Michael Lee
Michael Lee
Associate Professor, Informatics
3902D Guttenberg Information Technologies Center (GITC)
About Me
I received my PhD and MS in Information Science from the University of Washington, my MIMS from UC Berkeley, and B.S. in Cognitive Science and Human-Computer Interaction from UC San Diego.
Education
Ph.D.; University of Washington; Information Science; 2015
M.S.; University of Washington; Information Science; 2012
M.S.; University of California-Berkeley; Information Management; 2009
B.S.; University of California-San Diego; Cognitive Science; 2005
M.S.; University of Washington; Information Science; 2012
M.S.; University of California-Berkeley; Information Management; 2009
B.S.; University of California-San Diego; Cognitive Science; 2005
Awards & Honors
2020 Best Paper Award, IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC)
2020 Best Paper Nomination, Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS)
2019 Dr. Joel & Dr. Diane Bloom Honors Faculty Fellow in STEM Leadership, Albert Dorman Honors College
2019 Best Paper Award, Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges
2018 Tenure-Track Faculty Teaching Award, NJIT Ying Wu College of Computing
2013 John Henry People's Choice Paper Award (Best Paper), ACM International Computing Education Research
2009 Best Paper Award, ACM Creativity & Cogntition
2020 Best Paper Nomination, Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS)
2019 Dr. Joel & Dr. Diane Bloom Honors Faculty Fellow in STEM Leadership, Albert Dorman Honors College
2019 Best Paper Award, Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges
2018 Tenure-Track Faculty Teaching Award, NJIT Ying Wu College of Computing
2013 John Henry People's Choice Paper Award (Best Paper), ACM International Computing Education Research
2009 Best Paper Award, ACM Creativity & Cogntition
Website
2025 Spring Courses
IS 725 - INDEPENDENT STUDY I
IS 701B - MASTER'S THESIS
IS 792 - PRE-DOCTORAL RESEARCH
IS 489 - INFO UNDERGRAD THESIS RESEARCH
IS 661 - USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN
IS 700B - MASTER'S PROJECT
IS 726 - INDEPENDENT STUDY II
IS 790A - DOCT DISSERTATION & RES
IS 776 - IS RESEARCH STUDY
IS 488 - INDEPENDENT STUDY IN INFO
IS 701B - MASTER'S THESIS
IS 792 - PRE-DOCTORAL RESEARCH
IS 489 - INFO UNDERGRAD THESIS RESEARCH
IS 661 - USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN
IS 700B - MASTER'S PROJECT
IS 726 - INDEPENDENT STUDY II
IS 790A - DOCT DISSERTATION & RES
IS 776 - IS RESEARCH STUDY
IS 488 - INDEPENDENT STUDY IN INFO
Past Courses
IS 219: ADV WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
IS 247: DESIGNING THE USER EXPERIENCE
IS 485: SPECIAL TOPICS IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS
IS 485: SPECIAL TOPICS IN IS - I
IS 661: USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN
IS 791: DOCTORAL SEMINAR
IS 247: DESIGNING THE USER EXPERIENCE
IS 485: SPECIAL TOPICS IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS
IS 485: SPECIAL TOPICS IN IS - I
IS 661: USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN
IS 791: DOCTORAL SEMINAR
Research Interests
My major area of focus is in human-computer interaction (HCI) and computing education research (CER). More specifically, I am interested in how we can use technology to effectively and measurably teach novices basic programming concepts.
In Progress
Education and Mixed Reality Tools
We look at various mixed-reality displays and compare them in the context of learning Chemistry.
We look at various mixed-reality displays and compare them in the context of learning Chemistry.
Journal Article
Michael J. Lee, Ruiqi Shen. 2021. “Autonomy-Supportive Game Benefits Both Inexperienced and Experienced Programmers.” Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges (CCSC), vol. 37, no. 2.
Ruiqi Shen, Joseph Chiou, Michael J. Lee. 2020. “Becoming lifelong learners: CS learners' autonomy.” Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, vol. 35, no. 8, pp. 267--267.
Yu Xu, Michael J. Lee. 2020. “Identifying Personas in Online Shopping Communities.” Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 19.
Viktoria Pammer-Schindler, Erik Harpstead, Benjamin Xie, Betsy DiSalvo, Ahmed Kharrufa, Petr Slovak, Amy Ogan, Joseph Jay Williams, Michael J. Lee. 2020. “Learning and Education in HCI: A Reflection on the SIG at CHI 2019.” Interactions, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 6--7.
Ruiqi Shen, Donghee Yvette Wohn, Michael J. Lee. 2020. “Programming Learners’ Perceptions of Interactive Computer Tutors and Human Teachers.” International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 123--142.
Ruiqi Shen, Joseph Chiou, Michael J. Lee. 2020. “Becoming lifelong learners: CS learners' autonomy.” Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, vol. 35, no. 8, pp. 267--267.
Yu Xu, Michael J. Lee. 2020. “Identifying Personas in Online Shopping Communities.” Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 19.
Viktoria Pammer-Schindler, Erik Harpstead, Benjamin Xie, Betsy DiSalvo, Ahmed Kharrufa, Petr Slovak, Amy Ogan, Joseph Jay Williams, Michael J. Lee. 2020. “Learning and Education in HCI: A Reflection on the SIG at CHI 2019.” Interactions, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 6--7.
Ruiqi Shen, Donghee Yvette Wohn, Michael J. Lee. 2020. “Programming Learners’ Perceptions of Interactive Computer Tutors and Human Teachers.” International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 123--142.
SHOW MORE
Michael J. Lee. 2020. “Auto-Generated Game Levels Increase Novice Programmers' Engagement.” Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges (CCSC), vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 68-77.
Ruiqi Shen, Michael J. Lee, Donghee Yvette Wohn. 2020. “Programming Learners' Perception of Interactive Computer Tutors and Human Teachers.” International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 123-142.
Michael J. Lee. 2020. “(Re)Engaging Novice Online Learners in an Educational Programming Game.” Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, vol. 35, no. 8.
Michael J. Lee, Joseph Chiou. 2020. “Animated Hints Help Novices Complete More Levels in an Educational Programming Game.” Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, vol. 35, no. 8.
Ruiqi Shen, Donghee Wohn, Michael J. Lee. “Programming Learners' Perception of Interactive Computer Tutors and Human Teachers.” International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET).
Ruiqi Shen, Donghee Yvette Wohn, Michael J. Lee. 2020. “Programming learners' perceptions of interactive computer tutors and human teachers.” International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 123-142.
Ruiqi Shen, Donghee Y Wohn, Michael J. Lee. “Comparing Interactive Computer Tutors and Human Teachers for Learning Programming.” International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 123-142.
Michael J. Lee. 2019. “Increasing Minority Youths' Participation in Computing Through Near-Peer Mentorship.” Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, vol. 35, no. 3.
William Jernigan, Amber Horvath, Michael J. Lee, Margaret Burnett, Taylor Cuilty, Sandeep Kuttal, Anicia Peters, Irwin Kwan, Faezeh Bahmani, Andrew Ko. 2017. “General principles for a Generalized Idea Garden.” Journal of Visual Languages & Computing, vol. 39, pp. 51–65.
Ruiqi Shen, Michael J. Lee, Donghee Yvette Wohn. 2020. “Programming Learners' Perception of Interactive Computer Tutors and Human Teachers.” International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 123-142.
Michael J. Lee. 2020. “(Re)Engaging Novice Online Learners in an Educational Programming Game.” Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, vol. 35, no. 8.
Michael J. Lee, Joseph Chiou. 2020. “Animated Hints Help Novices Complete More Levels in an Educational Programming Game.” Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, vol. 35, no. 8.
Ruiqi Shen, Donghee Wohn, Michael J. Lee. “Programming Learners' Perception of Interactive Computer Tutors and Human Teachers.” International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET).
Ruiqi Shen, Donghee Yvette Wohn, Michael J. Lee. 2020. “Programming learners' perceptions of interactive computer tutors and human teachers.” International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 123-142.
Ruiqi Shen, Donghee Y Wohn, Michael J. Lee. “Comparing Interactive Computer Tutors and Human Teachers for Learning Programming.” International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 123-142.
Michael J. Lee. 2019. “Increasing Minority Youths' Participation in Computing Through Near-Peer Mentorship.” Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, vol. 35, no. 3.
William Jernigan, Amber Horvath, Michael J. Lee, Margaret Burnett, Taylor Cuilty, Sandeep Kuttal, Anicia Peters, Irwin Kwan, Faezeh Bahmani, Andrew Ko. 2017. “General principles for a Generalized Idea Garden.” Journal of Visual Languages & Computing, vol. 39, pp. 51–65.
COLLAPSE
Chapter
Michael J. Lee. 2021. “Providing Near-Peer Mentorship to Increase Underrepresented Minority Youth Participation in Computing.” Handbook of Research on Equity in Computer Science in P-16 Education pp. 1--13. IGI Global, 2021.
Jamie C Macbeth, Michael J. Lee, Jung Soo Kim, Tony Boming Zhang. 2020. “Children Who Code.” The Routledge Companion to Digital Media and Children pp. 67--74. Routledge, 2020.
Michael J. Lee. “Providing Near-Peer Mentorship to Increase Underrepresented Minority Youths’ Participation in Computing (in Handbook of Research on Equity in Computer Science in P-16 Education).” In Sagini Keengwe, Yune Tran (Eds.), IGI Global, .
Jamie Macbeth, Michael J. Lee, Jung Soo Kim, Tony Boming Zhang. “Children Who Code (in Routledge Companion to Digital Media and Children).” In Lelia Green (Eds.), Routledge, .
Jamie C Macbeth, Michael J. Lee, Jung Soo Kim, Tony Boming Zhang. 2020. “Children Who Code.” The Routledge Companion to Digital Media and Children pp. 67--74. Routledge, 2020.
Michael J. Lee. “Providing Near-Peer Mentorship to Increase Underrepresented Minority Youths’ Participation in Computing (in Handbook of Research on Equity in Computer Science in P-16 Education).” In Sagini Keengwe, Yune Tran (Eds.), IGI Global, .
Jamie Macbeth, Michael J. Lee, Jung Soo Kim, Tony Boming Zhang. “Children Who Code (in Routledge Companion to Digital Media and Children).” In Lelia Green (Eds.), Routledge, .
Conference Proceeding
“Travel Kinematics in Virtual Reality Increases Learning Efficiency”
2021.
“Interdisciplinary Collaboration Approaches on Undergraduate Virtual Reality Technology Projects”
IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), 2020.
“Interdisciplinary Collaboration Approaches on Undergraduate Virtual Reality Technology Projects”
IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), 2020.
“Pre-college Computer Science Initiative for Augmented and Virtual Reality Development”
IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), 2020.
“The Effect of Tracking and Reflecting on Study Habits on Study Behavior and Grades”
2020.
2021.
“Interdisciplinary Collaboration Approaches on Undergraduate Virtual Reality Technology Projects”
IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), 2020.
“Interdisciplinary Collaboration Approaches on Undergraduate Virtual Reality Technology Projects”
IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), 2020.
“Pre-college Computer Science Initiative for Augmented and Virtual Reality Development”
IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), 2020.
“The Effect of Tracking and Reflecting on Study Habits on Study Behavior and Grades”
2020.
SHOW MORE
“Virtual Collaboration Training for Freshman Undergraduate STEM Students”
IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), 2020.
“The Effect of Tracking and Reflecting on Study Habits on Study Behavior and Grades”
November 2020.
“Learners' Perspectives on Learning Programming from Interactive Computer Tutors in a MOOC”
IEEE Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing,
“Middle School Students Learn Binary Counting Using Virtual Reality”
IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC),
“A Qualitative Study of User Participation and Challenges in a Social Shopping Context ”
ACM Theory-Informed User Modeling for Tailoring and Personalizing Interfaces,
“Understanding User Participation and Interaction in Online Shopping Communities from the Social and Relational Perspectives”
Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, January (1st Quarter/Winter) 2020.
“Exploring Differences in Minority Students' Attitudes Towards Computing After a One-Day Coding Workshop”
ACM Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE), July (3rd Quarter/Summer) 2019.
“CodeSport: Increasing Participation in Programming Using Coding Tournaments As an Alternative To Hackathons”
ACM Global Computing Education Conference, May 2019.
“Comparison of Learning Programming Between Interactive Computer Tutors and Human Teachers”
ACM Global Computing Education Conference, May 2019.
“Learning, Education, and HCI”
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts (CHI), May 2019.
“Personalizing User Interactions in a Social Shopping Context and Open Challenges”
ACM Theory-Informed User Modeling for Tailoring and Personalizing Interfaces, March 2019.
“Personalizing VR Educational Tools for English Language Learners”
ACM Theory-Informed User Modeling for Tailoring and Personalizing Interfaces, March 2019.
“Tamagotchi++: A Serious, Personalized Game To Encourage Healthy Behavior”
ACM Theory-Informed User Modeling for Tailoring and Personalizing Interfaces, March 2019.
“Integration of Virtual Reality in Secondary STEM Education”
IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), March 2019.
“Encompassing English Language Learners in Virtual Reality ”
ACM Artificial Intelligence & Virtual Reality (AIVR), December 2018.
“Shopping As a Social Activity: Understanding People's Categorical Item Sharing Preferences on Social Networks”
ACM Theory-Informed User Modeling for Tailoring and Personalizing Interfaces, March 2018.
“Predicting Abandonment in Online Coding Tutorials”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), July (3rd Quarter/Summer) 2017.
“Personalizing Online Educational Tools”
ACM Theory-Informed User Modeling for Tailoring and Personalizing Interfaces (HUMANIZE), March 2017.
“A principled evaluation for a principled idea garden”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), October (4th Quarter/Autumn) 2015.
“Comparing the effectiveness of online learning approaches on CS1 learning outcomes”
ACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER), July (3rd Quarter/Summer) 2015.
“SIG: Gender-Inclusive Software: What We Know About Building It”
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts (CHI), April (2nd Quarter/Spring) 2015.
“A Demonstration of Gidget, A Debugging Game for Computing Education”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 2014.
“Challenging stereotypes and changing attitudes: the effect of a brief programming encounter on adults’ attitudes toward programming”
ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), 2014.
“Gidget: An Online Debugging Game for Learning and Engagement in Computing Education”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 2014.
“Principles of a Debugging-First Puzzle Game for Computing Education”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 2014.
“Github developers use rockstars to overcome overflow of news”
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 2013.
“How can a social debugging game effectively teach computer programming concepts?”
International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER), 2013.
“In-game assessments increase novice programmers’ engagement and level completion speed”
ACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER), 2013.
“Investigating the role of purposeful goals on novices’ engagement in a programming game”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 2012.
“Representations of user feedback in an agile, collocated software team”
ACM/IEEE International Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE), 2012.
“Social debugging game for learning & engagement”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 2012.
“A case study of post-deployment user feedback triage”
ACM/IEEE International Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE), 2011.
“Personifying programming tool feedback improves novice programmers’ learning”
ACM International Computing Education Research Workshop (ICER), 2011.
“Children’s storytelling and programming with robotic characters”
ACM Conference on Creativity & Cognition (C&C), 2009.
“Multimodal programming environment for kids: a thought bubble interface for the Pleo robotic character”
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 2009.
IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), 2020.
“The Effect of Tracking and Reflecting on Study Habits on Study Behavior and Grades”
November 2020.
“Learners' Perspectives on Learning Programming from Interactive Computer Tutors in a MOOC”
IEEE Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing,
“Middle School Students Learn Binary Counting Using Virtual Reality”
IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC),
“A Qualitative Study of User Participation and Challenges in a Social Shopping Context ”
ACM Theory-Informed User Modeling for Tailoring and Personalizing Interfaces,
“Understanding User Participation and Interaction in Online Shopping Communities from the Social and Relational Perspectives”
Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, January (1st Quarter/Winter) 2020.
“Exploring Differences in Minority Students' Attitudes Towards Computing After a One-Day Coding Workshop”
ACM Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE), July (3rd Quarter/Summer) 2019.
“CodeSport: Increasing Participation in Programming Using Coding Tournaments As an Alternative To Hackathons”
ACM Global Computing Education Conference, May 2019.
“Comparison of Learning Programming Between Interactive Computer Tutors and Human Teachers”
ACM Global Computing Education Conference, May 2019.
“Learning, Education, and HCI”
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts (CHI), May 2019.
“Personalizing User Interactions in a Social Shopping Context and Open Challenges”
ACM Theory-Informed User Modeling for Tailoring and Personalizing Interfaces, March 2019.
“Personalizing VR Educational Tools for English Language Learners”
ACM Theory-Informed User Modeling for Tailoring and Personalizing Interfaces, March 2019.
“Tamagotchi++: A Serious, Personalized Game To Encourage Healthy Behavior”
ACM Theory-Informed User Modeling for Tailoring and Personalizing Interfaces, March 2019.
“Integration of Virtual Reality in Secondary STEM Education”
IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), March 2019.
“Encompassing English Language Learners in Virtual Reality ”
ACM Artificial Intelligence & Virtual Reality (AIVR), December 2018.
“Shopping As a Social Activity: Understanding People's Categorical Item Sharing Preferences on Social Networks”
ACM Theory-Informed User Modeling for Tailoring and Personalizing Interfaces, March 2018.
“Predicting Abandonment in Online Coding Tutorials”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), July (3rd Quarter/Summer) 2017.
“Personalizing Online Educational Tools”
ACM Theory-Informed User Modeling for Tailoring and Personalizing Interfaces (HUMANIZE), March 2017.
“A principled evaluation for a principled idea garden”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), October (4th Quarter/Autumn) 2015.
“Comparing the effectiveness of online learning approaches on CS1 learning outcomes”
ACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER), July (3rd Quarter/Summer) 2015.
“SIG: Gender-Inclusive Software: What We Know About Building It”
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts (CHI), April (2nd Quarter/Spring) 2015.
“A Demonstration of Gidget, A Debugging Game for Computing Education”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 2014.
“Challenging stereotypes and changing attitudes: the effect of a brief programming encounter on adults’ attitudes toward programming”
ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), 2014.
“Gidget: An Online Debugging Game for Learning and Engagement in Computing Education”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 2014.
“Principles of a Debugging-First Puzzle Game for Computing Education”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 2014.
“Github developers use rockstars to overcome overflow of news”
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 2013.
“How can a social debugging game effectively teach computer programming concepts?”
International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER), 2013.
“In-game assessments increase novice programmers’ engagement and level completion speed”
ACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER), 2013.
“Investigating the role of purposeful goals on novices’ engagement in a programming game”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 2012.
“Representations of user feedback in an agile, collocated software team”
ACM/IEEE International Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE), 2012.
“Social debugging game for learning & engagement”
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), 2012.
“A case study of post-deployment user feedback triage”
ACM/IEEE International Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE), 2011.
“Personifying programming tool feedback improves novice programmers’ learning”
ACM International Computing Education Research Workshop (ICER), 2011.
“Children’s storytelling and programming with robotic characters”
ACM Conference on Creativity & Cognition (C&C), 2009.
“Multimodal programming environment for kids: a thought bubble interface for the Pleo robotic character”
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 2009.
COLLAPSE
Other
“Participation and Algorithms in an
Online Educational Game”
ACM Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW), November 2018.
“Teaching and Engaging with Debugging Puzzles”
University of Washington, September 2015.
ACM Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW), November 2018.
“Teaching and Engaging with Debugging Puzzles”
University of Washington, September 2015.
Magazine/Trade Publication
“What's Next in Computing Education”
Korean Society for Engineering Education (KSEE), December 2017.
Korean Society for Engineering Education (KSEE), December 2017.