Xinru Yan, Program Evaluation and STEM Education Researcher at Innovative Learning Center
Program Evaluation • STEM Education • Responsible AI

Xinru Yan

Program Evaluation and STEM Education Researcher

Xinru Yan works across program evaluation, STEM education, and AI literacy to support evidence-informed, people-centered learning and evaluation practices. Her work focuses on evaluator education and the responsible use of generative AI in evaluation practice.

Doctoral student in Educational Psychology, specializing in Quantitative and Evaluative Research Methodologies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

M.S. in Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro

B.S. in Elementary Education with a minor in English from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Experience & Expertise

Xinru Yan is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, specializing in Quantitative and Evaluative Research Methodologies. Her work focuses on people-centered evaluation, STEM education, evaluator education, and the responsible use of generative AI in evaluation practice.

Xinru serves as a Junior Editor for New Directions for Evaluation, where she reviews manuscripts, contributes to editorial planning, and has developed a generative AI chatbot prototype to support authors in early-stage idea development. This work reflects her interest in making evaluation knowledge more accessible, reflective, and useful.

Her applied experience includes work as a Mayoral Fellow with the City of Chicago, supporting projects related to responsible AI use, community safety, gender-based violence integration, and climate action planning. She has also contributed to evaluation projects in STEM education, teacher preparation, bilingual education, higher education, and NSF-funded programs.