Hi! I'm Zeyneb Sarioglan
welcome to my portfolio
This portfolio highlights my research, professional experience, and applied projects, with a focus on data & analytics.
Résumé
Profiles
About Me
My journey might seem untraditional, but for as long as I can remember, my life was tennis. I grew up in Ankara, Turkey with a racket in my hand, practicing more than six hours a day. That dedication led to some incredible experiences, like representing the Turkish National Team throughout my junior career (U12, U14, U16, U18), competing in the European Youth Olympic Festival, and playing countless professional tournaments.
At 18, I shifted gears and paired my athletic career with my education in the U.S. I landed at the University of Minnesota on a scholarship, where I pursued a double major in Psychology and Strategic Communication with an Applied Business minor. Being a student-athlete was intense, but it was also where I found a new interest. I took a job as a TA for a statistics class and I fell in love with data and coding.
That "aha!" moment is what led me to complete my master's degree in this field at the University of Pennsylvania. My time at UMN also gave me my first real taste of leadership as team captain. I discovered how much I enjoy connecting with a team and working toward a common goal, especially in the heat of BIG 10 Conference.
For over a year now, I have been putting those skills to work with the fantastic team at the Penn Center for Learning Analytics (PCLA). It's been an incredible opportunity to contribute to meaningful projects and continue learning every day.
Work Journey
Researcher at Penn Center for Learning Analytics (PCLA)
September 2024 - Present | Philadelphia, PA
  • Built and evaluated affect detection machine learning models using the scikit-learn package, cleaning 1,000,000+ student–AI tutor interaction records and engineering 10+ features within reproducible pipelines in Python and R
  • Designed a Monte Carlo simulation in R for weighted Cohen’s kappa that estimates minimum sample sizes to achieve specified power to support efficient and resource-conscious study design
  • Reduced manual qualitative coding effort by ~74% (57+ hours saved) by developing an inductive codebook using the OpenAI API, automating construct identification in the Rori student interaction dataset
Teaching Assistant in Introduction to Data Analysis Course
September 2022 - May 2024 | Minneapolis, MN
  • Saved over 400 hours of instructor time over four semesters by independently grading and providing feedback for 1,200+ students (~360 per semester) as the single undergraduate TA, ensuring timely and effective instruction
  • Developed 20+ course assignments across four semesters and guided students in R Studio to support learning goals
Research Assistant in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Lab (SoTL)
May 2023 - May 2024 | Minneapolis, MN
  • Designed and analyzed 4 studies comparing statistical software in instruction and reviewed literature on statistical anxiety to guide teaching practices
Research Assistant to Dr. Adam Saffer
May 2023 - August 2023 | Minneapolis, MN
  • Analyzed Hurricane Florence social network data by calculating descriptive statistics, testing correlations, and modeling relationships with linear regression
Operations Assistant at Baseline Tennis Center
November 2022 - September 2023 | Minneapolis, MN
  • Identified and solved customer problems occurring before, during, and after court reservations, including scheduling conflicts, payment errors, and facility access, leading to a more reliable and seamless service
Research Assistant in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Lab
May 2022 - August 2022 | Minneapolis, MN
  • Qualitatively coded CSR initiatives of Fortune 500 companies to refine the definition of corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Research Assistant to Dr. Sherri Katz
May 2022 - August 2022 | Minneapolis, MN
  • Conducted a detailed literature review on perceptions of youth on e-cigarettes, perceptions of biomarkers, and effectiveness of opioid labeling as well as developing an IRB protocol paperwork
Leadership
Penn SMART Graduate Program Cohort Lead
Organized events and study sessions while serving as the bridge between graduate students and program leadership
Team Captain of the D1 Minnesota Women's Tennis Team
Set team goals, fostered collaboration, and supported teammates on and off the court
Gopher Athletics Leadership Council
Represented the tennis team, built leadership skills through case studies, and learned strategies for working with diverse personality types
Co-President of the Psychology Undergraduate Student Advisory Council
Organized town halls, gathered student feedback, and communicated insights to faculty to strengthen student belonging and engagement
Hubbard School Undergraduate Student Ambassador
Represented the school at career events and mentored incoming students by sharing experiences and resources
Psychology Academic Program Review Committee (Student Representative)
Provided student input to guide program improvements and academic planning
Hubbard School DEIA Committee (Student Representative)
Contributed to initiatives that strengthened diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility awareness within the school community
Gopher Athletics Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC)
Shared updates from athletics administrators with tennis team members and represented student-athlete perspectives in policy discussions
Core Skills & Technical Expertise
Statistical Analysis
Regression (Linear & Logistic), Hypothesis Testing, Principle Component Analysis, ANOVA/T-Tests, Chi-Square Tests, Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA), Effect Size & Power Analysis, Propensity Score Matching (PSM), Correlation & Trend Analysis
Machine Learning
Decision Trees, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting (XGBoost, AdaBoost), Logistic Regression, Neural Networks, Support Vector Machines (SVMs), K-Means Clustering, Text Mining (NLP)
Data Wrangling, Cleaning & Visualization
Python, R, and SQL for data extraction, cleaning, and transformation. Tableau certified for dashboards and storytelling. Strong experience with dplyr, ggplot2, Pandas, and Matplotlib
Psychometrics
Classical Test Theory (CTT), Item Response Theory (IRT), Reliability Analysis (e.g., Cronbach’s Alpha, Cohen’s Kappa), Survey Design & Analysis
Projects
Evaluation of Machine Learning Models for Thyroid Cancer Recurrence Prediction
This project explores predicting thyroid cancer recurrence using machine learning (logistic regression, neural networks, random forests) and identifying key clinical risk factors from long-term patient data
Predicting Cognitive Performance with Machine Learning
This project explores predicting student performance on cognitive tasks by applying machine learning models -including decision trees, random forests, and k-nearest neighbors- and evaluating feature importance to identify key factors influencing outcomes
Item Analysis of a Teacher-Made Test
An analysis of the psychometric quality of a teacher-made test using classical test theory to evaluate item difficulty, discrimination, reliability, and distractor effectiveness. The findings guided recommendations for item removal and test refinement.
Publications & Conference Papers
Wang, J., Giordano, C., Sarioglan, Z., Baker, R. S., Whitehill, J. (2026). Audio-based automatic detection of tutor engagement. Educational Data Mining (currently under review)
Naisar, N., Baker, R. S., Ocumpaugh, J., Sarioglan, Z., Mills, C., Rhodes, S. (2026). Multimodal LLM-based approach for detecting disengagement from task goal (DTG) in math problem solving. Educational Data Mining (currently under review)
Xia, F., Walkington, C., Sarioglan, Z., Zambrano, A., Baker, R. S. (2026). Students’ behavioral and affective processes in solving AI-personalized mathematics problems. ZDM Special Issue on Real-Time Mathematical Thinking and Learning Processes (got accepted, submission in Sep 2026)
Vanacore, K., Pham, D., Sarioglan, Z., Henkel, O. (May, 2025) Improving learning through large language model growth mindset conversations in an open-source intelligent tutor. Presented at American Causal Inference Conference.
Bitzan, L., Sarioglan, Z., Blommel, C., Woodward, A.M. (2025). Does method matter? Examining the impact of R and hand calculations on student learning. Psychology Learning and Teaching
Ross, D. N., Sarioglan, Z., Burgess, J. (2024). The effect of cultural values on participants’ perception of employees involved in workplace romance. Sentience, 26(1), 1-6
Bitzan, L., Sarioglan, Z., Blommel, C., Rineman, R., Woodward, A.M. (2024, February). Student attitudes toward learning statistics: Comparing R programming and hand calculations in undergraduate attitudes about statistics. Presented at Annual Conference on Teaching, Online.
Made with