My Research Agenda
Assessment and Measurement of Dispositions
I investigate how dispositions and related competencies are currently defined, measured, and valued in higher education. Through systematic reviews, surveys of computing professionals and faculty, and a cross-institutional Delphi study, I work to identify what assessment approaches exist, where the gaps are, and how we can build more rigorous tools. My psychometric training, including my master's thesis on classification accuracy under item response theory, provides the methodological foundation for this work.
Instructional Design for Character Development
As part of the Engineering Character Initiative (ECI) Project at Purdue, I design and study learning experiences that aim to develop students' character development. This includes a design-based research study on interactive case studies in engineering capstone courses and an investigation into how students reason through professional dilemmas--what they prioritize, how they justify their choices, and how character traits show up in their decision-making. I also apply this work in practice through my instructional design role with FIRST Robotics mentors, creating inclusive training resources.
AI in Education
Generative AI is raising urgent questions about responsible use, professional judgment, and ethical decision-making. I explore this space through a meta-analysis of GenAI as instructional material, a study on how pre-service teachers engage with AI tools, and research on how computing professionals use GenAI in their work. This line connects directly to my core interest: AI is both changing the competencies students need and offering new ways to support learning.
How These Areas Connect
These three lines form a cycle. Assessment research provides the tools to evaluate whether instructional interventions work. Design research deepens our understanding of the competencies we are trying to develop. And AI research keeps both grounded in the realities of a rapidly changing world. Across all three, I bring a commitment to rigorous, evidence-based inquiry that bridges theory and practice.
Research Experiences
2024 - Present
Graduate Research Assistant
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Collaborated on the Engineering Character Initiative (ECI), a multi-institutional project focused on integrating character development into undergraduate engineering and computing courses.
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Developed an interactive case study using H5P.
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Developed Open Educational Resources (OER).
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Assisted in the redesign of technical coursework to integrate character-building elements and promote lifelong learning in professional contexts.
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Contributed to the dissemination of project findings through academic presentations and professional publications.
2023 - 2024
Graduate Research Assistant - Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR)
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Contributed to projects such as Competency-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) and the development of Learning Contracts to enhance mentor-mentee relationships.
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Mentored undergraduate research interns, providing guidance on research methodologies and fostering their professional growth.
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Led qualitative data coding and analysis efforts in collaboration with undergraduate interns, identifying key themes to inform program improvements.
2022 - 2024
Graduate Research Assistant - NSF Grant Project
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Volunteered to contribute to the NSF-funded project DEAP (DEAPening Employer-Academic Partnerships), a $3 million, multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional initiative aimed at advancing competency-based education in computing.
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Collaborated with Purdue’s Competency Research Team alongside faculty members and researchers from 8 universities.
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Developed Open Educational Resources (OER) to support educators, including:
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Designed a survey instrument to collect data, contributing to the project’s research on improving computing curricula.
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Conducted pilot tests for the survey instrument to ensure clarity, reliability, and validity before full deployment.
Academic Presentations
Yenioglu, S., Yilmaz Yenioglu, B., Yakut, N. (2025). AI-Driven Interventions for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Future Perspective. Association for Educational Communications and Technology Annual Meeting (AECT), Las Vegas, NV, USA. (🏅Presidential Session)
Yakut, N., Yilmaz Yenioglu, B., Yenioglu, S., Aktan, S. (2025). Examining Pre-Service Teachers’ Engagement with AI Tools: Patterns, Perceptions, and Ethical Considerations. Association for Educational Communications and Technology Annual Meeting (AECT), Las Vegas, NV, USA.
Yakut, N. (2025). Systematic Review of Disposition Assessment Methods in Higher Education [Roundtable Presentation]. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting (AERA), Denver, CO, USA.
Yakut, N. (2025). Work-in-Progress: Systematic Review of Competency Assessment Methods in Computing Education [Student Research Competition]. The Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE TS), Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Exter, M., Yakut, N., Sabin, M., Tagare, D., Ashby, I. (2024). Survey of Computing Professionals' Perceptions of Dispositions on the Job and Satisfaction With Their Coverage in Undergraduate Programs. [Paper Presentation]. Frontiers in Education (FIE) Conference, Washington, D.C., USA.
Yakut, N. & Zywicki, C. (2024). Agreements, Contracts, or Compacts: Uncovering the Expected Learning in Mentor-Mentee Relationships [Live Oral Presentation]. ConnectUR 2024 Annual Conference, virtual.
Yakut, N. & Childress, A. (2024). Bridging Theory and Practice: Enhancing Career Readiness through Undergraduate Research [Share and Solve]. ConnectUR 2024 Annual Conference, virtual.
Yakut, N. (2023). The Effects of Intelligent Tutoring Systems on Students' Motivation in Mathematics Education: A Systematic Literature Review [Poster Presentation]. Annual Graduate Student Education Research Symposium (AGSERS), West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Yakut, N. & Onen, E. (2022). The Comparison of Classification Accuracy Indices within the Scope of Item Response Theory. [Paper Presentation]. International Young Researchers Congress-II (GUGAK-2022), virtual.