Siyu Zha is a joint Ph.D. candidate at Tsinghua University and the University of Toronto, majoring in Information Design at Tsinghua University. Her research focuses on human-AI collaborative learning, educational human-computer interaction, and innovative learning design. She explores how technology can better empower learning and education and aims to cultivate creative lifelong learners through interdisciplinary approaches. She has participated in various research and design projects in educational technology and innovative learning, covering areas such as AI tutoring agents, STEAM curricula, educational toy design, and innovative course development. Her work is dedicated to advancing the integration of HCI and education in both theoretical and practical dimensions.
Research Project
AI Agent Toolchain and Application Development for Industry Scenarios (Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission): Developed a design framework for intelligent educational systems and an AI mentor system for secondary students’ creative problem-solving, implemented in real classrooms to promote AI's deep integration in education.
Theoretical and Practical Research on Innovative Learning Toy Design: Managed the overall project, focusing on the role of toys in children’s creative learning. Completed the report Theoretical and Practical Design of Innovative Learning Toys for Children, providing theoretical support for product design and educational practice.
LEGO Foundation - Online Playful Learning During the Pandemic: Designed and implemented online STEAM courses addressing K-12 education needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring the impact of various instructional methods on learning outcomes and experiences.
Project X (Lifelong Learning Lab): Designed innovative creation courses for teenagers, researched cognitive development in K-12 STEM education, and explored the value of the "Family Learning Together" co-learning model.
ME310 Design Thinking Course at Stanford University: Worked on the theme of "Future Education" through the design thinking process (needs analysis, ideation, prototyping, testing), leading to the creation of an AI Tutor prototype to explore new paths for AI-assisted collaborative learning.
K16 Technology and Engineering Education Alliance Course Co-Development: Collaborated with Tsinghua University’s Basic Industrial Training Center to transform research into practice by developing an interdisciplinary course Interpersonal Communication for high school students.
Tsinghua Undergraduate Curriculum Collaboration: Co-designed the Entrepreneurial Thinking course with iCenter, incorporating design thinking and project-based learning to systematically cultivate students’ innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, and practical skills.
Publications & Books
Zha, S., Liu, Y., Zheng, C., Xu, J., Yu, F., Gong, J., & Xu, Y. (2025). Mentigo: An intelligent agent for mentoring students in the creative problem-solving process. CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '25), April 26–May 1, 2025, Yokohama, Japan. ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713952
Liu, Y.*, Zha, S.*, Zhang, Y., Wang, Y., Zhang, Y., Xin, Q., Nie, L., Zhang, C., & Xu, Y. (2025). BrickSmart: Leveraging generative AI to support children's spatial language learning in family block play. Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '25). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3714212 (Best Paper Honorable Mention)
Zha, S., Tang, Y., Gong, J., & Xu, Y. (2025). COLP: Scaffolding Children's Online Long-term Collaborative Learning. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction 29.4 201-204.
Zhang, H., Zha, S., Cai, J., Wohn, D. Y., & Carroll, J. M. (2025). Generative AI in virtual reality communities: A preliminary analysis of the VRChat Discord community. Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '25), April 26–May 1, 2025, Yokohama, Japan. ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3720120
Zha, S., Qiao, Y., Hu, Q., Li, Z., Gong, J., & Xu, Y. (2024). Designing Child-Centric AI Learning Environments: Insights from LLM-Enhanced Creative Project-Based Learning. arXiv preprint arXiv:2403.16159.
Zha, S., Sun, X., Zhang, Y., et al. (2024). Research on Intelligent Innovative Learning Toys for Children from an HCI Perspective. Packaging Engineering, (10), 127–140+167. doi:10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2024.10.014.
Zha, S., Zhao, D., Li, M., Gong, W., Hu, Q., and Li, Z.(2023) An interdisciplinary design framework for creative collaboration, in De Sainz Molestina, D., Galluzzo, L., Rizzo, F., Spallazzo, D. (eds.), IASDR 2023: Life-Changing Design, 9-13 October, Milan, Italy. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2023.550
Li, M., Zha, S., Gong, W., & Jia, Y. (2023). A review of HCI technologies for children's learning in smart homes. Journal of Computer-Aided Design & Computer Graphics, (02), 248–261.
Zha, S., Zhang, Y., & Zhao, D. (2023). Talent cultivation for lifelong learning. Science & Technology Review, (08), 104–112. Doi:CNKI:SUN:KJDB.0.2023-08-011.
Gong, J., Han, T., Guo, S., Li, J., Zha, S., Zhang, L., ... & Rui, Y. (2021, October). Holoboard: A large-format immersive teaching board based on pseudo holographics. In The 34th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (pp. 441-456).
Zha, S. (2021). Emotion-oriented design for remote learning based on interaction hierarchy theory. Industrial Engineering Design, 3(02), 21–30.doi:10.19798/j.cnki.2096-6946.2021.02.004.
Gong, J., Zha, S., Dong, Z., et al. (2020). A visual analysis of communities and themes in innovative educational product research from the HCI perspective. The 16th Joint Academic Conference on Harmonious Human-Machine Environment, Chongqing, China. (Best Paper Nomination)
Li, S. (Ed.). (2023). STEM and Engineering Thinking. Beijing: Educational Science Press. (Editorial board member, chapter contributor)
Li, F. (Ed.). (2020). Computational Thinking and Programming Design. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press. (Editorial board member, chapter contributor)