Research with Dr. Luc Paquette at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
About My Project
I assisted Dr. Luc Paquette with his research on persistence in education. We analyzed data collected from a
Minecraft-based virtual learning environment where student participants were introduced to computing concepts.
The collected data focused on each student's level of engagement as they created programs to guide the
Barrel Bot through a series
of obstacle courses. The goal of this analysis was to identify points of challenge to better understand how students
persist or fail to persist when facing educational hurdles.
My Role
I built a SQL-to-Python data pipeline to extract and transform interaction log data from a database-backed virtual learning environment.
I also collaborated with the development team to identify and resolve data quality and logging issues.
5-Week Progress Report
At the midpoint of the program, I reflected on my work preparing a SQL-to-Python data pipeline, learning to query the WHIMC database,
and collaborating with the development team to support data collection and debugging.
In my final report, I detail the full scope of my DREU project, including contributions to data preparation, analysis, and tool development
for the WHIMC BarrelBot learning environment. I reflect on what I learned about educational research and the challenges of analyzing
student behavior in virtual spaces.