Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens is an Assistant Professor of Human-Centered Learning Technologies in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt University. She directs the IDEA Lab and serves as core faculty in LIVE, the Learning Innovation Incubator. A former middle school computer science and high school mathematics teacher, she earned her B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, M.A. in mathematics education from Columbia University Teachers’ College, and M.S. and Ph.D. in learning sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Arastoopour Irgens investigates developmentally appropriate ways to engage youth with emerging and socially consequential STEM topics. Her research focuses on designing inclusive digital learning environments that integrate computer science and critical pedagogies and using quantitative ethnography and learning analytics to understand how learners engage with digital technologies. In her design-based research, she engages in participatory methods that involve children, teachers, and community partners co-designing digital learning environments that honor their cultures and serve their communities.

Since 2020, Arastoopour Irgens has served on the board of the International Society for Quantitative Ethnography. She is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER award and the American Educational Research Association Jan Hawkins Award.