Prof. Matthew Ohland (IEEE Fellow)
Purdue University, USA

Dr. Matthew Ohland is the Dale and Suzi Gallagher Professor and Associate Head of Engineering Education at Purdue University. He earned Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida, M.S. degrees in Materials Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a B.S. in Engineering and a B.A. in Religion from Swarthmore College. He Co-Directs the National Effective Teaching Institute (NETI) with Susan Lord and Michael Prince. His research has been funded by over USD 20M, mostly from the United States National Science Foundation. Along with his collaborators, he has been recognized for his work on longitudinal studies of engineering students with the William Elgin Wickenden Award for the best paper published in the Journal of Engineering Education in 2008, 2011, and 2019 and the best paper in IEEE Transactions on Education in 2011 and 2015, multiple conference Best Paper awards, and the Betty Vetter Award for Research from the Women in Engineering Proactive Network. The CATME Team Tools developed under Dr. Ohland's leadership and related research have been used by over 1,620,000 students of more than 22,000 faculty at more than 2500 institutions in 88 countries, and were recognized with the 2009 Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware and the Maryellen Weimer Scholarly Work on Teaching and Learning Award in 2013. Dr. Ohland received the Chester F. Carlson Award for Innovation in Engineering Education from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) for his leadership of that project. He is a Fellow of ASEE, IEEE, and AAAS. He has received teaching awards at Clemson and Purdue. Dr. Ohland is an ABET Program Evaluator and an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Education. He was the 2002–2006 President of Tau Beta Pi.

Speech Title: Using Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing to Analyze Peer Evaluation Ratings and Comments
Abstract: Whereas peer evaluation is a proven pedagogical approach, its adoption is hindered by the difficulty of reviewing both quantitative and qualitative results on a large scale and knowing how and when to intervene. Machine learning and natural language processing techniques have the potential to identify patterns of dysfunction and flag comments that require greater scrutiny. The identification of patterns using qualitative methods and the application of those patterns to develop human-in-the-loop approaches to quantitative analytics will be addressed.

Prof. Piet Kommers
University of Twente, The Netherlands

Dr. Piet Kommers is an early pioneer in media for cognitive- and social support. His doctoral research explored methods for hypertext and concept mapping in learning. Since 1982 he developed educational technology for teacher training. His main thesis is that technology is catalytic for human ambition and awareness. His main function is associate professor in the University in Twente, The Netherlands and adjunct/visiting professor in various countries. He taught more than fifteen bachelor-, master- and PhD courses and supervised more than 30 PhD students. He instigated and coordinated the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Cognitive Technologies in 1990 and a large series of Joint European Research Projects in: authoring multimedia, web-based learning, teacher education, virtual 3d worlds, constructivist learning, social media, web-based communities and international student exchange. UNESCO awarded his work in ICT for Education in Eastern Europe with the title of Honorary Professor. The Capital Normal University in Beijing awarded his work with the title of Honorary Doctor. He is member of advisory boards in ministries of education and academia of sciences in Singapore, Finland and Russia. Piet Kommers is the initiator of the international journal for web-based communities and overall chair of the IADIS conferences on societal applications of ICT. Since the late nineties he gave more than 40 invited and keynote lectures at main conferences in the fields of education, media and communication. His books and journal articles address the social and intellectual transformations at each transition from “traditional” into the “new” media. Instead of regarding media as extrapolating, supplanting, vicarious or even disruptive, Piet’s view is that new media elicit and seduce both individuals and organizations to reconsider human nature and challenge existential awareness at that very moment. His workshop templates and experiences have been implemented into the UNESCO IITE reports, policy briefings and Master Course. The books and journal articles of Piet Kommers reach the level of 5012 citations and the h-index of 30. He was recently nominated by seventeen countries for the prestigious 2017 UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Education.
His new book: Sources for a Better Education

Speech Title: Societal Demands for Artificial Intelligence in Education
Abstract: The Covid-19 era unexpectedly made all sectors dependent from remote communication, virtual- and vicarious learning.(This lecture is based upon the new book: “Sources for a Better Education: Lessons from Research and Best Practices”.) It signals parallels in society, technology, and demonstrates the risk for biased information; not just lacking knowledge or naïve misconceptions. Starting from abundant information access we now see tempting options for learners to restructure and even reconceive existing information. From the perspective of cognitive growth, the last four decades let learners ‘re-construct meaning’ to stimulate highly individualized understanding: Simulations, modelling, concept mapping, and lately the cultivation of storytelling; they have been promoted as an extra to just absorbing new knowledge. So far, education still underestimated the flip side of constructivist learning practices: Critical thinking seemed to be a good candidate for a more active learning attitude; It may create more authentic students who build upon existential drive: “What do I need to ‘make a difference’ in life. Problem- and challenge-based learning are the keywords. The book appetizer “Sources for a better Education” exposes the landscape of learning theories and how teachers can benefit from the larger spectrum of A.I. tools: big data, data mining, deep learning, machine learning, learning analytics and multi-variate inductive reasoning? This lecture will guide you to the main questions: What didactic measures allow teachers to make students resilient to fake news? What scenarios for thematic- rather than mono-disciplinary courses need to be developed? For instance, in the attempts to implement and disseminate STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics)? What social media mechanisms lead to web-based communities? And: What are valid ways to assess the quality of learning outcomes?

Prof. Zehui Zhan
South China Normal University, China

Zehui Zhan, Ph.D., Professor, Doctoral Supervisor in South China Normal University, Youth Pearl River Scholar, Hong Kong Scholar, PI of the Smart Educational Equipment Industry-University-Research Cooperation Base. Her research interest includes Learning Science, STEAM education, Smart education, Entrepreneurial education. She has published more than 70 papers and two textbooks in the field, and got other honors such as the annual award of youth excellent universities teacher from Fok Yingdong Education Foundation and Ministry of Education, the title of best teachers achieving highest teaching quality, and the first prize of national education software competition.

Speech Title: C-STEAM Education: Conceptual Model & Practice
Abstract: C-STEAM is a typical kind of transdisciplinary education, with the goals of inheriting outstanding traditional culture and fostering learners’ STEAM competency, which mainly has three potential core values: (1) the educational value of cultivating students’key competences; (2) the carrier value of inheriting traditional culture; (3) the social value of booming regional culture. In this presentation, the C-STEAM concept model and the related cases applied in primary and middle schools would be introduced (e.g., the Wooden Arch Bridge C-STEAM case, the Cantonese Slang C-STEAM case, the Dragon Boat C-STEAM case, the Ceremic Lights C-STEAM case, the P-CAR model, the Cultural Guangzhou C-STEAM case, etc.).

Assoc. Prof. Jiabin Zhu
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

Dr. Zhu's primary research interests relate to the professional development of engineering students, the assessment of teaching and learning in engineering, the cognitive development of graduate and undergraduate students. She has published multiple peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Journal of Engineering Education, IEEE Transactions on Education, and Advances in Engineering Education. For her work on the cognitive development of Chinese engineering doctoral students in U.S. institutions, she received the 2013 Doctoral Thesis Award from the School of Engineering Education, Purdue University. Dr. Zhu has chaired multiple projects from the Humanities and Social Science Program, Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Philosophy and Social Science Program and others. She currently serves as an associate editor for Journal of Engineering Education and IEEE Transactions on Education. She also serves as a board member for the Research in Engineering Education Network (REEN). ZHU Jiabin obtained a Ph.D. in Engineering Education and a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University. She received another M.S. in Optics from Chinese Academy of Sciences and a B.S. in Physics from East China Normal University.

Speech Title: Developing Engineering Students' Self-Directed Learning: The Impact of Project-based Learning
Abstract: Project-based learning (PBL) has been widely adopted in engineering education because of its effectiveness in improving students’ problem-solving skills, collaboration skills, and academic achievement. Moreover, it has been pointed out that one of the key goals of PBL lies in helping students in their self-directed learning skills. Self-directed learning, or self-regulated learning, describes students’ active engagement in learning, as demonstrated by their initiative goal-setting, active monitoring and adjustment of their cognitive process in a certain context. This presentation will address the multiple ways in which PBL can help enhance students’ self-directed learning in engineering education. It will also offer practical suggestions for the design and implementation of PBL to develop students’ self-directed learning.