI Francois Guimbretiere; Co-PIs Rene Kizilcec and Andrew Myers), 2019
Cornell Institute for the Social Sciences Collaborative Project, “Prosocial Behavior in the Digital Age” (3 years; PIs Natalie Bazarova, Drew Margolin; Co-PIs Vanessa Bohns, Rene Kizilcec, Janis Whitlock), 2018
PUBLICATIONS
Google Scholar (2/5/2025): 9597 citations; 37 h-index; 66 i10-index
Peer-Reviewed Articles: General Science Journals
Tao, Y., Viberg, O., Baker, R. S., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2024). Cultural bias and cultural alignment of large language models. PNAS nexus, 3(9), p. 346.
Kizilcec, R. F., Baker, R. B., Bruch, E., Cortes, K. E., Hamilton, L. T., Lang, D. N., Pardos, Z. A., Thompson, M. E., & Stevens, M. L. (2023). From pipelines to pathways in the study of academic progress. Science, 380(6643).
Hohenstein, J., Kizilcec, R. F., DiFranzo, D., Aghajari, Z., Mieczkowski, H., Levy, K., Naaman, M., Hancock, J., & Jung, M. F. (2023). Artificial intelligence in communication impacts language and social relationships. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 5487.
Kizilcec, R. F., Makridis, C. A., & Sadowski, K. C. (2021). Pandemic Response Policies' Democratizing Effects on Online Learning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 118(11).
Kizilcec, R. F. & Kambhampaty, A. (2020). Identifying course characteristics associated with sociodemographic variation in enrollments across 159 online courses from 20 institutions. PloS One 15(10), e0239766.
Kizilcec, R. F., Reich, J., Yeomans, M., Dann, C., Brunskill, E., Lopez, D., Turkay, S., Williams, J., & Tingley, D. (2020). Scaling Up Behavioral Science Interventions in Online Education. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 117(26), 14900-14905.
Chirikov, I., Semenova, T. Maloshonok, N., Bettinger, E., Kizilcec, R. F. (2020). Online Education Platforms Scale College STEM Instruction with Equivalent Learning Outcomes at Lower Cost. Science Advances, 6(15).
Kizilcec, R. F., Saltarelli, A., Reich, J., & Cohen, G. L. (2017). Closing global achievement gaps in MOOCs. Science, 355(6322), 249.
Kizilcec, R. F. & Cohen, G. L. (2017). Eight-minute self-regulation intervention raises educational attainment at scale in individualist but not collectivist cultures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 114(17), 4348–4353.
Eckles, D., Kizilcec, R. F., & Bakshy, E. (2016). Estimating peer effects in networks with peer encouragement designs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 113(27), 7316-7322.
Peer-Reviewed Articles: Disciplinary Journals
Kizilcec, R. F., Huber, E., Papanastasiou, E. C., Cram, A., Makridis, C. A., Smolansky, A., Zeivots, S., & Raduescu, C. (2024). Perceived impact of generative AI on assessments: Comparing educator and student perspectives in Australia, Cyprus, and the United States. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 7, 100269.
Zhao, P., Bazarova, N. N., DiFranzo, D., Hui, W., Kizilcec, R. F., & Margolin, D. (2024). Standing up to problematic content on social media: which objection strategies draw the audience’s approval?. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 29(1).
Chen, Y., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2024). Showing authentic examples of academic and career trajectories to influence college students’ career exploration. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 153, 104026.
Viberg, O., Kizilcec, R. F., Wise, A. F., Jivet, I., & Nixon, N. (2024). Advancing equity and inclusion in educational practices with AI‐powered educational decision support systems (AI‐EDSS). British Journal of Educational Technology, 55(5), 1974-1981.
Viberg, O., Cukurova, M., Feldman-Maggor, Y., Alexandron, G., Shirai, S., Kanemune, S., Wasson, B., Tømte, C., Spikol, D., Milrad, M. Coelho, R., Kizilcec, R. F. (2024). What Explains Teachers’ Trust of AI in Education across Six Countries? International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education.
Lee, J., Hicke, Y., Yu, R., Brooks, C., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2024). The life cycle of large language models in education: A framework for understanding sources of bias. British Journal of Educational Technology, 55(5), 1982-2002.
Viberg, O., Kizilcec, R. F., Jivet, I., Monés, A. M., Oh, A., Mutimukwe, C., Hrastinski, S., & Scheffel, M. (2024). Cultural differences in students’ privacy concerns in learning analytics across Germany, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 14, 100416.
Alvero, AJ., Lee, J., Regla-Vargas, A., Kizilec, R., Joachims, T., & Antonio, A. L. (2024) Large language models, social demography, and hegemony: comparing authorship in human and synthetic text. Journal of Big Data 11, 138.
Muñoz-Najar Galvez, S., Lee, J., Alvero, AJ., Stewart, S., Kizilcec, R. F., & Desiderio, A. (2024). Artificial Communication and Media Realism in College Admissions. The Digitized Campus: Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Higher Education.
Allen, S. E. & Kizilcec, R. F. (2024). A systemic model of academic (mis)conduct to curb cheating in higher education. Higher Education, 1-21.
Kizilcec, R. F. & Mitchell, J. C.. (2024). Remote Learning and Work. IEEE Internet Computing, 28(1).
Zhao, P., Bazarova, N. N., DiFranzo, D., Hui, W., Kizilcec, R. F. & Margolin, D. (2024). Standing up to problematic content on social media: which objection strategies draw the audience’s approval? Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 29(1).
Rizvi, S., Rienties, B., Rogaten, J., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2023). Are MOOC learning designs culturally inclusive (enough)? Journal of Computer-Assisted Learning.
Alon, L., Sung, S., Cho, J., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2023). From emergency to sustainable online learning: Changes and disparities in undergraduate course grades and experiences in the context of COVID-19. Computers & Education, 203, 104870.
Misevic, D., Atal, I., Bedard, D., Cherel, E., Escamilla, J., Evans, L., Hannon, V., Huron, C., Irrmann, O., Kizilcec, R. and Lazega, E. (2023). Harnessing collective intelligence for the future of learning – a co-constructed research and development agenda. Human Computation, 10(1), 1-30.
Claure, H., Kim, S., Kizilcec, R., & Jung, M. (2023). The social consequences of machine allocation behavior: Fairness, interpersonal perceptions and performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 146, 107628.
McCarthy, K. S., Crossley, S. A., Meyers, K., Boser, U., Allen, L. K., Chaudhri, V. K., Collins-Thompson, K., D’Mello, S., De Choudhury, M., Garg, K., Goel, A., Gosha, K., Heffernan, N., Hooper, M. A., Hyman, E., Jarratt, D. C., Khalil, D., Kizilcec, R. F., Litman, D., Malatinszky, A., Marks, K., McNamara, D. S., Menko, R., Palermo, C., Porcaro, D., Roscoe, R., Shapiro, S., Khanh-Phoung, T., Trumbore, A. M., White, C., Wong, W., Yang, D., & Zampieri, M. (2022). Toward more effective and equitable learning: Identifying barriers and solutions for the future of online education. Technology, Mind, & Behavior.
Rizvi, S., Rienties, B., Rogaten, J., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2022). Beyond one-size-fits-all in MOOCs: Variation in learning design and persistence of learners in different cultural and socioeconomic contexts. Computers in Human Behavior, 126, 106973.
Williams-Ceci, S., Grose, G. E., Pinch, A. C., Kizilcec, R. F., & Lewis Jr, N. A. (2021). Combating sharenting: Interventions to alter parents’ attitudes toward posting about their children online. Computers in Human Behavior, 125, 106939.
Kizilcec, R. F., Chen, M., Jasinska, K., Madaio, M., & Ogan, A. (2021). Mobile Learning During School Disruptions in Sub-Saharan Africa. AERA Open, 7.
Varanasi, R. A., Vashistha, A., Kizilcec, R. F., & Dell, N. (2021) Investigating Technostress Among Teachers in Low-IncomeIndian Schools. In Proceedings of the ACM on Human Computer Interaction.
Cho, J., Li, Y., Krasny, M. E., Russ, A., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2021). Online Learning and Social Norms: Evidence from a Cross-Cultural Field Experiment in a Course for a Cause. Computer-based Learning in Context, 3(1), 18-36.
Chaturapruek, S., Dalberg, T., Thompson, M. E., Giebel, S., Harrison, M., Johari, R., Stevens, M. L., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2021). Studying Undergraduate Course Consideration at Scale. AERA Open, 7.
Rizvi, S., Rienties, B., Rogaten, J., Kizilcec, R. F. (2019). Investigating Variation in Learning Processes in a FutureLearn MOOC. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 32, 162-181.
Davis, D., Kizilcec, R. F., Hauff, C., & Houben, G.-J. (2018). Scaling Effective Learning Strategies: Retrieval Practice and Long-Term Knowledge Retention in MOOCs. Journal of Learning Analytics, 5(3), 21-41.
Maldonado-Mahauad, J., Pérez-Sanagustín, M., Kizilcec, R. F., Morales, N., & Munoz-Gama, J. (2018). Mining theory-based patterns from Big data: Identifying self-regulated learning strategies in Massive Open Online Courses. Computers in Human Behavior, 80, 179-196.
Kizilcec, R. F., Perez-Sanagustin, M., & Maldonado, J. J. (2017). Self-Regulated learning strategies predict learner behavior and goal attainment in Massive Open Online Courses. Computers & Education, 104, 18-33.
Li, J., Kizilcec, R. F., Bailenson, J. N., & Ju, W. (2016). Social Robots and Virtual Agents as Lecturers for Video Instruction. Computers in Human Behavior, 55(B), 1222-1230.
Kizilcec, R. F. & Schneider, E. (2015). Motivation as a Lens to Understand Online Learners. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), 22(2).
Kizilcec, R. F., Bailenson, J. N., & Gomez, C. J. (2015). The Instructor’s Face in Video Instruction: Evidence from Two Large-Scale Field Studies. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(3), 724-739.
Kizilcec, R. F., Schneider, E., Cohen, G. L., & McFarland, D. A. (2014). Encouraging Forum Participation in Online Courses with Collectivist, Individualist, and Neutral Motivational Framings. eLearning Papers, 37, 13-22.
Thille, C., Schneider, D. E., Kizilcec, R. F., Piech, C., Halawa, S. A., & Greene, D. K. (2014). The Future of Data–Enriched Assessment. Research & Practice in Assessment, 9(2), 5-16.
Aymerich-Franch, L., Kizilcec, R. F., & Bailenson, J. N. (2014). The Relationship between Virtual Self Similarity and Social Anxiety. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8(944).
Peer-Reviewed and Published Conference Papers
Harvey, E. H., Koenecke, A., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2025). "Don't Forget the Teachers": Towards an Educator-Centered Understanding of Harms from Large Language Models in Education. In Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM.
Williamson, K. H., Kizilcec, R. F., Fath, S., & Heffernan, N. (2025). Algorithm Appreciation in Education: Educators Prefer Complex over Simple Algorithms. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK).
Lee, J., Harvey, E., Zhou, J., Garg, N., Joachims, T., & Kizilcec, R. F. 2024. Ending Affirmative Action Harms Diversity Without Improving Academic Merit. In Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization (EAAMO ’24), ACM.
Harvey, E., Koenecke, A., & Kizilcec, R. (2024) Towards an Educator-Centered Method for Measuring Bias in Large Language Models. AAAI 2024 Workshop on AI for Education. Spotlight Presentation.
Rajashekar, N.C., Shin, Y.E., Pu, Y., Chung, S., You, K., Giuffre, M., Chan, C.E., Saarinen, T., Hsiao, A., Sekhon, J., Wong, A.H., Evans, L.V., Kizilcec, R.F. Laine, L., Mccall, T., & Shung, D. (2024) Human-Algorithmic Interaction Using a Large Language Model-Augmented Artificial Intelligence Clinical Decision Support System. In Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM.
Cho, J., Tao, Y., Yeomans, M., Tingley, D., Kizilcec, R. F. (2024). Which Planning Tactics Predict Online Course Completion? In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK).
Lee, H., Kizilcec, R. F., & Joachims, T. (2023). Evaluating a Learned Admission-Prediction Model as a Replacement for Standardized Tests in College Admissions. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S). Best Paper Award
Lee, J. Thymes, B., Zhou, J., Joachims, T., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2023). Augmenting Holistic Review in University Admission using Natural Language Processing for Essays and Recommendation Letters. In Workshop Proceedings of Intl. Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED).
Cram, A., Raduescu, C., Zeivots, S., Smolansky, A., Kizilcec, R. F., & Huber, E. (2023). Developing a Prototype to Scale up Digital Support for Online Assessment Design. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S).
Smolansky, A., Cram, A., Raduescu, C., Zeivots, S., Huber, E., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2023). Educator and Student Perspectives on the Impact of Generative AI on Assessments in Higher Education. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning@ Scale (L@S).
Kizilcec, R.F., Viberg, O., Jivet, I., Martínez-Monés, A., Oh, A., Hrastinski, S., Mutimukwe, C., & Scheffel, M. (2023). The Role of Gender in Students’ Privacy Concerns about Learning Analytics: Evidence from five countries. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK). Best Short Paper Honorable Mention
Gardner, J., Yu, R., Nguyen, Q., Brooks, C., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2023). Cross-Institutional Transfer Learning for Educational Models: Implications for Model Performance, Fairness, and Equity. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT).
Williamson, K. H., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2023). Structures in Online Discussion Forums: Promoting Inclusion or Exclusion? In Proceedings of the Intl. Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED), 115-120
Alon, L., Sung, S. Y., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2023). “It’s Nice to Mix Up the Rhythm”: Undergraduates’ Experiences in a Large Blended Learning Course in Information Science in the Context of COVID-19. In Proceedings of the Intl. Conference on Information, 445-460.
Sung, S., Alon, L., Cho, J., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2022). How to Assess Student Learning in Information Science: Exploratory Evidence from Large College Courses. In Proceedings of the 85th Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T).
Chen, Y., Fu, A., Lee, J., Wilkie Tomaski, I., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2022). Pathways: Exploring Academic Interests with Historical Course Enrollment Records. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S).
Sabnis, S., Yu, R., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2022). Large-Scale Student Data Reveal Sociodemographic Gaps in Procrastination Behavior. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S). Best UG Paper Award
Williamson, K. & Kizilcec, R. F. (2022). Using Social Network Analysis to Explore Discussion Board Networks in Higher Education Classrooms. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S).
Cho, J., Li, Y., Krasny, M. E., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2022). Measuring Cultural Dimensions of Learning in Online Courses. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S).
Kizilcec, R. F., Mimno, J. A., & Karhan, A. J. (2022). Effects of Framing Professional Development as a Career Growth Opportunity on Course Completion. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S).
Williamson, K. & Kizilcec, R. F. (2022). A Review of Learning Analytics Dashboard Research in Higher Education: Implications for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. In Proceedings of the Intl. Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK).
Allen, S. E., Phillips, A. M., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2021). Student perceptions of pre-assessments: “It’s basically just guessing anyways.” In Proceedings of the Physics Education Research Conference.
Alon, L., Sung, S. & Kizilcec, R.F. (2021). How Does Active Learning Change Undergraduate Learning Experiences? A Case of a Large Technology Design Course. In T. Bastiaens (Ed.), In Proceedings of Innovate Learning Summit, 201-208.
Yu, R., Lee, H., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2021). Should College Dropout Prediction Models Include Protected Attributes? In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S). Best Paper Honorable Mention
Williamson, K. & Kizilcec, R. F. (2021). Effects of Algorithmic Transparency in Bayesian Knowledge Tracing on Trust and Perceived Accuracy. In Proceedings of the Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM).
Williamson, K. & Kizilcec, R. F. (2021). Learning Analytics Dashboard Research Has Neglected Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S).
Cho, J. & Kizilcec, R. F. (2021). Applying the Behavior Change Taxonomy from Public Health Interventions to Education Research. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S).
Cho, J., Li, Y., Krasny, M. E., Armstrong, A., Russ, A., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2021). Using Social Norms to Promote Actions Beyond the Course. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S).
Cho, J., Tomasik, I., Yang, H., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2021). Student Perceptions of Social Support in the Transition to Emergency Remote Instruction. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S). Best UG Paper Award
Cho, J. & Kizilcec, R. F. (2021). Delivery Ghost: Effects of Language Immersion and Interactivity in a Language Learning Game. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI).
Kizilcec, R. F. & Chen, M. (2020). Student Engagement in Mobile Learning via Text Message. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S).
Chen, Y. & Kizilcec, R. F. (2020). Examining Sources of Variation in Student Confusion in College Classes. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S).
Kizilcec, R. F., Saltarelli, A. J., Bonfert-Taylor, P., Goudzwaard, M., Hamonic, E., & Sharrock, R. (2020). Welcome to the Course: Early Social Cues Influence Women’s Persistence in Computer Science. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI).
Varanasi, R. A., Kizilcec, R. F., & Dell, N. (2019). How Teachers in India Reconfigure their Work Practices around a Teacher-Oriented Technology Intervention. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW).
Kizilcec, R. F. & Saltarelli, A. (2019). Can a diversity statement increase diversity in MOOCs? In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S). Best Paper Award
Kizilcec, R. F. & Goldfarb, D. (2019). Growth Mindset Predicts Student Achievement and Behavior in Mobile Learning. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S).
Kizilcec, R. F. & Saltarelli, A. (2019). Psychologically Inclusive Design. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI).
Kizilcec, R. F., Bakshy, E., Eckles, D., & Burke, M. (2018). Social Influence and Reciprocity in Online Gift Giving. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI).
Chaturapruek, S., Dee, T. S., Johari, R., Kizilcec, R. F., & Stevens, M. L. (2018). How a data-driven course planning tool affects college students' GPA: Evidence from two field experiments. In Proceedings of the Fifth ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S). Best Paper Award
Davis, D., Kizilcec, R. F., Hauff, C., & Houben, G.-J. (2018). The Half-Life of MOOC Knowledge: A Randomized Trial Evaluating the Testing Effect in MOOCs. In Proceedings of the Intl. Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK).
Kizilcec, R. F., Davis, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2017). Towards equal opportunities in MOOCs: Affirmation reduces gender & social-class achievement gaps in China. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S). Best Paper Award
Davis, D., Jivet, I., Kizilcec, R. F., Chen, G., Hauff, C., & Houben, G.-J. (2017). Follow the Successful Crowd: Facilitating Social Comparison Raises MOOC Completion Rates. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK).
Kizilcec, R. F. (2016). How Much Information? Effects of Transparency on Trust in an Algorithmic Interface. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI).
Kizilcec, R. F., Perez-Sanagustin, M., & Maldonado, J. J. (2016). Recommending Self-Regulated Learning Strategies Does Not Improve Performance in a MOOC. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S).
Kizilcec, R. F., & Halawa, S. A. (2015). Attrition and Achievement Gaps in Online Learning. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (L@S).
Krause, M., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2015). To Play or not to Play: Response Quality and Task Complexity in Games and Paid Crowdsourcing. In Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Human Computation & Crowdsourcing (HCOMP).
Kizilcec, R. F., Papadopoulos, K., & Sritanyaratana, L. (2014). Showing Face in Video Instruction: Effects on Information Retention, Visual Attention, and Affect. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI).
Zhang, K. & Kizilcec, R. F. (2014). Anonymity in Social Media: Effects of Content Controversiality and Social Endorsement on Sharing Behavior. In Proceedings of the AAAI Intl. Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (ICWSM).
Kizilcec, R. F., Piech, C., & Schneider, E. (2013). Deconstructing Disengagement: Analyzing Learner Subpopulations in Massive Open Online Courses. In Proceedings of the Intl. Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK).
Kizilcec, R. F. (2013). Collaborative Learning in Geographically Distributed and In-person Groups. In Proceedings of the Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED).
Book Chapters
Kizilcec, R. F. (forthcoming). Higher Education. In Tara Behrend (Ed.), Human-Technology Partnerships at Work. Cambridge Press.
Kizilcec, R. F., Shung, D. L., & Sung, J. J. (2024). Human-machine interaction: AI-assisted medicine, instead of AI-driven medicine. In Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (pp. 131-140). Academic Press.
Alvero, A. J., Kizilcec, R. F., Lee, J., & Munoz-Najar Galvez. (forthcoming). Perspectives on NLP in College Admissions. In Frank Fernandez (Ed.), The Digitized Campus: Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Higher Education. SUNY Press.
Kizilcec, R. F. & Davis, D. (2023). Learning Analytics Education: A case study, review of current programs, and recommendations for instructors. In Olga Viberg and Åke Grönlund (Eds.), Practicable Learning Analytics. Springer Nature.
Kizilcec, R. F. & Lee, H. (2022). Algorithmic Fairness in Education. In W. Holmes & K. Porayska-Pomsta (Eds.), The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Education, Routledge.
Rizvi, S., Rienties, B., Rogaten, J., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2022). Culturally-Adaptive Learning Design: A Mixed-method Study of Cross-Cultural Learning Design Preferences in MOOCs. In B. Rienties, R. Hampel, E. Scanlon, D. Whitelock (Eds.), Open World Learning: What Works?, Routledge.
Kizilcec, R. F. & Brooks, C. (2017). Diverse Big Data and Randomized Field Experiments in MOOCs. In C. Lang, G. Siemens, A. Wise, D. Gašević (Eds.), Handbook of Learning Analytics (pp. 211-222). Society for Learning Analytics Research.
Edited Special Issues
Kizilcec, R. F. & Mitchell, J. C. (2024). Remote Learning and Work. IEEE Internet Computing, 24(1).
Viberg, O., Kizilcec, R. F., Wise, A. F., Jivet, I., & Nixon, N. (Sep 2024) “Special Issue: Advancing Equity and Inclusion in Educational Practices with AI-Powered Educational Decision Support Systems (AI-EDSS)” British Journal of Educational Technology. CFP: https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/14678535/cfp-advancing-equity-and-inclusion
Peer-Reviewed Commentaries and Policy Briefs
Williamson, K. H., Guerrero, V., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2024). Improving Social Justice should be an Objective of Learning Analytics Research. Journal of Learning Analytics.
Kizilcec, R. F. (2023). To Advance AI Use in Education, Focus on Understanding Educators. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 1-8.
Kizilcec, R. F., Mason, J., McCarthy, K. S., Rodrigo, M. M. T., Rose, C. P. (2023). Using Technology to Foster Equitable Access and Diverse Learning Communities. Digital Promise and the International Society of the Learning Sciences.
INVITED TALKS/PANELS
2025 Responsible AI in Education, Nokia Bell Labs, Responsible AI seminar
2025 Introducing the National Tutoring Observatory, AI-ALOE, webinar
2024 Congress on AI in Higher Education, University of Puerto Rico, keynote
2023 IPN - Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, Kiel, Germany, invited talk
2022 Educational Data Mining (EDM) Conference, Durham University, keynote
2022 Center for Biomedical Data Science Digital Health Seminar, Yale University, invited talk
2022 MARS AI Seminar Series, Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, invited talk
2022 Culturally Aware Learning Analytics workshop, LAK, workshop keynote
2022 Motivation, self-regulation, and personality symposium, Tübingen University, invited guest
2022 Learning and Collective Intelligence workshop, Learning Planet Institute, Paris, guest speaker
2021 Summer Institute in Computational Social Science, HSE University, guest lecture
2021 Culturally Aware Human-Centered Learning Analytics Workshop, EC-TEL, keynote
2021 Positive Education Conference, Tsinghua University, keynote
2021 eMadrid Research Days, Online, invited talk on Self-regulated Learning
2021 AAAI Panel on Advancing Learning in the Digital Era, panelist
2020 Aspen Forum for the Future of Higher Education, co-organizing session
2020 AERA Educational Data Science Mini-conference, Stanford University, invited talk
2020 Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) conference, talk (2% acceptance rate)
2019 Singapore Management University, “Communication, Data, and Design” colloquium talk
2019 National University of Singapore, ALSET seminar, invited talk
2019 China Positive Education Conference, Tsinghua University, keynote
2018 Northeast Big Data in Education Conference, CMU, invited keynote
2018 University of Michigan, Academic Innovation speaker series, talk on inclusive learning
2017 Higher School of Economics, Russia, invited keynote at higher education conference
2017 Udemy, Inc., talk on supporting continued engagement with online learning at scale
2017 Kahn Academy, talk on supporting continued engagement with online learning at scale
2016 Pontifical Catholic U. of Chile, talk on social psychological barriers in higher education
2016 Rosetta Stone, talk on psychological factors in online courses
2016 EdTech Meetup RheinMain, Germany, talk on online education research
2016 Pratham Symposium, Stanford, panel on worldwide challenges in education
2016 MediaX Conference, Stanford, panel on digital augmentation in education
2016 Learning Summit, Stanford, panel discussion on inclusive learning environments
2016 TU Delft, the Netherlands, talk on psychological interventions in online learning
2016 Coursera Partners Conference, Holland, talk on strategies to support active learning in MOOCs
2015 UC Berkeley, Institute of Design, talk on psychological interventions in online learning
2015 MIT, xTalk series, talk on psychological interventions in online learning
2015 University of Michigan, MOOC research summit, talk on psychological causes of achievement gaps in online learning
2015 Coursera, Inc., talk on learner motivation, social cues, and achievement gaps in online learning
2015 Digital October Center, Moscow, Russia, talk on instructional design in MOOCs
2014 MediaX Conference, Stanford, talk on market segmentation of online interactions based on motivation
SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (NON-ARCHIVAL)
2022 Unizin Summit, “Cross-Institutional Transfer Learning for Educational Models: Implications for
Model Performance, Fairness, and Equity”
2020 IC2S2, “The Limits of Scalable Interventions: Evidence from 248 Online Courses”
2019 CODE@MIT, “Broadening Participation with Diversity Statements”
2019 CODE@MIT, “The Limits of Scalable Interventions”
2019 AI100 Prediction in Practice, “On the Psychology of AI in Practice”
2018 IC2S2, “Heterogenous Effects of Incentives in Mobile Learning in Africa”
2018 CODE@MIT, “Criteria-based Randomization”
2016 BayLearn Conference, “Psychologically Welcoming Learning Environments”
2016 SPSP, “Closing the Global Achievement Gap in Online Learning”
2015 CODE@MIT, “Peer encouragement designs: Estimating peer effects of social feedback”
2014 eMOOCs, “Encouraging Forum Participation […] with Motivational Framings“
2014 Learning with MOOCs, “The Promise of Social Learning & Annotation”
TEACHING
Learning Analytics (INFO 4100/5101), Cornell
Offered in Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Spring 2024, Spring 2025
Behavioral Science Interventions (COMM/INFO 4800), Cornell
Offered in Spring 2020 (with Neil Lewis Jr.) and Spring 2022
PhD Seminar on Learning and Technology (INFO 6940), Cornell
Offered in Spring 2023
Causal Inference and Design of Experiments (INFO 6750), Cornell
Offered in Fall 2018
Freshman Team Projects Course (INFO 1998), Cornell
Offered in Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023
Invited and ad-hoc teaching
2022, 2024 Guest Lecture, 6.882 Ethical Machine Learning in Human Deployments, MIT
2021 Guest Lecture, CS 4660: Foundations in Educational Technology, Georgia Tech
2021 Guest Lecture, EDUC 131: Educational Technology, UC Irvine
2016 Guest Lecture, Learning Analytics Seminar, Stanford University
2014, 2015 Teaching Assistant, “Online Learning Research Methods”, Stanford University
2014 Guest Lecture, Learning Analytics Seminar, George Mason University
2014 Co-Instructor, Workshop on questionnaire design, Stanford University
2010, 2011 Technology Camp Director, TIC Summer Camp, McLean, VA.
Held teacher-training workshops, designed and supervised programming classes.
ADVISING
Primary Advisor (Postdoc)
Primary Advisor (PhD at Cornell)
Committee Member (PhD at Cornell)
Committee Member (PhD at other institution)
Thesis Committee Member (UG and MS/MPS/MEng)
Informal Research Advisor (UG and MS/MPS/MEng)
Visiting PhD Students
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Institutional: Cornell University
2025 Member, Generative AI Education Committee
2025 Member, IT Governance: Education & Pedagogy Domain Committee
2024 SP Director, Broadening Participation Committee, Department of Information Science
2022-23 Member, Presidential Task Force on Undergraduate Admissions
2022-23 Co-Director, Broadening Participation Committee, Department of Information Science
2022-23 Member, Committee on Learning Outcomes, Bowers CIS College
2022-23 Member, Bowers CIS DEI Council
2021-22 Interim Co-Chair, Vice Provost’s Committee on Course Feedback/Teaching Evaluations
2021-22 Member, Hopper Dean Fellowship Selection Committee, Bowers CIS College
Since 2020 Faculty Advisor Board Member, McCormick Teaching Excellence Institute
2020-21 Member, Vice Provost’s Committee on Course Feedback/Teaching Evaluations
2020-22 Member, Broadening Participation Committee, Department of Information Science
2019-23 Co-Lead, Active Learning Initiative, Department of Information Science
2019-20 Member, Undergraduate Committee, Department of Information Science
2018-19 Member, PhD Admissions Committee, Department of Information Science
2018-20 Member, Vice Provost’s Committee on Learning Analytics
Scientific Community: Organizational/Leadership
Since 2019 Associate Editor, Computer-Based Learning in Context
2024-25 Steering Committee Chair, Festival of Learning 2026
2023 Steering Committee Chair, ACM Learning at Scale
2023 Subcommittee Co-Chair (SC), Learning, Education, and Families, ACM CHI
2022 General Conference Chair, ACM Learning at Scale
2023 Steering Committee Vice Chair, ACM Learning at Scale
2022 Subcommittee Awards Representative, ACM CHI
2020-21 Steering Committee Member, ACM Learning at Scale
2022 Program Committee Member, ACM Learning at Scale; Learning Analytics &
Knowledge; Educational Data Mining; Higher Education Advances
2021 Program Committee Member, ACM CHI, ACM Learning at Scale, ACM FAccT
2020 Program Co-Chair, ACM Learning at Scale
2019 Program Committee Member, ACM CSCW, ACM CHI, ACM Learning at Scale
2018 Program Committee Member, ACM Learning at Scale
2017 Program Committee Member, ACM Learning at Scale, eMOOCs, Coursera Partners
Conference
2016 Program Committee Member, Learning with MOOCs Conference
2015 Program Committee Member, ACM Learning at Scale
Scientific Community: Grant Application/Manuscript Reviewing
2023 Grant Reviewer, Marsden Fund, Schmidt Futures Foundation
(reviewer and finalist judge for LEVI), MIT Solve LEAP Challenge
2023 Journal Reviewer, Management Science, Applied Psychology, Journal of Learning
Analytics, British Journal of Educational Technology, Journal of Computer Assisted
Learning, Routledge (book proposal)
2022 Journal Reviewer, Scientific Reports, Journal of Computational Social Science,
Frontiers in Psychology, British Journal of Educational Technology, Transactions on
Learning Technologies, Journal of Computer-Assisted Learning, Computers & Education
2022 Ad-hoc Foundation Grant Reviewer, National Science Foundation (NSF), Israel
Science Foundation (ISF), Schmidt Futures Foundation
2022 Journal Reviewer, Scientific Reports, Journal of Computational Social Science,
Frontiers in Psychology, British Journal of Educational Technology, Transactions on
Learning Technologies, Journal of Computer-Assisted Learning, Computers & Education
2021 Journal Reviewer, Computers & Education, Computers in Human Behavior, Journal of
Computer-Assisted Learning
2021 Journal Reviewer, Educational Psychology, International Journal of Artificial
Intelligence in Education, Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI),
Education Research Review, IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, Computers
& Education, Educational Researcher, Journal of Computer-Assisted Learning
2021 Grant Reviewer, IES Higher Education Panel
2020 Journal Reviewer: Science, AERA Open, Journal of Business Ethics, Computers &
Education
2020 Grant Reviewer, Spencer Foundation Large Grants
2014-19 Reviewer, Psychological Science, Oxford University Press, Computers in Human
Behavior, Journal of Learning Analytics, International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in
Education, International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge, ACM CSCW
Conference, IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, Journal of Computer Assisted
Learning, ACM TOCHI Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, Computers &
Education, IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, ACM CHI Human Factors in
Computing Systems Conference
Workshop Organization
2023 Viberg, O., Jivet, I., Kizilcec, R. F., & Scheffel, M. (2023). Fifth Workshop on
Culturally-Aware Learning Analytics (CARLA). At the European Conference on
Technology Enhanced Learning (ECTEL).
2023 Ritter, S., Heffernan, N., Williams, J.J., Lomas, D., Bicknell, K., Roschelle, J.,
Motz, B., McNamara, D., Baraniuk, R., Basu Mallick, D. and Kizilcec, R. (2023).
Fourth Annual Workshop on A/B Testing and Platform-Enabled Learning
Research. At the ACM Conference on Learning@ Scale (L@S).
2023 Smolansky, A., Nguyen, H. A., Kizilcec, R. F., McLaren, B. M. (2023). Equity,
Diversity, and Inclusion in Educational Technology Research and Development.
At the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED).
2022 Ritter, S., Heffernan, N., Williams, J.J., Lomas, D., Motz, B., Basu Mallick, D.,
Bicknell, K., McNamara, D., Kizilcec, R.F., Roschelle, J. and Baraniuk, R.,
(2022). At the Third Annual Workshop on A/B Testing and Platform-Enabled
Learning Research. At the ACM Conference on Learning@ Scale (L@S).
2014 Williams, J. J., Kizilcec, R. F., Russell, D. M., & Klemmer, S. R. (2014). Learning
innovation at scale. At the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing
Systems (CHI).
SELECTED MEDIA COVERAGE
Fast Company, Can AI transform adult online education?, June 2023
EdSurge, The Future Belongs to Online Learners–But Only If Programs Can Help Them Succeed, June 2023
EdSource, Colleges can blunt economic impact of pandemic by sharing online courses, September 2020 (oped with Igor Chirikov)
Forbes, The “Depressing” And “Disheartening” News About MOOCs, June 2020
EdSurge, Massive Study of Online Teaching Ends With Surprising - and ‘Deflating’ – result, June 2020
WIRED, People Want to Know About Algorithms—but Not Too Much, March 2019
Harvard Business Review, We Need Transparency in Algorithms, But Too Much Can Backfire, July 2018
Xinhua News, Exercise devised to boost completion rates of some online learning courses, April 2017
The Australian, Online Primer Fails in Collectivist Cultures, April 2017
EdSurge, Study Finds Tactics to Help Close Global MOOC Achievement Gap, February 2017
The Australian, Welcome effort boosts MOOCs, February 2017
PBS Rewire, ‘Taking an Online Course? Writing Out Your Reasons Why Might Help You Finish’, January 2017
Inside Higher Ed, A Sense of Belonging on Inside Higher Ed, January 2017
Education Week, Practical Guidance from MOOC Research: Student Diversity, July 2015
BBC, Moocs data offers promise of perfect teaching, October 2013
ACM Tech News, Learning analytics at Stanford takes huge leap forward with MOOCs, April 2013
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