Data Science Education, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Thinking, Creativity, Learning Analytics, Educational Technology, Design and Development of Learning Environments

Rotem Israel-Fishelson is a Visiting Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching & Learning, Policy & Leadership in the College of Education at the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on introducing learners to AI literacy, data science, and computer science through engaging computational learning experiences. She published 19 peer-reviewed journal articles and delivered over 30 presentations at peer-reviewed academic conferences. Her work has been recognized with a competitive prize for an outstanding doctoral thesis on innovation in learning technologies and prestigious merit scholarships for outstanding postdoctoral women. Israel-Fishelson holds a Ph.D. in Science Education from Tel Aviv University and an M.Sc. in Media Technology from Linnaeus University.

Prize for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis on Innovation in Learning Technologies. The Center for the Study of Innovation in Learning Technologies, The Open University, Israel. 

2024

Scholarship for Postdoctoral Researchers. International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) 2024 Early Career Workshop, Buffalo, NY, USA. 

2024

Prize for Outstanding Ph.D. Graduates in Their Transition to Postdoctoral Training in Science Education Abroad. Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. 

2023

Scholarship for Outstanding Postdoctoral Women Students. The Council for Higher Education, Israel. 

2022-2023

Scholarship for Promoting Academic Publication. The School of Education, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. 

2020-2022

Scholarship for Outstanding Doctoral Students. The David and Paulina Trotsky Foundation, Israel. 

2020

Teaching Excellence Award. Holon Institute of Technology, Israel.

2015,2017

Excellence Scholarship for M.Sc. Studies. Linnaeus University, Sweden.

2012-2016

Selected Publications - a full list is available on my Google Scholar. 

Xin, Y., Israel-Fishelson, R., Moon, P., & Weintrop, D. (2026). Where does data science live in high school curricular standards? AERA Open, 12, 23328584261464159. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584261464159

Israel-Fishelson, R., & Weintrop, D. (2026). Authenticity in a high school data science curriculum. Educational Technology Research and Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-026-10622-1

Rabin, E., Elyoseph, Z., Israel-Fishelson, R., Dali, A., & Nussinson, R. (2026). Do AI voices learn social nuances? A case of politeness and speech rate. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 7, 100256.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbah.2026.100256

Israel-Fishelson, R., & Weintrop, D. (2025). Participatory design as a mechanism for informing an interest-driven data science curriculum. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 26(1), 1-34.  https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3772279

Weintrop, D., Israel-Fishelson, R., & Gardner-McCune, C. (2025). Emerging computational and digital literacies in k-12 education. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 100707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2024.100707

Israel-Fishelson, R., & Hershkovitz, A. (2024). Log-based analysis of creativity in the context of computational thinking. Education Sciences, 15(1). MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15010003

Weintrop, D., & Israel-Fishelson, R. (2024). Bringing students’ lives into data science classrooms. Harvard Data Science Review, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.1162/99608f92.6d2aec03 

Israel-Fishelson, R., Moon, P. F., Tabak, R., & Weintrop, D. (2024). Understanding the data in K-12 data science. Harvard Data Science Review, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.1162/99608f92.4f3ac3da

Israel-Fishelson, R., Moon, P. F., Tabak, R., & Weintrop, D. (2023). Preparing students to meet their data: An evaluation of K-12 data science tools. Behaviour & Information Technology, Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2023.2295956

Israel-Fishelson, R., & Kohen-Vacs, D. (2023). Towards optimization of learning analytics dashboards that are customized for the students’ requirements. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies. https://doi.org/10.1109/TLT.2023.3332500

Avital, B., Hershkovitz, A., & Israel-Fishelson, R. (2023). Associations between computational thinking and figural, verbal creativity. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 50, 101417. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101417

Hershkovitz, A., & Israel-Fishelson, R. (2023) Can we improve problem solving by nurturing creativity? Front. Young Minds. https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2023.1050126

Israel-Fishelson, R., & Hershkovitz, A. (2022). Cultivating creativity improves middle school students’ computational thinking skills. Interactive Learning Environments. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2022.2088562      

Israel-Fishelson, R., & Hershkovitz, A. (2022). Studying interrelations of computational thinking and creativity: A scoping review (2011-2020). Computers & Education, 176.  Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104353

Israel-Fishelson, R., & Hershkovitz, A. (2021). Micro-persistence and difficulty in a game-based learning environment for computational thinking acquisition. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 37(3), 839-850, WILEY. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12527

Israel-Fishelson, R., Hershkovitz, A., Eguiluz, A., Garaizar, P., & Guenaga, M.  (2021). The associations between computational thinking and creativity: The role of personal characteristics. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 58(8), 1415-1447, SAGE. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633120940954

Israel-Fishelson, R., Hershkovitz, A., Eguiluz, A., Garaizar, P., & Guenaga, M.  (2021). A Log-based analysis of the associations between creativity and computational thinking. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 59 (5), 926-959, SAGE. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633120973429

Israel-Fishelson, R., & Hershkovitz, A. (2020). Persistence in a game-based learning environment: The case of elementary school students learning computational thinking. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 58(5), 891-918, SAGE. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633119887187

Hershkovitz, A., Sitman, R., Israel-Fishelson, R., Eguiluz, A., Garaizar, P., & Guenaga, M. (2019). Creativity in the acquisition of computational thinking. Interactive Learning Environments, 27(5-‌6), 628-‌644, Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2019.1610451

Israel-Fishelson, R., & Hershkovitz, A., (2020). Shooting for the stars - Micro-persistence of students in game-based learning environments. In D. Glick, A. Cohen & C. Chang (Eds.), Early Warning Systems and Targeted Interventions for Student Success in Online Courses. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-5074-8.ch012

Israel-Fishelson, R. (2019). Time for a change - Designing a mobile application to assist people with intellectual disabilities. In A. Forkosh-Baruch & H. Meishar-Tal (Eds.), Learning and Training with Mobile Technologies. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-8106-2.ch011