CAO Lu is an assistant professor at the Curriculum and Instruction Center in the Faculty of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. She completed her PhD in Learning Sciences at The University of Sydney, Australia, in 2020. Following her PhD, she conducted postdoctoral research at East China Normal University in Shanghai, China.

Dr. CAO’s research interests focus on the use of innovative instructional approaches and learning theories, such as productive failure and analogical comparison, as well as educational technologies like educational games and virtual learning environments to support learning, especially in K-12 biology education. She has independently developed several educational games and virtual learning environments, including Wizard and Fairies and Suwen. She has also participated in the bidding process for the development of the new edition of primary school science textbooks in Shanghai.

Current projects

Lead CI in 2023 Shanghai Education Sciences Research Early Career Program: Developing Adolescents’ Creative Thinking in the Metaverse 

Lead CI in 2022 The 71st Surface Funding of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation: Developing Creative Thinking for Middle School Students Using Productive Failure.

Participated in Specific Research Initiatives Funding 2021: Virtual Experiential Language Learning Environment for Chinese Language Education.