Fernando Rodriguez Jr.
Associate Professor of Teaching, School of Education
Biography
Fernando Rodriguez Jr., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Teaching in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine. His research examines how students learn in STEM courses, with particular attention to study strategies, self-regulation, and the use of learning analytics to understand student behaviors in online and blended learning environments.
Rodriguez serves as Co-Principal Investigator on the Career Pathways for Research in Learning and Education, Analytics, and Data Science (CP-LEADS) program, a $1.56 million Institute of Education Sciences-funded fellowship that prepares undergraduate students for doctoral study in education research. He has also served as Co-Investigator on a $2.5 million National Science Foundation grant investigating online learning environments.
Rodriguez received his Ph.D. in Education and Psychology from the University of Michigan. At UC Irvine, he teaches courses on cognition and learning, educational research design, and statistics, and has developed international learning exchange programs with universities in Japan. He has also created a workshop series to train education students in the R programming language for research.
Return to topEducation
- Ph.D. in Education & Psychology, University of Michigan, 2011
- M.S. in Developmental Psychology, University of Michigan, 2008
- B.A. in Psychology, California State University, Northridge, 2005
Distinctions
- UCI DREAM CENTER Innovative Collaborator Award, 2024
- Best Paper Award, 11th International Conference on Educational Data Mining, 2018
- Best Poster Award: Educational Psychology Division, American Psychological Association Conference, 2017
- Best Paper: Honorable Mention, 7th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference, 2017
- Outstanding Poster Award: Learning and Instruction Division, American Education Research Association Conference, 2014
- International Max Planck Research School on the Life Course: Graduate Fellow, University of Michigan, 2011
- ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award: Honorable Mention, University of Michigan, 2011
- Stanley E. and Ruth B. Dimond Outstanding Dissertation Award, University of Michigan, 2011
- Sweetland/Rackham Dissertation Writing Institute Award, University of Michigan, 2011
- Department of Psychology Undergraduate Quantitative Methods Award, California State University, Northridge, 2005
Areas of Expertise
- Educational Technology and Analytics
- Student Self-Regulated Behaviors
- Cognitive Theories of Memory
- Scientific Reasoning Evaluation
- Clickstream Data Mining
- First-Generation College Student Support
- Cross-Cultural Learning Exchanges
Recent Publications
- Lee, H. R., Rutherford, T., Hanselman, P., Rodriguez, F., Ramirez, K. F., Eccles, J. S., “Role models in action through YouTube videos for engineering community college students” (opens in new tab), Research in Higher Education, vol. 65, pp. 1-33, 2024.
- Ahn, J., Van Doren, S., Cai, J., Nguyen, H., Rodriguez, F., Martinez, C., Han, J., “The Utility of Designing Data Science Education Programs from a Framework of Identity” (opens in new tab), Improving Equity in Data Science Re Imagining the Teaching and Learning of Data in K 16 Classrooms, Routledge, pp. 151-166, 2024.
- Rodriguez, F., Fischer, C., Zhou, N., Warschauer, M., Sewall, J. M., “Student spacing and self-testing strategies and their associations with learning in an upper division microbiology course” (opens in new tab), SN Social Sciences, vol. 1, no. 38, pp. 1-21, 2021.
- McPartlan, P., Rutherford, T., Rodriguez, F., Shaffer, J. F., Holton, A., “Modality motivation: Selection effects and motivational differences in students who choose to take courses online” (opens in new tab), The Internet and Higher Education, vol. 49, pp. 100793, 2021.
- Wu, L., Fischer, C., Rodriguez, F., Washington, G., Warschauer, M., “Project-based engineering learning in college: Associations with self-efficacy, effort regulation, interest, skills, and performance” (opens in new tab), SN Social Sciences, vol. 1, no. 12, pp. 1-20, 2021.
- Rodriguez, F., Lee, H. R., Rutherford, T., Fischer, C., Potma, E., Warschauer, M., “Using clickstream data to understand and support first-generation college students in an online chemistry course” (opens in new tab), ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, pp. 313-322, 2021. Presented at 11th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference.
- Rodriguez F., Kataoka S., Janet Rivas M., Kadandale P., Nili A., Warschauer M., “Do spacing and self-testing predict learning outcomes?” (opens in new tab), Active Learning in Higher Education, vol. 22, pp. 77-91, 2021.
- Baker, R., Xu, D., Park, J., Yu, R., Li, Q., Cung, B., Fischer, C., Rodriguez, F., Warschauer, M., Smyth, P., “The benefits and caveats of using clickstream data to understand student self-regulatory behaviors: opening the black box of learning processes” (opens in new tab), International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, vol. 17, pp. 1-24, 2020.
- Fischer, C., Xu, D., Rodriguez, F., Denaro, K., Warschauer, M., “Effects of course modality in summer session: Enrollment patterns and student performance in face-to-face and online classes” (opens in new tab), The Internet and Higher Education, vol. 45, pp. 100710, 2020.
- Xu, D., Glick, D., Rodriguez, F., Cung, B., Li, Q., Warschauer, M., “Does blended instruction enhance English language learning in developing countries? Evidence from Mexico” (opens in new tab), British Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 51, pp. 211-227, 2020.
- Fischer C., Xu D., Rodriguez F., Denaro K., Warschauer M., “Data on online and face-to-face course enrollments in a public research university during summer terms” (opens in new tab), Data in Brief, vol. 29, 2020.
- Zhou, N., Fischer, C., Rodriguez, F., Warschauer, M., King, S., “Exploring how enrolling in an online organic chemistry preparation course relates to students' self-efficacy” (opens in new tab), Journal of Computing in Higher Education, vol. 32, pp. 1-24, 2019.
- Fischer, C., Zhou, N., Rodriguez, F., Warschauer, M., King, S., “Improving College Student Success in Organic Chemistry: Impact of an Online Preparatory Course” (opens in new tab), Journal of Chemical Education, vol. 96, no. 5, pp. 857-864, 2019.
- Rodriguez, F., Yu, R., Park, J., Rivas, M. J., Warschauer, M., Sato, B. K., “Utilizing learning analytics to map students' self-reported study strategies to click behaviors in STEM courses” (opens in new tab), ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, pp. 456-460, 2019. Presented at 9th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference.
- King S.M., Zhou N., Fischer C., Rodriguez F., Warschauer M., “Enhancing student learning and retention in organic chemistry: Benefits of an online organic chemistry preparatory course” (opens in new tab), ACS Symposium Series, vol. 1341, pp. 119-128, 2019.
- Rodriguez, F., Rivas, M. J., Matsumura, L., Warschauer, M., Sato, B. K., “How do students study in STEM courses? Findings from a light touch intervention and its relevance for underrepresented students” (opens in new tab), PLoS ONE, vol. 13, no. 7, pp. 1-20, 2018.
- Park, J., Yu, R., Rodriguez, F., Baker, R., Smyth, P., Warschauer, M., “Understanding student procrastination via mixture models”, Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Educational Data Mining Edm 2018, pp. 187-197, 2018. Presented at 11th International Conference on Educational Data Mining.
- Wu L.L., Fischer C., Rodriguez F., Washington G.N., “Evaluation of online learning in a first-year engineering design course”, ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Conference Proceedings, vol. 2018-June, 2018.
- Park, J., Denaro, K., Rodriguez, F., Smyth, P., Warschauer, M., “Detecting changes in student behavior from clickstream data” (opens in new tab), ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, pp. 21-30, 2017. Presented at 7th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference.
This profile was created with the help of AI.
Last updated on 7/29/2026.