A Bit About Me
I was born and raised in Southern California. Since 5th grade, I took an untraditional route with education - attending a virtual academy in order to coordinate time with my extracurriculars. It was during this time that I took an interest in education technology and became passionate about its potential growth and innovation in education.
As a student, I did competitive dance and figure skating and it contributed a lot to my growth and personality. From it, I developed creativity, critical thinking, and persistence. It also allowed me to experience education from a different perspective which makes me think about the purpose and needs of education.
Also see Portfolio | Publications
Research Experience
Oct. 2020 – Present
Sept. 2021 – July 2023
Sept. 2022 – Present
Sept. 2023 - Present
Next Generation Undergraduate Success Measurement Project, Irvine CA
Research Assistant
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Coded collaborative problem-solving data with faculty, graduate students, and research assistants
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Contributed to weekly meetings by facilitating discussions on data coding
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Provided suggestions to strand meetings based on undergraduate experiences
Science of Learning Lab (SOL) – UC Irvine, Irvine CA
Research Assistant
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Collaborate in a team-based environment to film and edit (in Final Cut Pro) instructional videos
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for research utilizing cognitive multimedia design theories to reduce cognitive load, boosts
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information processing, and foster higher-order thinking
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Problem-solve with team members and work with VR and DSLR cameras
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● Create 8 virtual online learning courses using Articulate 360 Rise and Storyline 360 that were deployed to 400 elementary students across 4 schools in Orange County
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● Assist with research efforts including data collection and analysis, as well as providing contributions
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to the authoring of manuscripts, conference papers, and paper presentations
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● Analyze student assessment data using statistical software such as SPSS, JASP, and R to run t-tests,
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ANOVAS, descriptive statistics, Cronbach Alphas, correlations, and regression analysis
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● First author on national conference investigating educational technology and implementing
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learning experience design (LXD) to support elementary students’ cognitive engagement in math
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learning
Design and Partnership Lab (DAPLAB) – UC Irvine, Irvine CA
Research Assistant
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Draft teacher-facing materials for Edsight (a visual analytics platform) in a collaborative environment
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Design UI/UX in Figma with 4 teammates for Edsight
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Code qualitative data with teammates and complied into codebooks
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Collaborate with researchers to explore how generative AI (Chatgpt) can be leveraged in education, specifically, mentorships between faculty and students (Demo: Tangram)
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Copywriting for Tangram and Edsight interfaces
Learning, Innovation, and Technology Lab (LIT) – Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge MA
Research Assistant
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Design learning tasks and measures for research
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Conduct literature reviews of current research in related field
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Conduct text data mining and inductive qualitative analysis
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Conduct pilot and user testing in design-based research
Mar. 2024 - May 2024
Creative Computing Lab – Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge MA
Research Assistant
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Conduct literature reviews of pedagogical agents and teacher training simulation
Work Experience
Feb. 2020 – Aug. 2023
July 2019 – Hiatus
June 2022 - Sept. 2022/May 2023 – Sept. 2023
Oct. 2023 – Present
Yaya Dance Academy, Irvine, CA
Faculty/Public Relations/Web Manager
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Collaborated in team-based environment to uphold quality and continuity of service to students
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Delivered oral Mandarin-English translations to students for dance teachers during class
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Taught dance classes of up to 20 dancers in a bilingual setting
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Handled student correspondence, tracked records, and provided tech support to 650+ students
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Created social media content, designed website/UX, and edited video for instructional purposes
Lake Forest Ice Palace, Lake Forest, CA
Instructor
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Maintained database of 300+ videos from competitions for movement and score analysis
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Planned, organized, and conducted lessons for a group of up to 16 skaters both on and off ice
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Evaluated athletes’ strengths and weaknesses to improve technical skills
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Analyzed and kept up with new rule updates and scoring processes
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Double Gold Medalist, Safesport certified, Learn to Skate and USFSA certified instructor
McGraw Hill, Remote, CA
Intern
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Rebuilt courses for customers in Connect, a digital teaching and learning platform
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Test-piloted new products in Connect
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Contributed ideas and feedback to a team of 7 people
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Planned cases on Salesforce for the 2022-2023 school year
reDesign, Cambridge, MA
E-Learning and Design Intern
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Collaborate with the Learning Design team to create compelling learning assets ( (i.e., micro-courses, videos, PowerPoints, asynchronous courses) from pre-existing content for our learning management system
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Participate in design sprints, feedback rounds, and other activities as needed for revision and editing of learning assets
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Assist in documenting best practices for design processes for the organization's subject matter experts and other designers.
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Support the implementation and testing of the learning management system.
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Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues related to the learning management system.
Oct. 2023 – Present
LXD Research & Consulting, Needham Heights, MA
Learning Research Intern
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Collaborate with the research team to complete LXD research for education technology clients
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Work with Science of Reading theoretical frameworks to complete inductive qualitative analysis on school administrator interview data
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Create surveys for clients' research on products effect on literacy
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Design and develop glossaries for LXD team and client-facing assets that explains the methods of research conducted at LXD Research
Volunteer & Leadership Experiences
Jan. 2021 – Hiatus
Sept. 2021 – Jun. 2023
Oct. 2020 – Jun. 2023
Oct. 2021 – Jun. 2023
Aug. 2022 – Dec. 2022/
Oct. 2023 - Dec. 2023
San Musae Cultural Center
Program Director/Social Media Marketer
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Coordinate and organize livestream shows on Zoom, YouTube, Facebook, and Bilibili
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Recruit participants and play key roles in performance selections
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Perform administrative tasks such as communicating between partnering organizations, clubs,
and schools, drafting the organization's legal documents, and keeping track of applications
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Edit videos and create content for social media and outreach in Chinese and English
Figure Skating at UCI
Secretary
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Coordinate socials and activities
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Perform administrative tasks to manage, inform, and engage organization members
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Create and design content for Instagram
Big Brothers Big Sisters - UCI
Vice President/Co-founder
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Facilitated communication between UCI chapter with national non-profit
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Created most of the organization's documentation including constitution, organization structure, etc.
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Coordinated officers' tasks and created documentation process
SAGE Scholars, Irvine CA
Ambassador
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Collaborate in a team-based environment to plan events for 60+ students
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Create videos and social media content
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Outreach to students through emails and recommendations increasing applications by 15%
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Spearhead mentorship program for 42 students
Girls Inc., Orange County, CA
Writing Coach
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Work with 3 high school students on their college application essays to various institutions
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Revise and advise for college essay drafts
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Provide mentorship during the college application process
Feb. 2024 - May 2024
Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge. MA
Future of Work Study Group Representative
The Project on Workforce at Harvard hosts a cross-university study group that brings together to engage in discussion about the future of work from leading practitioners and to build cross-sector connections with students, faculty, and alumni.
Projects & Personal Development
Jan. 2021 – Present
Apr. 2021– June 2023
Founder
Awards: Creativity & Entrepreneurship Scholarship Award, Student Startup Fund Award -
Genres is a student start up founded by Jessica Cai. Genres is an interactive webnovel platform that puts content creators in the spotlight. Our mission is to bring communities together through the power of stories. Our vision is to create opportunities for members of varying backgrounds through community. We are a platform for users by users. Also see Passion Projects
Research project: Undergraduate Extracurricular Involvement During COVID-19
The objective of this research project is to explore the differences of undergraduate students’ involvement in extracurricular activities before and during COVID-19. Specifically, this research project will compare pre-COVID and during COVID-19 student self-reports of average time spent on extracurricular activities, types of extracurricular activities (both academic and non-academic), and its correlation with students’ living situations. Additional sub-analyses include the impact of extracurricular activities on social belonging during COVID-19. The aim of this research is to use the data analysis to inform institutions about the benefits of extracurricular activities and whether certain extracurricular activities should continue with virtual options beyond COVID-19.
2019 Irvine Valley College Performance Dance Ensemble - Performer
2020 Irvine Valley College Spring Dance Show. Ensemble《孤寂》- Student Choreographer
Also see Passion Project
2022 Hollywood Christmas Parade. Hanfu Performance - Choreographer
2022 Chufeng Dance Recital - Creative Director
Cai, J., Song, K., Liu, C. (2024). Deconstructing the “Model Minority" Myth: Examining the Asian Student Experience in Higher Education. I am a LEADer Conference. MIT. AOCC. HGSE
Co-Founder
Presidential Innovation Challenge Semifinalist
ReadReady is an AI-powered literacy tool that dynamically tailors existing reading materials to readers' proficiency level, specifically designed for grades 3 - 16 English Language Learners (ELL).
2024 Let's Talk Planning Committee and Presentee
Cai, J., Song, K., Liu, C. (2024). Understanding Perceptions of the Model Minority Stereotype Among East Asian Parachute Kids. STORIES Conference. Oxford University.
Skills
Software: Proficient in Microsoft Office, G Suite, Zoom, Wix, Canva, iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Discord, Figma, SPSS, JASP, Articulate 360, Storyline 360, Dedoose
Language: Proficient in Chinese Mandarin (fluent - speaking)
Interests: Figure skating (competitive figure skater for 15 years, currently coaching), dance (competitive contemporary dancer for 10 years), reading, watching Asian dramas (drama blog BubbleTea Dramas in the works), and picking up passion projects
Let's Get
Social
