April Tan

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April Tan

april.melody@gmail.com   |   (515) 771-1293   |   Des Moines, IA

Professional Summary

PhD-trained researcher with 7+ years of experience in designing educational technologies, specializing in immersive VR and conversational AI. A collaborative generalist with deep expertise in mixed methods research, visual design, and front-end development.

Experience

PhD Researcher in Human-Computer Interaction, Aug 2020 – May 2025
Adaptive Cognitive Systems Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames IA

  • Collaborated with leadership on EdTech direction and strategy; led end-to-end research of 3 advanced digital learning tools at Iowa State University
  • Managed 6 junior researchers across 15+ studies to drive mixed-methods research, iterative design, and product development
  • Led 2-year development of an AI-driven, VR learning simulation (Unity, C#, RAG) to teach research communication; led 8 studies (design requirements, GPT customization, learning evaluation), informing current use and institutional VR/GenAI initiatives
  • Built a pitch-training app (Python, R) informed by 5 user studies; improved learning efficiency by 12% and user satisfaction by 52%; now used in pitch training in English and Theater departments

Graduate UX Design Researcher, Aug 2020 – May 2025 
Professional Development, Iowa State University, Ames IA

  • Advocated for and started department’s first UX role, scaling it into a team of 3 and leading research, design, and development across digital initiatives
  • Created ongoing collaborations with cross-functional teams (marketing, leadership, IT) to co-design, iterate, test proof-of-concepts, and deploy digital platforms
  • Led 20+ UX studies, including the first user persona research, to identify student needs and guide development across 5 platforms, 2 databases, 3 websites, 2 e-books, and 3 MOOCs for 15,000+ global users
  • Facilitated design sprints to develop wireframes, IAs, and prototypes based on user feedback and analytics

VR Developer Instructor, Jun 2024 – Aug 2024 
TigerLilySTEM, Des Moines IA

  • Led summer camp groups 10-15 children (grades 4-8) in VR Game Development using HatchXR
  • Refined lesson plans to better adapt coding and logic curriculum across abilities and age groups
  • Deployed final XR projects to VR devices and facilitated end-of-camp showcase

Teaching Assistant, Aug 2018 – May 2020
Department of English, Iowa State University, Ames IA

  • Primary instructor of 100 and 200-level rhetoric classes ~50 undergraduate students per semester with average instructor evaluation of 4.75/5.0
  • Developed novel pedagogical approaches to foster critical thinking and collaborative learning
  • Created a gamified learning experience with the use of in-class multimedia technologies

Programming and Robotics Instructor, 2018 – 2019
Youth Enrichment League, Des Moines IA

  • Taught basic programming logic to children grades 1-7 using Scratch ~50 student
  • Supervised projects and tailored the difficulty of each level to students’ capabilities
  • Facilitated final video game project showcase for parents and classmates

Brand Manager, 2016 – 2019
TRIO Agency, Grimes IA

  • Led 5+ cross-industry design projects from concept to delivery, managing $10k+ budgets for clients like Rainbow Play, Midwest Mattress, and Employee & Family Resources
  • Collaborated with web developers, account managers, and clients to translate business goals into branded experiences; supported high retention across retainer accounts
  • Delivered and iterated on brand-aligned assets (print, digital, video, OOH) used in regional campaigns, billboards, websites, and local TV

Education

Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction
Iowa State University | May 2025

M.A. in TESL/Applied Linguistics
Iowa State University | May 2020

B.A. in Creative Advertising
Drake University | May 2016

Skills

Research Methods

  • Usability testing 
  • User interviews
  • Survey development
  • User personas
  • A/B testing
  • Heuristic evaluations
  • Wireframes
  • Affinity diagramming
  • Prototyping and testing
  • Card sorts
  • Tree tests

Programming Languages

  • HTML/CSS
  • JavaScript
  • Python
  • Unity(C#)
  • MATLAB
  • R

Emerging Tech

  • Prompt engineering
  • Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)
  • VR development

Tools and Platform

  • Unity3D
  • Figma
  • Miro
  • Adobe Creative Suite
  • GitHub
  • Qualtrics
  • MaxQDA
  • Canvas

Publications

Aligning pedagogy with GenAI: A framework for customizing GPTs for education
Tan, A., Dorneich, M. C., & Cotos, E. (2025). Aligning pedagogy with GenAI: A framework for customizing GPTs for education. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (2025).

Operationalizing, developing, and evaluating the fidelity of a VR-AI learning environment
Tan, A., Dorneich, M. C., & Cotos, E. (2025). Operationalizing, developing, and evaluating the fidelity of a VR-AI learning environment. Frontiers in Virtual Reality.

Genre-based L2 Research Writing: SLA-CALL Interfaces for Prototyping an Interactive Virtual Reality Environment
Tan, A., Cotos, E., Dorneich, M. C. (2023). Genre-based L2 research writing: SLA-CALL interfaces for prototyping an interactive virtual reality environment. Frontiers in Computer Assisted Language Learning.

Comparing Team Performance Constructs Involved in Ground Combat and a Ground Combat Simulator
Wilson, G., Farah, Y., Dorneich, M., Gilbert, S., Furukawa, V., Tan, A. (2022, August). Comparing Team Performance Constructs Involved in Ground Combat and a Ground Combat Simulator. 2022. Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES). Atlanta, Georgia.

Study Intonation: A mobile-assisted pronunciation training application
Tan, A. (2021). Study Intonation: A mobile-assisted pronunciation training application. Teaching English as a Second Language Electronic Journal (TESL-EJ), 25(3). https://tesl-ej.org/pdf/ej99/m3.pdf

Conferences

Genre-based L2 Research Writing: A Virtual Reality Prototype for Research Writing Competence
Tan, A., Cotos, E., & Dorneich, M. (2023, August). Genre-based L2 Research Writing: A Virtual Reality Prototype for Research Writing Competence. Paper presented at the EUROCALL 2023 conference, Reykjavik, Iceland.

Comparing Team Performance Constructs Involved in Ground Combat and a Ground Combat Simulator
Wilson, G., Farah, Y., Dorneich, M., Gilbert, S., Furukawa, V., Tan, A. (2022, August). Comparing Team Performance Constructs Involved in Ground Combat and a Ground Combat Simulator. 2022. Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES). Atlanta, Georgia.

Pitch Noodle: A computer assisted pronunciation training application for intonation and pitch learning
Tan, A. (2022, August). Pitch Noodle: A computer assisted pronunciation training application for intonation and pitch learning. 2022. European Association of Computer Assisted Language Learning (EUROCALL). Virtual

WordScape: A Virtual Reality Language Learning Vocabulary Game
Sollier, N., Tan, A. (2022, May). WordScape: A Virtual Reality Language Learning Vocabulary Game. 2022. Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium (CALICO).

A ground-breaking PBLL application for teaching, learning, and assessment with success
Sollier, N., Alharthi, A., Tan, A., Beckett, G.H., Beck, J., Guskaroska, A., & Zawadzki, Z.(2021, August). A ground-breaking PBLL application for teaching, learning, andassessment with success. Eurocall, 2021. Virtual.

Delivering English speaking assessment through a web-based rater platform
Tan, A., Cotos, E., Compton, L. (2021, October). Delivering English speaking assessment through a web-based rater platform. 2021. Midwest Association of Language Testers (MwALT). Virtual

Service and Leadership

Graduate Program Mentor,  June 2024 – Aug 2024 
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), National Science Foundation (NSF)

  • Mentored 3 NSF-funded undergraduate interns, guiding individual and team research projects
  • Led initiatives in conducting human-centered research, prototype testing, data collection, and statistical analysis to inform iterative design improvements and directions
  • Offered guidance and support in pursuit of graduate programs

Pre-Beginning English Instructor, 2019 – 2020
Lutheran Services of Iowa, Des Moines, IA      

  • Taught basic literacy skills to refugees new to Des Moines and the U.S.
  • Worked with translators to gauge and assess learners’ linguistic needs
  • Integrated Project Based Learning pedagogy into curriculum
  • Built curriculum around communicative goals to give learners practical skills for life in Des Moines
 

International Peer Mentor Academic Program Advisory Founder, 2017 – 2019
Drake University, Des Moines, IA      

  • Founded a departmental division within the international center for developing sustainable leadership in diversity
  • Received an annual budget of $2000 for program development
  • Developed pilot training programs in sustainable leadership
  • Facilitated the execution of international orientation ~150 undergraduate students

Languages

  • English (Native fluency)
  • Mandarin (Native fluency)
  • Malay (Highly proficient)
  • Taiwanese (Highly proficient)
  • Spanish (Lower intermediate)