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Ming Lei

Ming Lei

Meet Professor Lei

Years at Knox: 2022 to present

Before coming to Knox College, Dr. Lei was involved in many aspects of K-12, higher education, and educator preparation. At Michigan State University, Dr. Lei taught courses in theory and research methods for undergraduate and graduate students from programs in elementary education, secondary education, special education, early childhood development, and educational technology. He also developed and collected common assessments data for CAEP accreditation. While he was a middle and high school STEAM educator, he served as mentor teacher for students from Central Michigan University. Dr. Lei has led professional development for educators from around the world, including Brazil, the United Kingdom, China, and Indonesia. Dr. Lei employs a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods to study the intersection of emerging technologies with issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in both K-12 and higher education learning environments. One of Dr. Lei's current research projects at Knox College is an investigation of how social factors, such as faculty mentors and social media figures, influence the intention to study abroad among Students of Color and White students within the context of the underrepresentation of Students of Color in the United States.

Education

Ph.D., Educational Psychology and Educational Technology, 2022, Michigan State University.

B.S., Education-Chemistry/Mathematics, 2011, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Teaching Interests

Diversity, equity and inclusion; emerging technologies; critical race theory; culturally responsive teaching; multidisciplinary research methods

Selected Professional Accomplishments

Publications

Lei, C., Ibanez, I., Chen, J., Scusco, P. Shirkey, G., Lei, M., & Reich, P.  (2024). Assessing the Potential of Crops as a Nature-Based Climate Solution to Global Warming via Altering Surface Reflectivity. Environmental Research Letters, 19(8). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad5fa2

Lei, M., Wong, E. D., & Appenzeller, K. A., (2023). The potential of on-campus study to support students’ intercultural learning and development in higher education. International Journal of Educational Research, 118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2023.102152

Lei, M., Clemente, I. M., Liu, H., & Bell, J. (2022). The acceptance of telepresence robots in higher education. International Journal of Social Robotics, 14, pp. 1025-1042 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-021-00837-y

Lei, M., Clemente, I., & Hu, Y. (2019). Engagement data of robotic students in a synchronous-hybrid course. Data in Brief, 24. https://doi.org/10.1016/i.dlb.2019,103822.

Lei, M., Clemente, I.. & Hu, Y. (2019). Student in the shell: The robotic body and student engagement. Computers & Education, 130, pp. 59-80.

Chapman, A., Lei, M .. & Greenhaw, C. (2018). Social network application for education: The case of College Connect. In N. Dey, R. Sabo, A. S. Ashour, V. Bhatnagar, & M. S. Bouhlel (Eds.), Social Networks Science: Design, Implementation, Security, and Challenges: From Social Networks Analysis to Social Networks Intelligence (pp. 111-128). Springer.

Presentations

Lei, M. (2024). Racism and racialized experiences as a part of students’ attitudes toward study abroad. American Educational Research Association 2024 Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, April 11-14, 2023.

Lei, M. & Kim, D. (2024). Understanding the racial gap in study abroad participation through a literature review of study abroad recruitment through digital media. 35th annual international conference for the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, Las Vegas, NV, March 25-29.

Lei, M. & Mirani, S. (2024). Online survey research: The robustness of fraud prevention and detection methods for computer generated responses. 35th annual international conference of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, Las Vegas, NV, March 25-29.

Lei, M. & Nguyen, H. P. (2024). The representation and inclusion of queer students in online study abroad recruitment. 35th annual international conference for the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, Las Vegas, NV, March 25-29.

Lei, M. (2023). The racial gap in study abroad: Are faculty and advisers bridgemakers or gatekeepers? 32nd Annual International National Association for Multicultural Education Conference, Montgomery, AL, November 15-19, 2023.

Lei, C., Ibanez, I., Reich, P., Chen, J., Sciusco, Lei, M., & Shirkey, G. (2023). Evaluating surface reflectivity of crops as contribution to a nature-based climate solution. 108th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Portland, GA: August 6-11, 2023. 

Lei, C., Ibanez, I., Chen, J., Scusco, P. Shirkey, G., Lei, M., & Reich, P.  (2024). Assessing the Potential of Crops as a Nature-Based Climate Solution to Global Warming via Altering Surface Reflectivity. Environmental Research Letters, 19(8). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad5fa2

Lei, M., Clemente, I.M. & Uysal, H. (2023). COVID-19, Teacher Attributions, and Humanizing Pedagogy in P-12 and Higher Education. In E. Langran (Ed.) Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 383-392). New Orleans, LA, United States: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/222179/

Lei, M. & Clemente, I. M. (2021). Culturally responsive pedagogy in education policy discourse for emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education Live Online Conference.

Lei, M. & Knowles, K. A., Wong, E. D. (2020). lntercultural learning with social media: Is it just for the likes?. Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference, New Orleans, L.A. April 7-10, 2020.

Lei, M., Clemente, I. M., & Hu, Y. (2018). Robotic student engagement in class: What do you think you see?. Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference, Washington, D.C., March 26-30, 2018.

Professional Affiliations

National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity, 2021 - Present

Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, 2017 - Present