Research Groups
CARE Lab
The CARE Lab, led by Dr. Wanju Huang, studies research at the intersection of education and advanced technologies, transforming education, access, and learning outcomes.
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About
Shaping the Future of Technology‑Driven Education
We are working on research related to CARE:
- Computer Science (CS) education
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) education
- Robotics
- Emerging technologies in education (e.g., Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality)
Research & Publications
In the contemporary era of digitalization, computers are widely used in our daily lives, and computer science (CS) is playing an increasingly important role in modern society. One area of interest is computational thinking (CT), in which students learn to use CS ideas to solve problems (Wing., 2006; Yadav et al., 2014). Our research is figuring out the computational thinking for all and designing effective learning for it.
About Our Project
We are exploring computational thinking to spread out the effectiveness of CS education to the public. Since we have community partners (e.g., IU online high school, Daegu Yeon-gyeong elementary school in South Korea), we will continuously collaborate with them to investigate effective CS education and design modules for all.
Research Threads
- Computer Science (CS) education for all
- Computational Thinking
- Digital Literacy
Relevant Presentations and Publications
Huang, W., & Yu, W. (2025). Barriers to integrating artificial intelligence education: implications from five early adopters in South Korea. Computer Science Education, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2025.2565199
Kang, S., & Huang, W. (2025, November 10). Coding and Computational Thinking with Micro:bit and GenAI [Conference presentation]. Purdue AI in P-12 Education Conference, West Lafayette, IN, United States.
Huang, W. & Yu, W. (2022). CARE project. Service learning grant for Community Service / Service Learning Project at Purdue University.
Yu, W. (2022). The history of low-code and no-code approach for computational thinking. TechTrends (Manuscript submitted for publication).
As technology advances, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used in various aspects of our lives. In this social flow, governments worldwide have made the gradual introduction of AI education a priority in schools. Current K-12 students will be exposed to more AI as technology advances, and the use of AI in everyday life and AI literacy will become as important as classical literacy skills such as reading and writing (Long and Magerko, 2020; Steinbauer et al., 2021; Zawacki-Richter et al., 2019). Several previous research pointed out the importance of AI literacy in terms of a proper understanding of AI to avoid misconceptions about AI and misuse of AI (e.g., AI is like magic.) (Fast & Horvitz, 2017; Linder et al., 2019; Sanusi et al., 2022). Our research will contribute to the further discussion of AI education.
About Our Project
We are conducting research on AI education including both ‘learning through AI’ and ‘learning about AI’ considering classification from Holmes et al. (2019). Our research covers the following topics:
- How new AI technology (e.g., ChatGPT) can be used in the classroom environment?
- What will be the teachers’ and students’ roles in the AI era in the future?
- How the future classes can be designed considering AI technology?
- What could the learner enhance from AI education?
Research Threads
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) education for all
- AI literacy
- AI thinking
Relevant Presentations and Publications
Yu, W., & Huang, W. (2024). Design and development of an AI education program for young learners: A case study. TechTrends. 68, 1183–1194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-024-01013-5
Huang, W., & Yu, W. (2024, April 14). Top-down vs. Grassroot: A comparative study on AI integration barriers in K-12 in South Korea and the United States [Conference presentation]. 2024 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, United States. https://www.aera.net/
Yu, W., & Huang, W. (2024, April 11). AI is no more a magic box: A case study of an AI educational program [Conference presentation]. 2024 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, United States. https://www.aera.net/
Huang, W., & Yu, W. (2023, December 1). Artificial Intelligence (AI) and education – voices from K-12 educators in South Korea and the United States [Conference presentation]. Trustworthy AI Lab for Education Summit, Notre Dame, IN, United States. https://lucyinstitute.nd.edu/trustworthy-ai-lab-for-education-summit/
Yu, W., Kang, S., & Huang, W. (2023, December 1). C.A.R.E (computer science, artificial intelligence, robotics, and emerging technologies) @ Purdue [Conference presentation]. Trustworthy AI Lab for Education Summit, Notre Dame, IN, United States. https://lucyinstitute.nd.edu/trustworthy-ai-lab-for-education-summit/
Huang, W., & Yu, W. (2023, October 15-19). AI education integration in South Korea from early adopter’s perspectives: A case study [Conference presentation]. AECT 2023 Convention, Orlando, FL, United States. https://convention.aect.org/
Huang, W. & Yu, W. (2023, November 10). The collaboration between AI and educators [Webinar presentation]. IACTE webinar. https://www.inaacte.org/
Yu, W. (2023, October 15-19). How researchers can support K-12 educators in integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) education in the new era of generative AI [Conference presentation]. AECT 2023 Convention, Orlando, FL, United States. https://convention.aect.org/
Yu, W. (2023, April 13-16). Investigating the barriers to introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) education for elementary school teachers in South Korea [Conference presentation]. 2023 AERA Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, United States. https://www.aera.net/Events-Meetings
Huang, W., & Yu, W. (2022, October 24-28). Increasing AI literacy with a learning module using machine learning platform [Conference presentation]. AECT 2022 Convention, Las Vegas, NV, United States. https://convention.aect.org/
Yu, W. (2022, March 24). A Design Case of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education for AI literacy [Conference presentation]. Annual Graduate Student Educational Research Symposium, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
Huang, W. & Yu, W. (2022). CARE project. Service learning grant for Community Service / Service Learning Project at Purdue University.
The Constructionism approach proposed by Papert paved the way for efforts to introduce CT ideas to K-12 learners (Ackermann, 2001; Papert, 1980, 1991). Papert initiated an effort to integrate an educational robot named Turtle with LOGO, a programming language devised by Seymour Papert, Cynthia Solomon, and Wally Feuzeig in 1967 (Stager, 2016). He was able to teach mathematics to learners in a way that reduced the burden associated with abstract thinking. Recently, Robotics is widely discussed in Computer Science (CS) and STEM education disciplines. Especially, students can be benefited in terms of enhancing learning effects when younger learners are using educational robots.
About Our Project
This project aims to investigate the learning effects of using robotics in education, specifically the students’ competencies (e.g., Computational Thinking, Artificial Intelligence literacy, Digital literacy, etc)
Research Threads
- Empowering accessibility using educational robots
- Basic algorithmic thinking for AI education
Relevant Presentations and Publications
Kang, S., & Yu, W. (2024, February 29). Reflection on the growth of graduate students: From engagement & service-learning experiences [Conference presentation]. Engagement and Service-Learning Summit at Purdue, West Lafayette, IN, United States. https://www.purdue.edu/engagement/summit/
Yu, W., Kang, S., & Huang, W. (2023, December 1). C.A.R.E (computer science, artificial intelligence, robotics, and emerging technologies) @ Purdue [Conference presentation]. Trustworthy AI Lab for Education Summit, Notre Dame, IN, United States. https://lucyinstitute.nd.edu/trustworthy-ai-lab-for-education-summit/
Huang, W., & Yu, W. (2022). CARE project. Service learning grant for Community Service / Service Learning Project at Purdue University.
As technology advances, many technologies have been prevalent in the classroom environment as well. For example, students can explore the place where they cannot actually go by using Virtual Reality (VR). Since both teachers and students benefit from the new technologies, we discuss emerging technologies in education considering various aspects.
About Our Project
Our research is figuring out the effectiveness of various new technologies in education (e.g., Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality) and discussing them in terms of pedagogy.
Research Threads
- EdTech
- Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in education
- Online learning
- Multimedia learning
- Using Metaverse in education
Relevant Presentations and Publications
Huang, W., Janakiraman, S., Ilobinso, A., & Slijepcevic, N. (2025). “Wow! This Is So Cool”: Learning Spanish with Augmented Reality. Education Sciences, 15(3), 379. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15030379
Huang, W. J. (2020). Cultivating teaching presence and social presence through multimedia intervention. In Glick, D., Cohen, A., & Chang, C. (Eds.), Early Warning Systems and Targeted Interventions for Student Success in Online Courses (pp. 140-160). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-5074-8.ch007
Jenkins, J. L., Takahashi, G., Huang, W. J., McGraw, J., Luginbuhl, A. D., Theademan, L. (2020). OSHA funded Fall Safety VR Training Simulator. Purdue University Research Repository. doi:10.4231/Z77S-QH47
Huang, W. J. (2020). Cultivating teaching presence and social presence through multimedia intervention. In Glick, D., Cohen, A., & Chang, C. (Eds.), Early Warning Systems and Targeted Interventions for Student Success in Online Courses (pp. 140-160). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-5074-8.ch007
Relevant Development
Huang, W., Watson, W. R., & Yu, W. (2023, October 15-19). A successful day-1 with a VR classroom management application [Conference presentation]. AECT 2023 Convention, Orlando, FL, United States. https://convention.aect.org/
(VR and AR mobile application for elementary mathematic class) Yu, W., Nam, S., Kim, T., Kim, S. (2017). Explore the new world of measurement using VR and AR.
Our Team
Wanju Huang
Clinical Associate Professor
Seoljoo Kang
Research Assistant
Signe Kastberg
Professor
William R. Watson
Professor
Sunnie Watson
Assistant Dean for Engagement and Global Initiatives
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