Linlin Li

Overview

Linlin Li is a nationally recognized expert in educational innovation, specializing in evidence-based STEM interventions, AI literacy, and data science education. As a Research Director in the Learning and Technology area at WestEd, Li leads cutting-edge initiatives that bridge research, policy, and classroom practice. With extensive experience in large-scale evaluations and federally funded projects, Li specializes in developing and evaluating innovative educational approaches that leverage personalized learning systems, artificial intelligence, and data science to promote learning opportunities.

Li’s research portfolio reflects her multidisciplinary expertise in developmental psychology, STEM education, and social–emotional learning. Her methodological rigor is nationally recognized through her certification as a What Works Clearinghouse reviewer for both group design and single-case design studies, as well as through serving on federal grant panels.

Li has successfully secured and managed numerous competitive grants from federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education (e.g., Education Innovation and Research, Institute of Education Sciences, and Ready to Learn) and the National Science Foundation. Li currently directs several landmark initiatives that demonstrate her leadership in educational innovation. These include developing and evaluating AI literacy curricula to highlight real-world applications of math in artificial intelligence, studying logic-based programs that integrate interdisciplinary foundations in math, statistics, and computing to enhance data science and artificial intelligence teaching and learning, and expanding access to high-quality and inquiry-based STEM and computing education.

Prior to joining WestEd, Li built substantial expertise in evidence-based program evaluation through work with state education agencies and national research organizations. She directed formative and summative evaluations of programs funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation. She was also a senior methodologist for an evaluation of the California Department of Education’s evaluation of the School Assistance Intervention Team program, a mixed-methods study of 200 state-monitored schools’ progress in English language arts and math.

Li’s work is distinguished by its combination of methodological sophistication, technological expertise, and commitment to addressing opportunity gaps. She remains at the forefront of translating emerging technologies into practical, evidence-based solutions that improve outcomes for all learners.

Education

• Certificate in data science methods for digital learning platforms, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education 
• PhD in human development and family studies, University of North Carolina Greensboro 
• MA in educational and developmental psychology, Hebei University 

Select Publications

Li, L., Huang, C-W., Morgan, C., Luttgen, K., Chow, E., & Yang. S. (2025). Empowering rural students through computational thinking and real-world STEM applications: Insights from an innovative high school curriculum. Frontiers in Education, 9, Article 1452470. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1452470  

Li, L., Feng, M., Huang, C-W., Bang, H. J., & Owen, E. V. (2025, March 3–7). Unlocking math learning through personalized programs and game-based progress [Companion proceedings]. The Fifteenth International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference, Dublin, Ireland. https://www.solaresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/LAK25_CompanionProceedings-Final.pdf  

Flynn, K. S., Li, L., Huang, C-W., Patel, R., Luttgen, K., Yang, S., & Chow, E. (2024). Leveraging technology to address social–emotional learning during the pandemic: Findings from an efficacy trial. Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy, 4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sel.2024.100045   

Li, L., Feng, M., & Brezack, N. (2024, March). A nationwide investigation of a technology-based formative assessment tool that provides analytic data for teachers [Companion proceedings]. The Fourteenth International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference, Kyoto, Japan. https://www.solaresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LAK24_CompanionProceedings.pdf  

Li, L., Feng, M., Brezack, N., & Bang, H. J. (2024, March). A data-centric personalized learning technology solution to accelerate early math skills of young learners [Companion proceedings]. The Fourteenth International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference, Kyoto, Japan. https://www.solaresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LAK24_CompanionProceedings.pdf  

Li, L., & Huang, C.-W. (2023, July 26). Leveraging intelligent social tutoring system to address social–emotional learning in elementary schools [Conference paper]. The 24th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8323021  

Bang, H. J., Li, L., & Flynn, K. (2022). Efficacy of an adaptive game-based math learning app to support personalized learning and improve early elementary school students’ learning. Early Childhood Education Journal, 51, 717–732. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01332-3  

Li, L., Hayakawa, M., Freese, J., Daniels, B., Weiser, G., Luttgen, K., Lor, M. C., Schneider, M., Huang, C.-W., & Jensen, E. (2022). Pivoting an in-person multiplatform science program to a virtual program during a pandemic: Lessons learned. Children, Youth and Environments, 32(3), 53–81. https://doi.org/10.1353/cye.2022.0023  

Bang, H. J., Thai, K., & Li, L. (2021). Accelerating early math learning with research-based personalized learning games: A cluster randomized controlled trial. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 15(1), 28–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2021.1969710  

Li, L., Flynn, K. S., DeRosier, M., Weiser, G., & Austin-King, K. (2021). Social–emotional learning amidst COVID-19 school closures: Positive findings from an efficacy study. Frontiers in Education, Educational Psychology, 6, Article 683142. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.683142  

McCarthy, E., Tiu, M., & Li, L. (2018). Learning math with Curious George and the Odd Squad: Transmedia in the classroom. Tech Know Learn, 23, 223–246. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-018-9361-4  

Hardin, B. J., Lower, J. K., Smallwood, G., Saavedra, C. M., Li, L., & Jorda, C. (2010). Teachers, families, and communities supporting English language learners in pre-kindergarten: An evaluation of a professional development model. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 31(1), 20–36.  

Diamond, K. E., Hestenes, L. L., Saavedra, C. M., & Li, L. (2009). Including young children with disabilities in preschool: Moving forward from 1994. In E. L. Essa & M. M. Burnham (Eds.), Informing our practice: Useful research on young children’s development (pp. 241–251). National Association for the Education of Young Children Publishing.   

Tudge, J., Li, L., & Stanley, T. K. (2007). The impact of method on assessing young children’s everyday mathematical experiences. In O. N. Saracho & B. Spodek (Series Eds.) and O. N. Saracho & B. Spodek (Vol. Eds.), Contemporary perspectives in early childhood education: Mathematics in early childhood education (pp. 187–214). Information Age Publishing. 

Recent Media Appearances

• What Happens When A Math Tool Scraps In-Person Training for Virtual PD?, EdWeek Market Brief, July 1, 2025.