Michelle Banawan

Assistant Director of Intelligent Systems,

Learning Engineering Institute

[email protected]

1120 Cady Mall INTDSB Room 256 Tempe, AZ 85281
Mail code: 1104

Campus: Tempe
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Long Bio

Dr. Michelle Pacifico-Banawan is Assistant Director for Intelligent Systems at the Learning Engineering Institute (LEI) of Arizona State University. Her work focuses on advancing the responsible and innovative use of machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence in education (AIED), and natural language processing (NLP), with particular emphasis on computational linguistics, learning design, and data-informed systems.

She began her ASU journey in 2019 as a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Science of Learning and Educational Technology (SoLET) Lab, where she contributed to research at the intersection of ML, NLP, and AIED. This work built on her PhD in Computer Science from Ateneo de Manila University and laid the foundation for her continued contributions to the responsible use of AI in learning.

Her global engagement and advocacy include serving as Academic Lead for the Social Impact Data Science Accelerator (SIDSA) of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), in partnership with data.org, which builds data science capacity for inclusive growth across the Asia Pacific. She also contributes actively to the Asia Pacific Society for Computers in Education (APSCE), strengthening international collaboration in AI and education.

Education

Ph.D in Computer Science

Master of Science in Information Technology

Master in Management

Curriculum Vitae

Images

Research Website URL

https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=56534256300

Google Scholar URL

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fD_cPBsAAAAJ&hl=en

Experts.asu.edu URL

https://dl.acm.org/profile/99660380399

ORCID Profile ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4647-4362

Research Interests

Natural Language Processing, Computational Linguistics, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence in Education, Data Visualization and Storytelling

Publications

Banawan, M. P., Monterozo, C. J., & Rodrigo, M. M. T. (2024). Exploring linguistic sophistication of discussion board posts in university learning management systems. In A. Kashihara et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 32nd International Conference on Computers in Education. Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education. https://doi.org/10.58459/icce.2024.4860
Shin, J., Balyan, R., Banawan, M. P., Arner, T., Leite, W. L., & McNamara, D. S. (2024). Analyzing interaction patterns and content dynamics in an online mathematics discussion board. Interactive Learning Environments, 1-24.
Michelle Banawan, Elias John Kukas, John Richard Tano, Adonna Tan, and Ramil Villegas. 2024. Transformative Approach to Fairness and Transparency in Classroom Participation Assessment. In Proceedings of the Eleventh ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale (L@S '24). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 501–504. https://doi.org/10.1145/3657604.3664708
Banawan, M. 31st International Conference on Computers in Education, ICCE 2023 - Proceedings, 2023, 1, pp. 58–67. Composite Score for ChatGPT Prompt Efficiency: A Computational Linguistic Analysis of Engineered Chatbot Prompts
Shin, J., Balyan, R., Banawan, M. P., Arner, T., Leite, W. L., & McNamara, D. S. (2023). Pedagogical discourse markers in online algebra learning: Unraveling instructor's communication using natural language processing. Computers & Education, 205, 104897.
Banawan, Michelle, Reese Butterfuss, Karen S. Taylor, Katerina Christhilf, Claire Hsu, Connor O’Loughlin, Laura K. Allen, Rod D. Roscoe, and Danielle S. McNamara. "The Future of Intelligent Tutoring Systems for Writing." In Digital Writing Technologies in Higher Education: Theory, Research, and Practice, pp. 365-383. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2023.
Roscoe, R. D., Balyan, R., McNamara, D. S., Banawan, M., & Schillinger, D. (2023). Automated strategy feedback can improve the readability of physicians’ electronic communications to simulated patients. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 176, 103059.
Banawan, M. P., Shin, J., Arner, T., Balyan, R., Leite, W. L., & McNamara, D. S. (2023). Shared Language: Linguistic Similarity in an Algebra Discussion Forum. Computers, 12(3), 53.
Michelle Banawan, Jinnie Shin, Renu Balyan, Walter Leite, & Danielle McNamara. 2022. Math Discourse Linguistic Components. Cohesive Cues within a Math Discussion Board Discourse. In Proceedings of the Ninth ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale (L@S’22), June 1 – 3, 2022, New York City, NY, USA. ACM, New York, NY, USA.
Michelle Banawan, Kathryn McCarthy, Laura Allen, Joseph Magliano and Danielle Mcnamara Linguistic Indicators of Sourcing Strategies in Students’ Constructed Responses. In Proceedings of 32nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Text and Discourse [online], July 19 – 21, 2022
Balyan, R., Arner, T., Taylor, K., Shin, J., Banawan, M., Leite, W., & McNamara, D. (2022). Modeling One-on-one Online Tutoring Discourse using an Accountable Talk Framework. In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (p. 477).
M. Pacifico-Banawan, "How do Learners Learn: Behavioral Profiles of High School Math Learners," 2021 IEEE International Conference on Engineering, Technology & Education (TALE), 2021, pp. 353-358, doi: 10.1109/TALE52509.2021.9678845.
Banawan, M., Balyan, R., Shin, J., Leite, W. L., & McNamara, D. (2021). Linguistic Features of Discourse within an Algebra Online Discussion Board. In Proc. The 14th Conference on Education Data Mining, Paris, France, June 29th–July 2nd.
Wan, Q., Crossley, S. A., Banawan, M., Balyan, R., McNamara, D. S., & Allen, L. (2021). Automated Claim Identification Using NLP Features in Student Argumentative Essays. In. F. Bouchet, J. Vie, S. Hsiao, & S. Sahebi (Eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM-2021): International Education Data Mining Society.
Shin, J., Balyan, R., Banawan, M., Leite, W. L., & McNamara, D. S. (2021). Pedagogical Communication Language in Video Lectures: Empirical Findings from Algebra Nation. In de Vries, E., Hod, Y., & Ahn, J. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 15th International Conference of the Learning Sciences - ICLS 2021. (pp. 323-329). Bochum, Germany: International Society of the Learning Sciences. (https://doi.dx.org/10.22318/icls2021.323)
Shin, J., Balyan, R., Banawan, M., Leite, W. L., & McNamara, D. S (2021, April). Discovering Pedagogical Communication Strategies with Algebra Tutoring videos with a Theory-based NLP Approach. 2021 Annual Meeting of American Education Research Association (AERA) (Online)
Banawan, M., Perret, C., Oncel, P., Creer, S., McNamara, D., & Allen, L. (Nov. 2020). Cohesion and Action: NLP Reveals Principal Components of COVID-19 Tweets. 50th Annual Conference of the Society for Computation in Psychology (SCIP) (Online) [Accepted Abstract & Spoken Presentation]
Shin, J., Balyan, R., Banawan, M., Leite, W. L., & McNamara, D. S (Nov, 2020). Combining Discourse Analysis and Natural Language Processing: Revealing Patterns of Pedagogical Communication in Algebra Tutoring. 2021 Annual Meeting of the Society for Computation in Psychology (SCIP) (Online)
Banawan, M. P., & Rodrigo, M. M. T. (2019, September). An investigation of carefulness among students using an educational game for Physics. In Theory and Practice of Computation: Proceedings of the Workshop on Computation: Theory and Practice (WCTP 2018), September 17-18, 2018, Manila, The Philippines (p. 1). CRC Press. [Peer-reviewed Book Chapter]

Presentations

Latest Webinars

Teaching Biology in the Age of AI: Ethics, Innovation, and Impact
Date: August 1, 2025

Agentic AI for Computing part of the Lecture Series: Empowering Innovation through AI: From Autonomous Agents to Analytics Insights
Date: November 5, 2025

Presentations and Talks

1. AI, Critical Thinking, and the Crisis of Deep Thought- Keynote for the 9th Ateneo Graduate Research and Innovation Conference 2025
Date: May 3, 2025
2.    Designing your Niche AI Curriculum – Presentation at the National Convention of the Philippine Society of Information Technology Educators
Date: March 21, 2025
3.    AI Meets Academia: Innovating the Path to Educational Excellence organized by OpenGovAsia
Date: March 13, 2025
4.    Seminar on Large Language Models and the Future of Artificial Intelligence (Webinar)
Date: March 1, 2025
5.    State-of-the-Art Generative AI for Teaching and Learning (Resource Speaker)
Date: December 4, 2024
Organizer: CHEDx 2.0 (Commission on Higher Education)
6.    Learning from Generative AI for Cognitive and Pedagogical Teaching Strategies (Keynote Speaker) at the Asia Pacific Society for Computers in Education (International Conference on Computers in Education)
Date: November 27, 2024
7.    Agentic Generative AI for Educators (Resource Speaker/Tutorial Facilitator)
Date: November 25, 2024
8.    Altair Data Science Day: Talk on Empowering Non-Technical Leaders with Data Science Tools (Resource Speaker)
Date: November 7, 2024
Organizer: Altair AI (Online)
9.    2024 Natural Language Processing (NLP) Summit (Resource Speaker)
Date: September 26, 2024
10.    16th National E-learning Conference: The Future of Personalized and Adaptive Learning with Generative AI (Resource Speaker) by the Philippine E-Learning Society
Date: September 6, 2024
11.    Seminar/Workshop on Integrating Generative AI in Teaching and Learning for IT Educators (Resource)
Date: August 9 -10, 2024
12.    Artificial Intelligence in Education (Resource Speaker)
Date: July 31, 2024
Organizer: University of Mindanao (Faculty Retooling Seminar – Online).
13.    Integrating Generative AI in Teaching and Learning (Resource Speaker)
Date: July 13, 2024
Organizer: University of San Jose Recoletos (Capacity Building for Recoletos Educators).
14.    How AI is Changing our Lives and Work – Philippine Perspective (Resource Speaker)
Date: July 5, 2024
Organizer: Talent, Leadership, and Change Consulting. The TLC Solution.
15.    Entrepreneurs Implementing Sustainability & Governance in the Age of AI (AI panel)
Date: June 27, 2024
Organizer: International Council for Small Business Philippines (ICSB Ph)
16.    Digital Innovations and Data Science Fueling a Sustainable Future
Date: June 25, 2024
17.    3rd APSCE International Conference on Future Language Learning - ICFULL (conducted a tutorial session on NLP) (https://sites.google.com/ateneo.edu/icfull2024/programme)
Date: June 20, 2024
Organizer: Asia Pacific Society for Computers in Education (APSCE)
18.    Redefining Travel Horizons: Leading with AI and Data
Date: April 25, 2024
19.    Innovative Data Science and Data Analytics
Date: April 19, 2024, 9am to 12nn
Organizer: San Carlos University (Department of Computer, Information Sciences and Mathematics), Cebu City, Philippines
20.    Navigating the Future with AI: Challenges and opportunities organized by San Carlos University (University Research Council), Cebu City, Philippines
Date: April 19, 2024, 2pm to 4pm
21.    Sensemaking Workshop for the APRU Generative AI in Education: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Directions in Asia and the Pacific Initiative (Discussant) by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities
Date: March 13-14, 2024
22.    Data Science Frontiers: Harnessing NLP and Generative AI for IT Education Advancement organized by Philippine Society of Information Technology Educators (PSITE National and PSITE Academy
Date: February 24, 2024
23.    Deep NLP and Generative AI in Education organized by the Asia Pacific Society for Computers in Education
Date: March 10, 2023
24.    Navigating PostDoc Journeys: Philippine Computing Society’s Women in Computing by the Philippine Computing Society
Date: March 31, 2023
25.    ChatGPT Workshop for Graduate Education at the Ateneo de Davao University, Philippines
Date: July and August, 2023
26.    Transformative Teaching and Learning with Generative AI
Date: August 8, 2023
27.    The Challenges of AI in Higher Education at the Higher Education Institutions of the Salesians of Don Bosco East Asia-Oceania Region
Date: September 25, 2023
28.    Computational Linguistic Analysis of Chatbot Prompts
Date: October 3-5, 2023
Event: NLP Summit 2023 - Jon Snow Labs
29.    Learning Series Seminar: AI and ChatGPT
Date: October 17, 2023
30.    Realizing the Potential & Mitigating the Risks of AI for Graduate Education at the Xavier Ateneo Graduate Lecture: Embracing AI in Education
Date: October 28, 2023
31.    Natural Language Processing Research in Education
Date: November 25, 2023
Organizer: Computing Society of the Philippines
32.    International Conference on Computers in Education(Full paper presentation: Composite Score for ChatGPT Prompt Efficiency: A Computational Linguistic Analysis of Engineered Chatbot Prompts) Asia Pacific Society for Computers in Education
Date: December 4-8, 2023

Service

Leveraging AI and Data For Inclusive Growth

“The most powerful part of this hackathon is seeing students connect innovation with responsibility — Principled Innovation. By tackling issues like digital safety for vulnerable groups, financial access for underserved communities, and equitable support for women-led enterprises, they’re modeling what it means to design AI and data systems that balance technical strength with social impact,”

Expertise Areas

Artificial Intelligence

Computational Modeling

Data Analytics

Data Cleaning and Information Extraction

Data Science

Data Visualization

Machine Learning