Allison Liu Email & Phone Number

- Led the creation of research protocols and materials for studies investigating RightOn!’s usability, feasibility, and early efficacy for improving social-emotional outcomes- Interpreted early research findings and extant literature to developers to provide actionable recommendations for RightOn!’s platform- Disseminated our work through a spotlight on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and presentations at practitioner-focused conferences such as ISTE and SXSW- Prepared and submitted grant applications from research- and industry-oriented agencies, and secured a Learning Engineering Tools Competition prize- Mentored undergraduate UX/UI interns on applying learning science to their designs

Worked with Dr. Erin Ottmar.- Compared the impacts of From Here to There, DragonBox 12+, and ASSISTments on algebraic understanding in 4,092 7th grade students, finding that game-based technologies helped mitigate learning loss during COVID-19- Evaluated the impact of non-cognitive interventions across seven large-scale studies conducted in ASSISTments with 24,865 middle-school students, highlighting the difficulties of influencing student learning outcomes with non-cognitive interventions- Utilized multilevel modeling, regression discontinuity analysis, and latent principal stratification analysis to investigate relations between feedback systems in From Here to There, students’ persistence-related in-game behaviors, and math performance- Explored how different math platforms impacted specific types of algebraic knowledge, finding that game-based platforms were most useful for conceptual knowledge- Found that more in-game progress in DragonBox 12+ related to higher math performance, with our results highlighted by Kahoot!

- Wrote video narration and storyboards based on cognitive and learning science research in collaboration with the PI and other instructional designers- Produced audio using Audacity and visuals using Vyond for course videos

Raleigh, North Carolina

- Conducted multilevel modeling in STATA and R on 1,700 3rd-5th graders on the cognitive and motivational factors underlying math growth- Coordinated multi-site data collection from children and adults playing a tablet game, and performed regressions to understand which motivational beliefs predicted productive in-game behaviors- Created and facilitated after-school activities where families coded together, surveyed students and their parents, and coded observational data to understand families’ motivations and learning behaviors- Developed and taught content and research methods through in-person and online graduate courses (Learning Sciences; Research Methods in Education; Cognition & Neuroscience in Education; writing workshops)- Gave an invited talk to museum patrons about homeschooling at the start of COVID-19- Created informational materials for prospective and incoming graduate students to the Educational Psychology program- Mentored students applying for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP)

Raleigh, North Carolina

Worked with Dr. Teomara Rutherford.- Evaluated the impact of ST Math on 360 5th grade students’ mathematical self-beliefs, finding that it improved students' math performance by improving their math self-beliefs, with larger effects for lower-achieving students- Interviewed elementary-aged children about their academic motivations, presenting findings to a collaborating museum that informed how they interpreted their surveys- Supervised and coordinated 12 research assistants across 5 research projects

Pittsburgh, Pa

Worked with Dr. Christian Schunn.- Conducted regressions and propensity score matching in SPSS and R to analyze data from 3,700 6th and 8th graders, finding differential impacts of out-of-school science experiences on science skills and motivation- Evaluated the use of action video-game training to improve adult math skills- Led studies to investigate the use of physical and digital manipulatives for learning robotics and math, finding unique affordances for both types of manipulatives- Created an online program to train arithmetic fluency, programmed online measurement tasks with Javascript, and secured internal funding to evaluate the program, which was found to improve complex math performance

Chicago, Il

Worked in Dr. Sian Beilock's Human Performance Lab.- Recruited and ran participants through experiments on individual differences in academic performance- Recorded and analyzed data using SPSS and Microsoft Excel- Scripted experiments using E-Prime- Designed and executed a senior honors thesis on spatial anxiety's effects as a function of strategy (title: "Spatial anxiety influences mental rotation performance as a function of strategy")

Ph.D., Cognitive Psychology (Cognitive Neuroscience Concentration)

Master Of Science (M.S.), Cognitive Psychology

Thesis: "Applying math onto mechanisms: Investigating the relationship between mechanistic and mathematical understanding"

B.A., Psychology, Comparative Human Development

Activities and Societies: University of Chicago Japanese Animation SocietyReceived a B.A. with Honors in Psychology