Nia Nixon - Exploring the world through language and discourse

News

EDM, AIED, L@S - Palermo, Sicily July 2025
Ph.D. student Seehee Park won Best Paper at the International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2025) in Palermo, Sicily. The award-winning paper is: Park, S., Shariff, D., Samadi, M. A., Nixon, N., & D’Mello, S. (2025). Discourse to dynamics: Understanding team interactions through temporally sensitive NLP. Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (pp. xx–xx).
Jacobs Foundation July 2025
Thrilled to be leading a new Jacobs Foundation seed grant project, “Signals of Synergy: Investigating Child–AI Interaction in Collaborative Teams”, in collaboration with Jennifer Meyer (University of Vienna) and Jeanine Grütter (LMU Munich). This project explores how students work together in small teams to solve social and moral dilemmas, using multimodal methods—including physiological signals and discourse analysis— to examine how AI teammates influence children’s collaboration, inclusion, and altruism.
Jacobs Foundation July 2025
Excited to collaborate with Katie Winkle (Uppsala University) and Marcelo Worsley (Northwestern) on a new interdisciplinary Jacobs Foundation seed grant project, “Who’s Driving the Robot and Do You Want to Use It?: Exploring Student Agency and Trust in Collaborative Human-Robot-AI Teams”. This project investigates agency and trust in human–AI–robot teams by exploring how control structures— whether driven by the student or system—affect children’s trust in AI and their collaborative learning experiences.
Society for Text and Discourse July 2025
Honored to receive the Tom Trabasso Young Investigator Award from the Society for Text and Discourse. Deeply grateful for this recognition from a community that has shaped and inspired my work.
University of Tübingen, Germany July 2025
Honored to be named a Distinguished International Professor at the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, Hector Research Institute for Education Sciences and Psychology at the University of Tübingen. Grateful for the opportunity to deepen international research collaboration and mentorship.
University of California, Irvine June 2025
I’m thrilled to share that I have received tenure at UCI! Deeply grateful for the support of my mentors, collaborators, students, and community—excited for what’s ahead.
UCI School of Education March 2025
Featured in: Nia Nixon earns double honors for advancing AI in education
World Jan 2025
So excited to be named a 2024 Jacobs Foundation Research Fellow: Jacobs Foundation Research Fellowship Announcement. Through the support of the Jacobs Foundation, we are advancing research on human-AI teaming to better understand and support how children collaborate with AI partners in learning environments.
World Jan 2025 2024
Our team has been awarded a Gates Foundation grant to develop AI-enhanced coaching tools that support mathematics teachers in fostering inclusive, justice-oriented classrooms. Excited to begin this important work!
World May 2024
New podcast: The past, present and future of AI in education
Chicago, Illinois May 2024
Excited to attend the AI in Education Convening hosted by the National Science and Spencer Foundations.
World May 2024
Excited to share early access of 2 articles:

Cavazos, J. & Nixon, N. (under-review). Greater than the sum of its parts: The role of minority and majority status in collaborative problem-solving communication. arXiv preprint. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2403.04671

Samadi, M. A., JaQuay, S., Gu, J., & Nixon, N. (2024). The AI collaborator: Bridging human-AI interaction in educational and professional settings. arXiv preprint. https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.10460
Kyoto, Japan March 2024
Always wonderful attending the International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge
Washington, D.C. Nov 2023
Excited to give an invited presentation/ for the the National Academy of Sciences meeting on What to do About and With AI in Education: Challenges and Opportunities for AI in Teaching and Learning
World Oct 2023
Excited to give a keynote presentation for the GRAILE Sense Making Lectures on Advancing the Science of Collaboration with AI
Tübingen, Germany Oct 2023
Excited to give a keynote presentation for the LEAD retreat
World 2023
New podcast for Rising Tide: Change Makers
Patent, Patent!!! Read all about it! Nov. 9th, 2021
So happy to announce that our patent is finally finalized Nov. 9th 2021
Dowell, N. M. & Nixon, M. T. (November 9, 2021). Computational linguistic analysis of learners' discourse in computer-mediated group learning environments. Application Number: US Patent No. 11,170,177. United States of America.

About me

I am an Associate Professor in the School of Education and, by courtesy, the Department of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. I serve as a Faculty Innovation Fellow at UCI Beall Applied Innovation and hold a Distinguished International Professorship at the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, Hector Research Institute for Education Sciences and Psychology at the University of Tübingen. I previously served as Vice President of the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR), an interdisciplinary network of international researchers exploring the role and impact of analytics on teaching, learning, and workforce development.

My research investigates how artificial intelligence can act as a teammate in human collaboration, rather than simply a tool. Drawing on learning analytics, computational discourse science, and socio-cognitive theory, I study how humans and AI can work together in ways that foster creativity, innovation, inclusion, and belonging. I integrate natural language processing, multimodal analytics, and experimental social science to examine how AI shapes communication, teamwork, and problem-solving in educational and workforce contexts. A central theme of my work is developing responsible design guardrails for AI collaborators—ensuring they are transparent, reliable, and equitable, particularly for historically underserved learners. This research produces both theoretical insights into human–AI teaming and practical design guidelines for schools, universities, and organizations adopting AI systems.

About the LaLA-Lab

The Language and Learning Analytics Laboratory (LaLA-Lab), directed by Dr. Nia Nixon, brings together an interdisciplinary group of graduate and undergraduate researchers with backgrounds in cognitive science, education, psychology, computer science, and statistics. Our mission is to explore how language, interaction, and AI shape learning and teamwork, with a particular focus on equity, inclusion, and belonging.

The LaLA-Lab takes a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach that draws on theories and methods in the learning sciences, cognitive psychology, human–computer interaction, and computational social science. Our lab culture is highly collaborative and supportive: students co-design studies, co-author publications, and share expertise, creating a space where rigorous science and friendly teamwork go hand in hand.

Current projects include:

Modeling how AI teammates influence collaboration, innovation, and the sense of belonging in STEM teams.
Developing computational models of discourse and socio-cognitive dynamics in collaborative learning environments.
Investigating equity gaps in socio-cognitive engagement across gender and racial lines and identifying inclusive dynamics that support belonging.
Designing human–AI teaming interventions for classrooms, teacher professional learning, and workforce training.

Our students are central to this mission. Members of the LaLA-Lab contribute to conference publications (e.g., LAK, AIED, CSCL), international collaborations, and cross-disciplinary projects. Together, we aim to advance a vision of human-centered AI that augments rather than replaces people, enabling more equitable, effective, and creative forms of teamwork in education and beyond.

Interested in joining us? The LaLA-Lab welcomes applications from motivated PhD and master’s students who are passionate about exploring how AI, language, and collaboration shape learning and teamwork. We are especially excited to work with students who bring interdisciplinary interests across cognitive science, education, computer science, and the social sciences, and who value a collaborative, supportive lab culture. If you are curious about how to design human-centered AI that fosters equity, belonging, and innovation, we would love to hear from you. Please review the UCI School of Education graduate programs for application details and reach out to Dr. Nixon with questions about fit.

Research Program

Computational Discourse Science

Statistical Methods

linear and nonlinear modeling
multilevel modeling
structural equation modeling
machine learning

NLP

Group Communication Analysis
Large language models (LLMs)
Etc.

Theory

Discourse Theory
Cognitive Science Theory
Social Science Theory

Publications

Journal Publications

Weber, A. M., van Laar, E., Borgonovi, F., Ackerman, P. L., Nixon, N., Graesser, A. C., & Greiff, S. (in press). Psychological science and the blind spot in education: Learning and instruction of transversal skills in the 21st century. Educational Psychology Review. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-025-10014-6
Xing, W., Nixon, N., Crossley, S., et al. (2025). The Use of Large Language Models in Education. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education. doi:10.1007/s40593-025-00457-x
Nixon, N. M. , Lin, Y., Snow, L.(2024). Catalyzing Equity in STEM Teams: Harnessing Generative AI for Inclusion and Diversity Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences. doi:10.1177/23727322231220356
Viberg, O., Kizilcec, R. F., Wise, A. F., Jivet, I., & Nixon, N. (2024). Advancing equity and inclusion in educational practices with AI‐powered educational decision support systems (AI‐EDSS). British Journal of Educational Technology. doi:10.1111/bjet.13507
*Lin, Y. & Nixon, N. M. (2024). Transitioning to Online Instructions and COVID-19 Response: A View from Mining Emergent College Students Discourse in Online Discussion Forum International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education . doi:10.1007/s40593-024-00411-3
Han, A., Krieger, F., Kim, S., Nixon, N. , Greiff, S. (2024). Revisiting the relationship between team members’ personality and their team’s performance a meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Personality. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2024.104526
Dowell, N. M. , McKay, T., & Perrett, G. (2021). It’s not that you said it, it’s how you said it: Exploring the linguistic mechanisms underlying values affirmation interventions at scale. AERA Open. doi: 10.1177/23328584211011611
Schneider, B., Dowell, N. M.,& Thompson, K. (2021). Collaboration Analytics — Current State and Potential Futures. Journal of Learning Analytics , 8(1), 1 – 12. doi: 10.18608/jla.2021.7447
Dowell, N. M. , & Poquet, O. (2021). SCIP: Identifying learner roles through group communication and interpersonal network positioning in scaled digital environments Computers in Human Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106709
Dowell, N. M. , Lin, Y., & Godfrey, A., & Brooks, C.(2020). Exploring the relationship between emergent sociocognitive roles, collaborative problem- solving skills and outcomes: A Group Communication Analysis. Journal of Learning Analytics. doi: https://doi.org/10.18608/jla.2020.71.4
Dowell, N. M. , Nixon, T., & Graesser, A. C. (2019). Group communication analysis: A computational linguistics approach for detecting sociocognitive roles in multi-party interactions. Behavior Research Methods, 51(3).doi:10.3758/s13428-018-1102-z doi: 10.3758/s13428-018-1102-z
Joksimović, S., Dowell, N. M. , Gašević, D., Mirriahi, N., Dawson, S., & Graesser, A. C. (2019). Linguistic characteristics of reflective states in video annotations under different instructional conditions. Computers in Human Behavior, 96(1), 43 – 86.doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2018.03.003
Joksimović, S., Dowell, N. M., Poquet, O., Kovanović, V., Gašević, D., Dawson, S., & Graesser, A. C. (2018). Exploring development of social capital in a cMOOC through language and discourse. Internet and Higher Education, 36, 54 – 64. doi: 10.1016/j.iheduc.2017.09.004
Joksimović, S., Poquet, O., Kovanović, V., Dowell, N. M., Mills, C., Gašević, D., Dawson, S., Graesser, A. C., & Brooks, C. (2017). How do we model learning at scale? A systematic review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 88(1), 43 – 86. doi: 10.3102/0034654317740335
Windsor, L. C., Dowell, N. M., Windsor, A., Kaltner, J., & Graesser, A. C. (2017). Leader language and survival strategies in the Arab Spring. International Interactions, 44(2), 321 – 336.doi: 10.1080/03050629.2017.1345737
Dowell, N. M., Graesser, A. C., & Cai, Z. (2017). Language and discourse analysis with Coh-Metrix: Applications from educational material to learning environments at scale. Journal of Learning Analytics, 3(3), 72 – 95. doi: 10.18608/ jla.2016.33.5
Rubin, D. C., Deffler, S. A., Ogle, C. M., Dowell, N. M., & Graesser, A. C. (2016). Participant, rater, and computer measures of coherence in post-traumatic stress disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 125(1), 11-25. doi:10.1037/abn0000126
Dowell, N. M., & Graesser, A. C. (2015). Modeling learners’ cognitive, affective, and social processes through language and discourse. Journal of Learning Analytics, 1(3), 183-186. doi:10.18608/10.18608/jla.2014.13.18
Dowell, N. M., Windsor, L., & Graesser, A. (2015). Computational linguistics analysis of leaders during crises in authoritarian regimes. Dynamics of Asymmetrical Conflict, 8(3), 1-12. doi: 10.1080/17467586.2015.1038286
Windsor, L., Dowell, N. M., & Graesser, A. (2014) The language of autocrats: Leaders' language in natural crises. Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy, 5(4), 446-467. doi: 10.1002/rhc3.12068
D’Mello, S. K., Dowell, N. M., & Graesser, A. C. (2013). Unimodal and multimodal human perception of naturalistic non-basic affective states during human-computer interactions. IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, 4(4), 452-465. doi:10.1109/T-AFFC.2013.19
Dowell, N. M., & Berman, J. (2013). Therapist nonverbal behavior and perceptions of empathy, therapeutic alliance, and treatment credibility. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 23(2), 158-165. Therapist nonverbal behavior and perceptions of empathy, therapeutic alliance, and treatment credibility.doi: 10.1037/a0031421
D’Mello, S. K., Dowell, N. M., & Graesser, A. C. (2011). Does it really matter whether students’ contributions are spoken versus typed in an intelligent tutoring system with natural language? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 17(1), 1-17. doi:10.1037/a0022674
Graesser, A. C., Dowell, N., & Moldovan, C. (2011). A computer’s understanding of literature. Scientific Studies of Literature, 1(1), 24-33. doi:10.1075/ssol.1.1.03gra

Book Chapters

Rod, R. D., Salehi, S., Dowell, N. M. Worsley, M., Piech, C., & Luckin, R. (2022). Inclusion and equity as a paradigm shift for artificial intelligence in education. In Artificial Intelligence in STEM Education: The Paradigmatic Shifts in Research, Education, and Technology (pp. xx – xx). Taylor & Francis.
Dowell, N. M. & Kovanovic, V. (2022). Modeling educational discourse with natural language processing and text mining. In C. Lang, G. Siemens, A. F. Wise, & D. Gaevic (Eds.), Handbook of Learning Analytics (Second edition, pp. xx–xx). Society for Learning Analytics Research.
Hu, X., Dowell, N. M. , Zhiqiang, C., Graesser, A. C., Shi, G., Cockroft, J., & Shorter, P. (2018). Constructing Individual Conversation Characteristics Curves (ICCC) for Interactive Intelligent Tutoring Environments (IITE). In R. Sottilare (Ed.), Design recommendations for intelligent tutoring systems (Team Learning and Task work, Vol. 6, pp. 133–144). Orlando, FL: Army Research Laboratory.(Link to book)
Graesser, A. C., Dowell, N. M., Hampton, A., Lippert, A., Li, H., & Shaffer, D. W. (2018). Building intelligent conversational tutors and mentors for team collaborative problem solving: Lessons from the 2015 program for international student assessment. In J. Johnston, R. Sottilare, A. Sinatra, & S. Burke (Eds.), Building intelligent tutoring systems for teams: What matters.(pp. 173–211). England, U.K.: Emerald. doi: 10.1108/S1534-085620180000019012
Graesser, A. C., Dowell, N. M., & Clewley, D. (2017). Assessing collaborative problem solving through conversational agents. In A. Von Davier, M. Zhu, & P. C. Kyllonen (Eds.), Innovative assessment of collaboration (pp. 65–80). Springer. Princeton, NJ. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-33261-1_5

Published Conference Proceedings (Strictly Peer-Reviewed)

Choi, J., & Nixon, N. (2025). Agentic men, communal women?: Exploring gender bias in LLM-based leadership identification for collaboration analytics. Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED).
Park, S., Shariff, D., Samadi, M. A., Nixon, N., & D’Mello, S. (2025). Discourse to dynamics: Understanding team interactions through temporally sensitive NLP. Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (pp. xx–xx).
Park, S., Nixon, N., D'Mello, S., Shariff, D., & Choi, J. (2025). Understanding collaborative learning processes and outcomes through student discourse dynamics. In LAK25: The 15th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference (March 03–07, 2025, Dublin, Ireland). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 10 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706468.3706547
Samadi, M. A., Shariff, D., Ibarra, R., & Nixon, N. (2025, March 3–7). Balancing the scales: Using GPT-4 for robust data augmentation. In Companion Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge (LAK25) (pp. xx–xx). 15th International Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference, Dublin, Ireland.
*Samadi, M., & Nixon, N. (2024). Cultural Diversity in Team Conversations: A Deep Dive into its Effects on Cohesion and Team Performance. In B. Paaßen and C. D. Epp Eds., Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Educational Data Mining, pages 821–827, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. International Educational Data Mining Society. . doi:10.5281/zenodo.12729962
Lin, Y. & Nixon, N. M., (2024). STEM Pathways in a Global Online Course: Are Male and Female Learners Motivated the Same?. In Proceedings of the 2024 ACM conference on learning@ scale. . ACM.
Cai, Z., *Park, S., Nixon, N. M., & Doroudi, S. (2024). Advancing knowledge together: Integrating large language model-based conversational AI in small group collaborative learning. In Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. . ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3613905.3650868
Samadi, M. A., JaQuay, S., Lin, Y., Tajik, E., Park, S., & Nixon, N. M., (2024). Minds and Machines Unite: Deciphering Social and Cognitive Dynamics in Collaborative Problem Solving with AI. In Proceedings of the 14th Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference. . ACM
Chopra, H., Lin, Y., Samadi, M., Cavazos, J., Yu, R., & Jaquay, S., Nixon, N. M., (2023). Semantic Topic Chains for Modeling Temporality of Themes in Online Student Discussion Forums. In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Educational Data Mining..
Chopra, H., Lin, Y., Samadi, M., Cavazos, J., Yu, R., & Jaquay, S., Nixon, N. M., (2022). Detecting Topics and Trends of Student Discourse across the Pandemic in Online Discussion Forum. In Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education., ACM. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11647-6_91
Samadi, M., Cavazos, J., Lin, Y., & Nixon, N. M., (2022). Exploring Cultural Diversity and Collaborative Team Communication through a Dynamical Systems Lens. In A. Mitrovic and N. Bosch, (Eds.), In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Educational Data Mining, (pp. 263–275). International Educational Data Mining Society. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6853083
Lin, Y., Dowell, N. M., & Godfrey, A. (2021). Skills matter: Modeling the relationship between decision-making processes and collaborative problem-solving skills during Hidden Profile tasks. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference for Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference (pp. 428–437). Virtual, USA: ACM.
Kizilcec, R., Brooks, C., & Dowell, N. M. (2020). Designing Inclusive Learning Environments at Scale. In Proceedings of the Seventh (2020) ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale. (pp. 225–228). Cambridge, M.A.: ACM doi: 10.1145/3386527.3405935
Lin, Y., Yu, R., & Dowell, N. M. (2020). LIWCs the Same, Not the Same: Gendered Linguistic Signals of Performance and Experience in Online STEM Courses. In Bittencourt I., Cukurova M., Muldner K., Luckin R., Millán E. (Eds.) Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 12163, (p. xx-xx). Ifrane Morocco: Springer, Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-52237-7_27 [26% acceptance rate]
Brooks, C., Davis, D., Dowell, N. M., Gardner, J., Necamp, T., Poquet, O., Kizilcec, R., & Williams, J. (2019). Diving in to Educational Experiments: Process, Evaluation, and Reasoning in Support of Learning (DEEPER Support of Learning). In D. Azcona & R. Chung (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Conference for Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference (pp. xx–xx). Temple, AZ, USA: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3386527.3405935
Choi, H., Dowell, N. M., Brooks, C., & Teasley, S. (2019). Social Comparison in MOOCs: Perceived SES, Opinion, and Message Formality. In D. Azcona & R. Chung (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Conference for Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference (pp. xx–xx). Temple, AZ, USA: ACM. doi: 10.1145/3303772.3303773
Dowell, N. M. (2019). Preparing for the future: Group communication analysis as a tool to facilitate adaptive support during digitally-mediated team interactions. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on AI + Adaptive Education . Beijing, China: ACM.
Dowell, N. M., Lin, Y., Godfrey, A., Cho, H., & Brooks, C. (2019). Promoting inclusivity through time-dynamic discourse analysis in digitally-mediated collaborative learning. In B. McLaren & R. Luckin (Eds.), Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (pp. 207–219). Chicago, IL: ACM. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-23204-7_18 [Best Paper Award]
Lin, Y., Dowell, N. M., Godfrey, A., Choi, H., & Brooks, C. (2019). Modeling Gender in Intra and Interpersonal Dynamics during Online Learning Collaborative Interactions. In D. Azcona & R. Chung (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Conference for Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference (pp. 431–435). Temple, AZ, USA: ACM. doi: 10.1145/3303772.3303837 [Best Paper Award]
Yan, W., Dowell, N. M., Holman, C., Welsh, S., Choi, H., & Brooks, C. (2018). Exploring Learner Engagement Patterns in Teach-Outs: Using Topic, Sentiment and On-topicness to Reflect on Pedagogy. In D. Azcona & R. Chung (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Conference for Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference (pp. 431–435). Temple, AZ, USA: ACM. doi: 10.1145/3303772.3303836
Choi, H., Dowell, N. M., & Brooks, C. (2018). Social comparison theory as applied to MOOC student writing: Constructs for opinion and ability. In J. Kay & R. Luckin (Eds.), Proceedings of the 13th International Conference for the Learning Sciences (pp. 1421–1423). London, England: ACM. doi: 10.22318/cscl2018.1421
Dowell, N. M. , Poquet, O., & Brooks, C. (2018). Applying group communication analysis to educational discourse interactions at scale. In Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on the Learning Sciences (pp. 1815–1822). London, England. doi: 10.22318/cscl2018.1815 [Crossover Paper]
Hu, J., Dowell, N. M., & Brooks, C. (2018). Temporal changes in affiliation and emotion in MOOC discussion forum discourse. In C. P. Rose, R. Martínez-Maldonado, & H. U. Hoppe (Eds.), Proceedings of 19th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (pp. xx–xx). London, England: Springer-Verlag. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-93846-2_26
Hu, X., Dowell, N. M., & Graesser, A. C. (2018). Automatically monitoring/regulating group behavior using individual conversation curves (ICCC). In Proceedings of the Workshop on Assessment and Intervention during Team Tutoring at the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (pp. xx–xx). London, England: Springer-Verlag.
Poquet, O., Dowell, N. M., Brooks, C., & Dawson, S. (2018). Are MOOC forums changing? In A. Pardo, K. Bartimote-Aufflick, B. Fuz, & G. Lynch (Eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (pp. xx–xx). Sidney, Australia: ACM.
Cai, Z., Eagen, B., Dowell, N. M., Pennebaker, J. W., & Graesser, A. C. (2017). Epistemic network analysis and topic modeling for chat data from collaborative learning environment. In X. Hu, T. Barnes, A. Hershkovitz, & L. Paquette (Ed.), Proceeding of the 10th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (pp. 104–111). Wuhan, China: International Educational Data Mining Society.
Dowell, N. M., Brooks, C., Kovanović, V., Joksimović, S., & Gašević, D. (2017). The changing patterns of MOOC discourse. In C. Urrea, J. Reich, & C. Thille (Eds.), Proceedings of the Fourth ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale (pp. 283–286). Cambridge, M.A.: ACM
Poquet, O., Dawson, S., & Dowell, N. M. (2017). How effective is your facilitation? Group level analytics of MOOC forums. In xx (Ed.), Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (pp. 238–248). Vancouver: ACM.
Nixon, T., & Dowell, N. M. (2016). Coh-Metrix in the cloud: lessons from implementing a web-scale text analytics platform. In R. Ferguson, M. Sharkey, & N. Mirriahi (Eds.), Practitioner Track Proceedings of the 6th International Learning Analytics & Knowledge Conference (LAK16) (pp. 45–46). University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK: SoLAR.
Dowell, N. M., Skrypnyk, O., Joksimović, S., Graesser, A. C., Dawson, S., Gašević, S., Hennis, T., de Vries, P., & Kovanović, V. (2015). Modeling learners’ social centrality and performance through language and discourse. In C. Romero & M. Pechenizkiy (Eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (pp. 250-257). International Educational Data Mining Society.
Joksimović, S., Dowell, N. M., Oleksandra, S., Kovanović, V., Gašević, D., Dawson, S., & Graesser, A. C. (2015). How do you connect? Analysis of social capital accumulation in connectivist MOOCs. In J. Baron, & G. Lynch (Eds.), Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (pp. 64-68). New York: ACM.
Cade, W. L., Dowell, N. M., Tausczik, Y. R., Pennebaker, J. W., & Graesser, A. C. (2014). Modeling students socioaffective responses to group interactions in a collaborative online chat environment. In J. Stamper, Z. Pardos, M. Mavrikis, B. M. McLaren (Eds.), Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (pp. 399-400). Worcester, MA: International Educational Data Mining Society.
Dowell, N. M., Cade, W. L., Tausczik, Y. R., Pennebaker, J. W., & Graesser, A. C. (2014). What works: Creating adaptive and intelligent systems for collaborative learning support. In S. Trausan-Matu, K. E., Boyer, M. Crosby, & K. Panourgia (Eds.), Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (pp. 124 - 133). Berlin: Springer.
Duan, Y., Dowell, N. M., Graesser, A. C., & Li, H. (2014). Linguistic style and social historical context: An automated linguistic analysis of Mao Zedong’s speeches. In W. Eberle & C. Boonthum-Denecke (Eds.) Proceedings of 27th Florida Artificial Intelligence Research Society Conference (pp. 43-46). Menlo Park, CA: AAAI Press.
Dowell, N. M., D’Mello, S. K., Mills, C., & Graesser, A. C. (2011). Does topic matter? Topic influences on linguistic and rubric-based evaluation of writing. In G. Biswas, S. Bull, J. Kay, & A. Mitrovic (Eds.), Proceedings of 15th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (pp. 450–452). Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.
D’Mello, S. K., Dowell, N. M., & Graesser, A. C. (2009). Cohesion relationships in tutorial dialogue as predictors of affective states. In V. Dimitrova, R. Mizoguchi, B. Du Boulay, & A. C. Graesser (Eds.), Artificial Intelligence in Education: Building Learning Systems that Care: From Knowledge Representation to Affective Modeling (pp. 9-16). Amsterdam, Netherlands: IOS Press.

Presentations

Invited Presentations

Nixon, N. M. (2023, October). Elusive inclusion: Towards AI-based interventions to promote inclusivity in digitally mediated team environments. Invited talk presented to the National Academy of Sciences. Washington, D.C. Link
Nixon, N. M. (2023, October). Elusive inclusion: Towards AI-based interventions to promote inclusivity in digitally mediated team environments. Invited keynote presentation for the University of Tübingen LEAD retreat. Tübingen, Germany.
Nixon, N. M. (2023, October). Advancing the Science of Collaboration with AI. Invited keynote presented for GRAILE Sense Making Lectures. Link
Nixon, N. M. (2022, December). AI-based interventions to promote inclusivity in digitally mediated team environments. Invited presentation for the Southern Methodist University AI in Education Panel. Florida, USA.
Nixon, N. M. (2022, November). Using AI to create scalable models of socio-cognitive collaborative interaction dynamics and outcomes. Invited talk presented to Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Worcester, MA.
Nixon, N. M. (2022, July). Using AI to create scalable models of socio-cognitive collaborative interaction dynamics and outcomes. Invited talk presented to the Cognitive Science Society. Toronto, Canada. Link
Nixon, N. M. (2022, June). AI approaches for scalable models of socio-cognitive collaborative interaction dynamics and outcomes. Invited discussion for Intel panel on AI in Education.
Nixon, N. M. (2022, May). Preparing for the future of AIED. Invited discussion for the Institute for Advanced Learning Technologies, University of Florida.
Nixon, N. M. (2022, March). Power couple: AI and learning analytics to improve the human experience. Keynote given for Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference workshop on natural language processing and artificial intelligence in education.
Dowell, N. M. (2021, October). Preparing for the future: Group communication analysis as a tool to facilitate adaptive support during digitally mediated team interactions. Invited talk presented to the Department of Psychology, University of Virginia.
Dowell, N. M. (2021, June). Inclusion and Equity in AIED. Invited panel for the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education.
Dowell, N. M. (2021, May). Using AI to create scalable models of collaborative interaction dynamics and outcomes. Invited talk presented to the Cognitive Science Department, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois.
Dowell, N. M. (2020, November). Computation for social good. Invited talk presented to the Presidential Symposium for the Society for Computation in Psychology (SCiP).
Dowell, N. M. (2020, July). COVID19-TBD. Invited talk presented at University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
Dowell, N. M. (2020, July). Improving diversity, equity, and inclusivity. Panel presentation at the Educational Data Mining Conference.
Dowell, N. M. (2020, September). Creating scalable models of collaborative interaction dynamics and outcomes. Invited talk presented at the Educational Data Science Conference, Stanford University, Stanford, California.
Dowell, N. M. (2019, May). Preparing for the future: Group communication analysis as a tool to facilitate adaptive support during digitally-mediated team interactions. Invited talk presented at the 3rd International Conference on AI + Adaptive Education, Beijing, China.
Dowell, N. M. (2019, January). Group Communication Analysis: Applications for Online Learning Environments. Invited talk presented at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Dowell, N. M. (2018, December). Group Communication Analysis: A Method for Modeling Socio-Cognitive Identity in a Digital Age . Invited talk presented at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.
Dowell, N. M. (2018, December). Group Communication Analysis: Applications for Online Learning Environments. Invited talk presented at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Dowell, N. M. (2018, November). Group Communication Analysis: Applications for Online Learning Environments. Invited talk presented at the University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California.
Dowell, N. M. (2018, October). Group Communication Analysis: Applications for online learning environments.. Invited talk presented at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Dowell, N. M. (2018, October). Many faces of social identity: Detecting emergent roles in online interactions with group communication analysis. Invited talk presented at University of Southern Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Dowell, N. M. (2018, August). Detecting emergent roles in online interactions with group communication analysis. Invited talk presented at Educational Testing Service. Princeton, New Jersey.
Dowell, N. M. (2018, May). Detecting emergent roles in online interactions with group communication analysis. Invited talk presented at the International Conference on Mathematics and Statistics. FedEx Institute of Technology, University of Memphis.
Dowell, N. M. (2018, January). Group communication analysis: A computational linguistics approach for detecting sociocognitive roles in multi-party interactions. Invited talk presented at the Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge Research Lab, Arlington, Texas.
Dowell, N. M. (2017, October). Group communication analysis: A computational linguistics approach for detecting sociocognitive roles in multi-party interactions. Invited talk presented at the Cognitive Science Seminar, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN.
Poquet, O., & Dowell, N. M. (2017, June). Statistical analysis of interdependent observations in learning environments: Exponential random graph modelling (ERGM). Invited Tutorial presented at Learning Analytics Summer Institutes (LASI 2014), Ann Arbor, MI.
Dowell, N. M. (2016, October). Group communication analysis: A computational-linguistic framework for exploring conversational roles in online multi-party communication. Invited talk presented at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Dowell, N. M., (2016, March). Modeling discourse and social dynamics of successful collaborative interactions. Invited talk presented at the University of Southern Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Dowell, N. M. (2016, April). Computational discourse science: Applications for emerging learning environments. Invited talk presented at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Dowell, N. M. (2015, July). Computational discourse science with Coh-Metrix. Invited workshop presented at the Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge Research Lab, Arlington, Texas.
Dowell, N. M., Cai, Z., & Graesser, A. C. (2014, July). Analyzing language and discourse with Coh-Metrix. Invited Workshop presented at 2nd Learning Analytics Summer Institutes (LASI 2014), Cambridge, MA.
Dowell, N. M. (2014, October). What language reveals about you: Modeling learners’ cognitive and social dynamics using Coh-Metrix. Invited talk presented at the University of Oxford, Oxford, England.
Dowell, N. M. (2014, October). Modeling discourse and social dynamics in authoritarian regimes. Invited talk presented for University of Lancaster, Lancaster, England.
Dowell, N. M. (2011, May). Language and political crisis. Invited talk presented for Federal Bureau of Investigation, Memphis, TN.
Dowell, N. M. (2010, June). Language and discourse in education. Invited talk presented for Pearson Education, Memphis, TN.

Conference Presentations

Lin, Y. & Dowell, N. M.(2020, April). Does size matter? modeling student interactions in online collaborative discussions. . Paper presented at the Annual meeting of American Education Research Association, San Francisco, CA.
Lin, Y. & Dowell, N. M.(2020, April). Gendered patterns in online collaborative discourse overtime. .Presented at AERA Satellite Conference on Educational Data Science, Stanford, CA.
Lin, Y., & Dowell, N. M.(2019, July). Does gender really matter?: Exploring differences in emerging discourse styles during digitally- mediated collaborative interactions. Paper presented at the Society for Text and Discourse, New York, NY.
Dowell, N. M. & Brooks, C.(2018, July). Many faces of social identity: Detecting emergent roles in online interactions with group communication analysis. Paper presented at the Society for Text and Discourse, Brighton, UK.
Mills, C. & . Dowell, N. M. & Christoff, K.(2018, July). Using Automated Measures of Cohesion to Assess the Wandering Mind: A Think-Aloud Study. Paper presented at the Society for Text and Discourse, Brighton, UK.
Dowell, N. M.(2018, November). Modeling Sociocognitive Identity in Online Interactions: A Group Communication Analysis Approach. Paper presented at the 59th annual meeting for Psychonomic Society, New Orleans, US.
Mills, C., Smith, G. K., .Dowell, N. M., Ghattan, S., & Christoff, K. (2018, November). How do the Contents of a Wandering Mind Unfold Over Time? An Automated Computational Linguistic Approach. Paper presented at the 59th Annual Meeting for Psychonomic Society, New Orleans, US.
Dowell, N. M., Nixon, T., Cai, Z., & Graesser, A. C. (2016, November). Group communication analysis: A computational-linguistic framework for exploring conversational roles in online multi-party communication. Paper presented at the 46th annual meeting of the Society for Computers in Psychology, Boston, MA.
Dowell, N. M., & Graesser, A. C. (2015, April). 50 years of text complexity: A Coh-Metrix assessment of changes in first-grade texts over time. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Conference. Chicago, Illinois.
Dowell, N. M., Windsor, L., Germany, M., Iacobelli, F., & Graesser, A. C. (2015, July). The partisan divide: A computational linguistic analysis of bias in the senate. Paper presented at the Society for Text and Discourse, Minneapolis, MN.
Cai, Z., Dowell, N. M., Li, H., & Graesser, A. C. (2015, November). Age of acquisition: How do you remember what words you learned at age one? Paper presented at the 45th annual meeting of the Society for Computers in Psychology, Chicago, IL.
Windsor, L., Dowell, N. M., & Graesser, A. C. (2015, April) Leaders’ language in the Arab Spring: Using text analysis to explain variation in political outcomes. Arab Spring in Global Context, Iowa City, Iowa.
Windsor, L., Dowell, N. M., & Graesser, A. C. (2014, November) Socio-Political and linguistic cohesion. Midwest International Studies Association, St. Louis, MO. [Winner of the Hermann Textual Analysis Award]
Dowell, N. M., Windsor, L., Wang, J., Mintz, L., Myers, J. Beaver, D., Hu, X., & Graesser, A. C. (2013, May). The evolution of revolution: Temporal dynamics of social cohesion and casualties during the Syrian Revolution. Poster presented at Institute for Intelligent Systems Student Research Fair, Memphis, TN.
Duan, Y., Dowell, N. M., Myers, J., Li, H., & Graesser, A. C. (2013, May). Leadership is influenced by social context: Relationships between the cohesion of Mao Zedong’s speeches and the social-historical context of China. Poster presented at Institute for Intelligent Systems Student Research Fair, Memphis, TN.
Myers, J., Dowell, N. M., Mintz, L., & Graesser, A. C. (2013, May). Analysis of linguistic features of U.S. political discourse: Presidential corpus. Poster presented at Institute for Intelligent Systems Student Research Fair, Memphis, TN
Windsor, L., Dowell, N. M., Li, H., Myers, J., & Graesser, A. C. (2013, April). The language of autocrats: Leadership through natural disasters. Paper presented at the 71st Annual Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, IL.
Dowell, N. M., Germany, M., Myers, J., & Graesser, A. C. (2012, June). Enduring leaders and their persuasive strategies. Paper presented at the Society for Text and Discourse, Old Montréal, Canada.
Deffler, S. A., Ogle, C. M., Dowell, N. M., Graesser, A. C., & Rubin, D. C. (2012, July). Life narratives of adults with and without PTSD: Preliminary findings. Paper presented at the Emory Cognition Project Symposium on Mental Time Travel, Atlanta, GA.
Deffler, S. A., Ogle, C. M., Dowell, N. M., Graesser, A. C., & Rubin, D. C. (2011, July). Measures of coherence in life narratives of adults with and without PTSD. Paper presented at the Emory Cognition Project Symposium on Mental Time Travel, Atlanta, GA.
Dowell, N. M., Duan, Y., Cai, Z., Hu, X., Louwerse, M., & Graesser, A. C. (2011, July). A linguistic analysis of Fidel Castro’s speeches before and after crisis. Paper presented at the Society for Text and Discourse, Poitiers, France.
Dowell, N. M., D’Mello, S. K., Mills, C. S., & Graesser, A. C. (2011, July). Topic effects on linguistic and rubric-based writing evaluation. Paper presented at the Society for Text and Discourse, Poitiers, France.
Hancock, J., Beaver, D., Pennebaker, J., Graesser, A. C., Dowell, N. M., Keshtar, F., & Liu, X. (2011, September). Discourse and social dynamics in the Arab Spring. Paper presented at the Second Annual Minerva Conference, Washington, DC.
Dowell, N. M., Liu, H., Cai, Z., Hu, X., Louwerse, M., & Graesser, A. C. (2010, July). Linguistic and discourse variation in Chairman Mao Zedong’s speeches. Paper presented at the Society for Text and Discourse, Chicago, IL.
Graesser, A. C., Cai, Z., & Dowell, N. M. (2010, January). The computational foundations of language arts. Paper presented at the 23rd International Society for the Empirical Study of Literature, Utrecht, Netherlands.

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