College of Education and Human Development

Department of Educational Psychology

Wenchao Ma

  • Pronouns: He, him

  • Associate professor, the American Guidance Service Inc. and John P. Yackel Professor in Educational Assessment and Measurement

  • Department of Educational Psychology
    167 Education Sciences Bldg.
    56 East River Road
    Minneapolis, MN 55455

    Wenchao Ma CV

  • wma@umn.edu

Areas of interest

  • Cognitive diagnosis modeling
  • Psychometrics for personalized learning
  • Machine learning methods
  • Survey data analysis
Degrees

Ph.D. in Education, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA 2017
M.S. in Statistics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA 2017
M.Ed. in Developmental and Educational Psychology, Beijing Normal University, China 2012
B.S. in Psychology, Beijing Normal University, China 2009

Biography

I am currently accepting doctoral students in the Quantitative Methods in Education (QME) program. Students with research interests that align with mine are encouraged to apply.

As a measurement scholar, my research interests lie in the methodological development and practical applications of innovative psychometric approaches. Currently, my research is primarily devoted to cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs), which aim to not only assess students' overall proficiency but also identify specific areas for improvement through formative assessments. These models provide valuable insights into students' strengths and weaknesses, and thus have the potential to enhance student learning outcomes and provide actionable insights to support effective teaching practices.

As a quantitative methodologist, I have been collaborating with researchers across a diverse range of fields, including special education, science education, mathematics education, language assessments, and psychiatry. I employ a variety of measurement and quantitative techniques such as machine learning and natural language processing to tackle complex challenges within these domains. Through these collaborations, I aim to develop tools and analytical strategies that yield meaningful insights and contribute to advancements in these areas.

Courses I teach:

  • EPSY 5221: Principles of Educational and Psychological Measurement (Fall 2024)
  • EPST 5244: Survey Design, Sampling and Implementation (Fall 2024)
Publications

Luo, F., Liu, R., Nasrin, F., Awoyemi, I. D., Crawford, C., & Ma, W. (In press). Engaging students of color in physiological computing with insights from eye-tracking. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2024.2381226

Ma, W., Sorrel, M. A., Zhai, X. & Ge, Y. (2024). A dual-purpose model for binary data: Estimating ability and misconceptions. Journal of Educational Measurement, 61, 179- 197. https://doi.org/10.1111/jedm.12383

Wang, D., Ma, W., Cai, Y. & Tu, D. (2024). A general nonparametric classification method for multiple strategies in cognitive diagnostic assessment. Behavior Research Methods, 56, 723-735. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-023-02075-8

Zhai, X., Haudek, K. & Ma, W. (2023). Assessing argumentation using machine learning and cognitive diagnostic modeling. Research in Science Education, 53, 405-424. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-022-10062-w

Yu, J., Ma, W., Moon, J., & Denham, A. R. (2022). Developing a game learning analytic system using a continuous conjunctive model. Journal of Learning Analytics, 9(3), 11- 31. https://doi.org/10.18608/jla.2022.7639

Complete list of publications available at  Experts@Minnesota or my ORCID.