Deoksoon Kim, Ph.D.

Professor at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College. My research focuses on understanding the needs of immigrant students to facilitate English acquisition and academic success through instructional technology.

My research sits at the intersection of language acquisition, instructional technology, and educational equity. I investigate how digital tools — from social media to generative AI — can be designed and deployed to support immigrant and emergent bilingual students in K-12 STEM and language arts contexts.

AI & Multimodal Digital Literacy

Exploring how generative AI and multimodal digital tools serve as catalysts for identity development and English acquisition. This work examines VR, AI-driven storytelling platforms, and digital narrative frameworks for diverse learners.

See Publications for the full list of articles in this area, including recent work on ChatGPT in education and digital storytelling in teacher development.

Formative & Whole-Person Education

Research on educating the whole person — cultivating purpose, community, and well-being — especially in virtual and hybrid environments. Conducted in collaboration with the Transformative Education Lab at Boston College.

L2 Literacy & Immigrant Student Success

Longitudinal and qualitative studies on how immigrant students develop literacy, navigate identity, and achieve academic success in U.S. K-12 settings. Encompasses reading strategies, dialogue journals, peer review, and sociocultural literacy frameworks.

Instructional Technology in STEM

Investigations into game-based learning, wiki collaboration, podcasting, and tablet-mediated reading for English language learners in science and math classrooms.

STEM & Bilingual Learners

Culturally relevant pedagogy in middle school science; translanguaging practices for Spanish-speaking emergent bilinguals; bicultural identity in STEM contexts.