I design and research STEM education experiences and technologies, with a longstanding interest in understanding how people engage and learn with data across a range of settings. Other current lines of work include AI literacy, elementary school computer science education, and science teaching and learning. My research has been recognized with a National Science Foundation CAREER award, a National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, the American Educational Research Association’s Jan Hawkins Award, and various best paper awards. I am a learning scientist and cognitive scientist by training. My work is done out of Stanford University, where I am an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education.

Stanford Faculty Profile Page

Info for Prospective Students

Selected Publications

Books

Lee, V. R. & Phillips, A. L. (Eds.). (2018). Reconceptualizing Libraries: Perspectives from the Information and Learning Sciences. New York, NY: Routledge.

Lee, V. R. (Ed.). (2015). Learning Technologies and the Body: Integration and Implementation in Formal and Informal Learning Environments. New York, NY: Routledge.

link to pdf of 2015 intro chapter on embodiment and some of its lead in

Selected Papers

2021

Lee, V. R., & Delaney, V. (in press). Identifying the content, lesson structure, and data use within pre-collegiate data science curricula. Journal of Science Education and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-021-09932-1

Lee, V. R., Wilkerson, M. H., & Lanouette, K. (in press). A Call for a Humanistic Stance toward K-12 Data Science Education. Educational Researcher. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X211048810 

Lee, V. R., Drake, J., Cain, R., & Thayne, J. (in press). Remembering what produced the data: Reflective reconstruction in the context of a ‘quantified self’ elementary data and statistics unit. Cognition & Instruction. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2021.1936529 

Poole, F. J., Clarke-Midura, J., Rasmussen, M., Shehzad, U., & Lee, V. R. (in press). Tabletop Games Designed to Promote Computational Thinking. Computer Science Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2021.1947642 

Lee, V. R., & Delaney, V. (2021). Aesthetics of Authenticity for Teachers’ Data Set Preferences. In E. d. Vries, Y. Hod, & J. Ahn (Eds.), 15th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) (pp. 259-266). ISLS. 

Clarke-Midura, J., Silvis, D., Shumway, J., Lee, V. R., & Kozlowski, J. (2021). Developing a Kindergarten Computational Thinking Assessment Using Evidence-Centered Design: The Case of Algorithmic Thinking Computer Science Education, 31(2), 117-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2021.1877988 

Clarke-Midura, J., Kozlowski, J. S., Shumway, J. F., & Lee, V. R. (2021). How young children engage in and shift between reference frames when playing with coding toys. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 100250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2021.100250 

2020

Hamilton, M., Clarke-Midura, J., Shumway, J. F., & Lee, V. R. (2020). An Emerging Technology Report on Computational Toys in Early Childhood. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 25(1), 213-224. doi:10.1007/s10758-019-09423-8

Lee, V. R., & Dubovi, I. (2020). At home with data: Family engagements with data involved in Type 1 Diabetes management. Journal of the learning sciences, 20(1), 11-31. doi:10.1080/10508406.2019.1666011

Cain, R., & Lee, V. R. (2020). Measuring electrodermal activity in an afterschool maker program to detect youth engagement. In R. Zheng (Ed.), Cognitive and Affective Perspectives on Immersive Technology in Education (pp. 128-150). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Cain, R., & Lee, V. R. (2020). A thermometer for kindergarten data inquiry. In Proceedings of Constructionism 2020. Dublin, Ireland.

Lee, V. R., Poole, F., Clarke-Midura, J., Recker, M., & Rasmussen, M. (2020). Introducing coding through tabletop board games and their digital instantiations across elementary classrooms and school libraries. In Proceedings of SIGCSE 2020. Portland, OR: ACM.

Lee, V. R., Poole, F., Clarke-Midura, J., & Recker, M. (2020). Design of an expansively-framed board game-based unit to introduce computer programming to upper elementary students. In 2020 Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences. Nashville, TN: ISLS.

Silvis, D., Lee, V. R., Clarke-Midura, J., Shumway, J., & Kozlowski, J. (2020). Blending Everyday Movement and Representational Infrastructure: An Interaction Analysis of Kindergarteners Coding Robot Routes. In 2020 Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences. Nashville, TN: ISLS.

2019

Lee, V. R., Fischback, L., & Cain, R. (2019). A wearables-based approach to detect and identify momentary engagement in afterschool Makerspace programs. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 59. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.101789

Dubovi, I., & Lee, V. R. (2019). Instructional Support for Learning with Agent-Based Models: A Tale of Vicarious and Guided Exploration Learning Approaches. Computers & Education, 142. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103644

Clarke-Midura, J., Lee, V. R., Hamilton, M., & Shumway, J. (2019). The Building Blocks of Coding: Examining Representation in Early Childhood Coding Toys. Information and Learning Sciences. 120(7/8), 505-518.

Phillips, A. L. & Lee, V. R., (2019). Whose Responsibility is It? A Statewide Survey of School Librarians on Responsibilities and Resources for Teaching Digital Citizenship. School Library Research, 22.

Lee, V. R. (2019). Conceptual dynamics of student reasoning during interviews involving discrepant embodied experiences. Journal for STEM Education Research, 2(2), 172-200.

Lee, V. R. (2019). The picture of smartphones at school is not a dire one, and the picture of student competence is a bright one. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 21, 293-295. 

Lee, V. R. (2019). On researching activity tracking to support learning: a retrospective. Information and Learning Sciences, 120(1/2), 133-154. doi:10.1108/ILS-06-2018-0048

Lee, V. R. (2020). Supporting complex multimodal expression around representations of data: Experience matters. In P. Sengupta, B. Kim, & M.-C. Shanahan (Eds.), Critical, Transdisciplinary and Embodied Approaches in STEM Education (pp. 217-231). Chalm, Switzerland: Springer. 

Lee, V. R., & Shapiro, R. B. (2019). A Broad View of Wearables as Learning Technologies: Current and Emerging Applications. In P. Diaz, A. Ioannou, K. K. Bhagat, & J. M. Spector (Eds.), Learning in a Digital World - Perspectives on Interactive Technologies for Formal and Informal Education (pp. 113-133). Singapore: Springer.

2018

Lee, V. R., & Wilkerson, M. (2018). Data use by middle and secondary students in the digital age: A status report and future prospects. Commissioned Paper for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Board on Science Education, Committee on Science Investigations and Engineering Design for Grades 6-12. Washington, D.C. 

Rogowski, A., Recker, M., & Lee, V. R. (2018). Designing online support guides for librarians managing STEM maker activities. International Journal of Innovations in Online Education, 2(4). 

Lee, V. R. & Recker, M. (2018). Paper circuits: A tangible, low threshold, low cost entry to computational thinking. TechTrends, 62(2), 197-203. doi:10.1007/s11528-017-0248-3

Lee, V. R. (2018). Personal Analytics Explorations to Support Youth Learning. In R. Zheng (Ed.), Digital Technologies and Instructional Design for Personalized Learning (pp. 145-163). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Lee, V. R. (2018). A short history of the Learning Sciences. In R. West (Ed.), Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology (1st ed.). .

Lee, V. R., Recker, M., & Phillips, A. L. (2018). Conjecture Mapping the Library: Iterative Refinements Toward Supporting Maker Learning Activities in Small Community Spaces. In J. Kay & R. Luckin (Eds.), Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age: Making the Learning Sciences Count, 13th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2018 (Vol. 1, pp. 320-327). London, UK: ISLS.

2017

Lee, V. R., & Fields, D. A. (2017). A rubric for describing competences in the areas of circuitry, computation, and crafting after a course using e-textiles. International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, 34(5), 372-384. 

Lee, V. R., Thurston, T., & Thurston, C. (2017). A comparison of discovered regularities in blood glucose readings across two data collection approaches used with a type 1 diabetic youth. Methods of Information in Medicine, 56(open), e84-e92. doi:10.3414/ME16-02-0047 

Bartholomew, S. R., Reeve, E., Veon, R., Goodridge, W., Lee, V., & Nadelson, L. (2017). Relationships between access to mobile devices, student self-directed learning, and achievement. Journal of Technology Education, 29(1), 2-24.

Fischback, L., & Lee, V. R. (2017). How Time Gets Used in Afterschool Maker Programs. In P. Blikstein, M. Berland, & D. A. Fields (Eds.), Proceedings of FabLearn 2017: 7th Annual Conference on Creativity and Making in Education. Stanford, CA: ACM. 

Lee, V. R., Lewis, W., Searle, K. A., Recker, M., Hansen, J., & Phillips, A. L. (2017). Supporting interactive youth maker programs in public and school libraries: Design hypotheses and first implementations. In P. Blikstein & D. Abrahamson (Eds.), Proceedings of IDC 2017 (pp. 310-315). Stanford, CA: ACM.

2016

Lee, V. R., Drake, J. R., & Thayne, J. L. (2016). Appropriating quantified self technologies to support elementary statistical teaching and learning. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 9(4), 354-365. doi:10.1109/TLT.2016.2597142

Fields, D. A., & Lee, V. R. (2016). Craft Technologies 101: Bringing making to higher education. In K. Peppler, E. Halverson, & Y. Kafai (Eds.), Makeology (Vol. 1, pp. 121-137). New York, NY: Routledge.

Azevedo, F. S., & Lee, V. R. (2016). Ecologies of knowing: Lessons from the highly tailored practice of hobbies. In A. A. diSessa, M. Levin, & N. J. S. Brown (Eds.), Knowledge and interaction: A synthetic research agenda for the learning sciences (pp. 111-132). New York, NY: Routledge.

DeLiema, D., Lee, V. R., Danish, J., Enyedy, N., & Brown, N. J. S. (2016). A microlatitudinal/microlongitudinal analysis of speech, gesture, and representation use in a student’s scientific explanation of phase change. In A. A. diSessa, M. Levin, & N. J. S. Brown (Eds.), Knowledge and interaction: A synthetic research agenda for the Learning Sciences (pp. 133-159). New York, NY: Routledge.

Russ, R. S., Sherin, B. L., & Lee, V. R. (2016). The intersection of knowledge and interaction: Challenges of clinical interviewing. In A. A. diSessa, M. Levin, & N. J. S. Brown (Eds.), Knowledge and interaction: A synthetic research agenda for the learning sciences (pp. 377-402). New York, NY: Routledge.

Lee, V. R., Yuan, M., Ye, L., & Recker, M. (2016). Reconstructing the influences on and focus of the Learning Sciences from the field's published conference proceedings In M. A. Evans, M. J. Packer, & R. K. Sawyer (Eds.), Reflections on the Learning Sciences (pp. 105-125). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

2015

Lee, V. R. (2015). Combining high-speed cameras and stop-motion animation software to support students' modeling of human body movement. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 24(2-3), 178-191. doi: 10.1007/s10956-014-9521-9

Lee, V. R., Drake, J., & Williamson, K. (2015). Let’s get physical: K-12 Students using wearable devices to obtain and learn about data from physical activities. TechTrends, 59(4), 46-53. doi: 10.1007/s11528-015-0870-x 

DuMont, M., & Lee, V. R. (2015). Understanding the opportunities and challenges of introducing computational crafts to alternative high school students. In M. Orey & R. M. Branch (Eds.), Educational Media and Technology Yearbook(Vol. 39, pp. 83-99). New York, NY: Springer.

Lee, V. R., Drake, J., Cain, R., & Thayne, J. (2015). Opportunistic Uses of the Traditional School Day Through Student Examination of Fitbit Activity Tracker Data. In M. U. Bers & G. Revelle (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2015 ACM SIGCHI Interaction Design and Children Conference (pp. 209-218). Boston, MA: ACM.

Lee, V. R. (2015). Technology meets body, body meets technology. In V. R. Lee (Ed.), Learning Technologies and the Body: Integration and Implementation in Formal and Informal Learning Environments (pp. 1-20). Routledge. 

2014

Lee, V. R. (2014). Students' digital photography behaviors during a multiday environmental science field trip and their recollections of photographed science content. Education Research International, 2014, 11 pages. doi: 10.1155/2014/736791

Lee, V. R., Leary, H. M., Sellers, L., & Recker, M. (2014). The role of school district science coordinators in the district-wide appropriation of an online resource discovery and sharing tool for teachers. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 23(3), 309-323. doi: 10.1007/s10956-013-9465-5 

Lee, V. R., & Briggs, M. (2014). Lessons learned from an initial effort to bring a quantified self "meetup" experience to a new demographic. In Proceedings of the 2014 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing: Adjunct Publication (pp. 707-710). Seattle, Washington: ACM. doi: 10.1145/2638728.2641321

Lee, V. R. (2014). What’s happening in the Quantified Self movement? In J. L. Polman, Kyza, E. A., O'Neill, D. K., Tabak, I., Penuel, W. R., Jurow, A. S., O'Connor, K., Lee, T., D'Amico, L. (Ed.), Learning and Becoming in Practice: The International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2014 (Vol. 2, pp. 1032-1036). Boulder, CO: ISLS.

2013

Lee, V. R. (2013). The Quantified Self (QS) movement and some emerging opportunities for the educational technology field. Educational Technology, 53(6), 39-42.

Lee, V. R. (2013). Knowing and learning with technology (and on wheels!): An introduction to the special issue.Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 18(1-2), 1-8. doi: 10.1007/s10758-013-9204-2

Lee, V. R., & Drake, J. (2013). Digital physical activity data collection and use by endurance runners and distance cyclists. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 18(1-2), 39-63. doi: 10.1007/s10758-013-9203-3

Lee, V. R., & Drake, J. (2013). Quantified recess: Design of an activity for elementary students involving analyses of their own movement data. In J. P. Hourcade, E. A. Miller & A. Egeland (Eds.), Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children 2013 (pp. 273-276). New York, NY: ACM.

2012

Berland, L. K., & Lee, V. R. (2012). In pursuit of consensus: Disagreement and legitimization during small group argumentation. International Journal of Science Education. 34(12), 1857-1882. doi: 10.1080/09500693.2011.645086

 Russ, R. S., Lee, V. R., & Sherin, B. L. (2012). Framing in cognitive clinical interviews about intuitive science knowledge: Dynamic student understandings of the discourse interaction. Science Education, 96(4), 537-599. doi: DOI: 10.1002/sce.21014 

Sherin, B., Krakowski, M., & Lee, V. R. (2012). Some assembly required: How scientific explanations are constructed in clinical interviews. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 49(2), 166-198. doi: 10.1002/tea.20455

Lee, V. R., Shelton, B. E., Walker, A., Caswell, T., & Jensen, M. (2012). ReTweeting History: Exploring the intersection of microblogging and problem-based learning for historical reenactments. In K. Seo, D. Pellegrino & C. Engelhard (Eds.), Designing Problem-Driven Instruction Using Online Social Media (pp. 23-40): Information Age Publishing.

2011

Lee, V. R., & Thomas, J. M. (2011). Integrating physical activity data technologies into elementary school classrooms.Educational Technology Research and Development, 59(6), 865-884. doi: 10.1007/s11423-011-9210-9

Berland, M., & Lee, V. R. (2011). Collaborative strategic board games as a site for distributed computational thinking.International Journal of Game-Based Learning, 1(2), 65-81. doi: 10.4018/ijgbl.2011040105

2010

Lee, V. R., & DuMont, M. (2010). An exploration into how physical activity data-recording devices could be used in computer-supported data investigations. International Journal of Computers for Mathematical Learning, 15(3), 167-189.

Lee, V. R. (2010) How different variants of orbit diagrams influence student explanations of the seasons. Science Education. 94(6), 985-1007. doi: 10.1002/sce.20403. 

Lee, V. R. (2010). Adaptations and continuities in the use and design of visual representations in middle school science textbooks. International Journal of Science Education. 32(8), 1099-1126.

Pre-2010

Lee, V. R., Russ, R. S., & Sherin, B. (2008). A functional taxonomy of discourse moves for conversation management during cognitive clinical interviews about scientific phenomena. In V. Sloutsky, B. Love & K. McRae (Eds.), Proceedings of the 30th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 1723-1728). Austin, TX.

Kanter, D., Sherin, B., & Lee, V. (2006). Changing conceptual ecologies in task-structured science curricula. In S. A. Barab, K. E. Hay & D. T. Hickey (Eds.), Proceedings of The Seventh International Conference of the Learning Sciences (Vol. 1, pp. 293-299). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Lee, V. R., & Sherin, B. (2006). Beyond transparency: How students make representations meaningful. In S. A. Barab, K. E. Hay & D. T. Hickey (Eds.), Proceedings of The Seventh International Conference of the Learning Sciences (Vol. 1, pp. 397-403). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Lee, V. R., & Sherin, B. L. (2004). What makes teaching special? In Y. Kafai, W. Sandoval, N. Enyedy, A. Nixon & F. Herrera (Eds.), Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference of the Learning Sciences (pp. 302-309). Santa Monica, CA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.