Central China Normal University Faculty of Artificial Intelligence in Education
Research Interests
Educational Large Models
Educational Data Mining and Learning Analytics
Text Sentiment Analysis
Emotional Dialog Systems
Collaborative Learning
Technology-Supported Empirical Research
Professional Affiliations
- Deputy Director of Department of Data Science and Big Data Technology
- Researcher of National Engineering Research Center for Educational Big Data
- Associate Editor of Teacher Education Forum
- Editorial Board Member of Acta Psychologica
- Editorial Board Member of Discover Education
- Lifetime Member of Chinese Association of Automation
- Organizing Committee Chair of ICET
Academic Honors
- First Prize for Hubei Province Science and Technology Progress (2024)
- First Prize of the 14th Hubei Provincial Social Science Outstanding Achievement Award
- Special Prize for Science and Technology Progress (2020)
- First Prize of Hubei Provincial Teaching Achievement Award
- IGI Global 11th Education Outstanding Research Award
- Selected as CNKI Highly Cited Scholar Top 1% in 2024
- Outstanding University Teacher of "Hubei CCB Zhang Fuqing Respecting Teachers and Education Public Welfare Fund"
Professional Experience
2024.06 - Present
Professor, Doctoral Supervisor
Teaching and research in educational large models, educational data mining and learning analytics, and text sentiment analysis.
2025.10 - Present
Visiting Scholar
Collaborative research in AI applications in education.
2018.06 - 2024.06
Associate Professor
Teaching and research in educational big data analytics and learner modeling.
2017.08 - 2018.08
Guest Researcher
Fully funded by the China Scholarship Council, conducting research on emotion perception and learning analytics technologies.
2015.01 - 2018.09
Lecturer
Research in educational big data analytics and learner modeling.
Biography
Dr. Zhi Liu is a Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence in Education, Central China Normal University, and serves as Deputy Director of the Department of Data Science and Big Data Technology. He received his Ph.D. in Educational Information Science and Technology from Central China Normal University in 2014. His research focuses on educational large models, educational data mining and learning analytics, text sentiment analysis, and collaborative learning. He has published over 60 papers in top journals including IEEE TNNL/TII/TLT/TCE, KBS, Computers & Education, and Internet and Higher Education, with six ESI Highly Cited Papers, and holds 12 authorized patents. He has led three NSFC General Projects and one sub-project of the National Science and Technology Innovation 2030 Major Project. He was selected as a CNKI Highly Cited Scholar Top 1% in 2024 and has received the First Prize of Hubei Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award and the Special Prize of CAA Science and Technology Progress Award.
Awards & Recognition
- First Prize for Hubei Province Science and Technology Progress (2024)
- First Prize of the 14th Hubei Provincial Social Science Outstanding Achievement Award
- Special Prize for Science and Technology Progress (2020)
- First Prize of Hubei Provincial Teaching Achievement Award
- IGI Global 11th Education Outstanding Research Award
- Outstanding University Teacher of "Hubei CCB Zhang Fuqing Respecting Teachers and Education Public Welfare Fund"
Publications & Representative Works
Complete Bibliography
2024
How academic stress affects academic performance: A chain-mediated model of sex moderation
2024
Profiling students‘ learning engagement in MOOC discussions to identify learning achievement: An automated configurational approach
Computers & Education
2023
A Study of Joint Cognitive-Topic Modeling in Group Learning Discussions and Its Effect on Learning Outcomes: Based on the Moderating Role of Discussion-Based Guidance Types
《远程教育杂志》
2023
Investigating the Relationship between Learners’ Cognitive Participation and Learning Outcome in Asynchronous Online Discussion Forums
2022
Learning Behavioral Differences Among Students and Ethical Issues in a University Cloud Classroom System
2022
Looking at MOOC discussion data to uncover the relationship between discussion pacings, learners‘ cognitive presence and learning achievements
Education and Information Technologies
2022
Automated detection of emotional and cognitive engagement in MOOC discussions to predict learning achievement
Computers & Education
Investigating the Relationship between Learners’ Cognitive Participation and Learning Outcome in Asynchronous Online Discussion Forums
AI-Enabled Learning Engagement Analysis: Revolutionizing Education with AI