Dr. Chun-Yen Chang is a science education scholar in Taiwan. Currently, he serves as National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) Chair Professor, Director of the Science Education Center (NTNU), and Professor of the Graduate Institute of Science Education and the Department of Earth Sciences (NTNU). From July 2022, he also serves as the Adjunct Professor of the Department of Biology, State University of Malang, Indonesia. Over the past few years, he has been a Visiting Professor at the Taipei Medical University, The Education University of Hong Kong, and the Paris 8 University. Dr. Chang’s major research interests include science education, e-Learning, interdisciplinary science learning, and science communication.

Dr. Chang is currently the Editor-in-Chief of four journals: (1) Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education; (2) European Journal of Mathematics and Science Education; (3) Educational Innovations and Emerging Technologies, (4) Applied System Innovation (Section Editor-in-Chief), as well as on the Editorial Board of three SSCI-level journals: (1) Studies in Science Education (science education); (2) Learning, Media & Technology (learning technology); (3) Journal of Science Education and Technology (science education & technology).

Dr. Chang has authored and co-authored more than 150 articles, from which more than 130 are indexed in the Science/Social Science Citation Index (SCI/SSCI) database. Countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, Slovenia, Italy, Bulgaria, Montenegro, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Inner Mongolia, Turkey, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Oman, and India, continue to invite Dr. Chang as a keynote/feature speaker. His series of research on science learning environments, published in Science Education in 2005 and 2006, was also reported in the “Taiwanese New Discovery” section of the Science Development Journal in 2007. In NSTC’s 50th anniversary celebrations, Dr. Chang’s research work on problem-solving ability and automatic scoring of science open-ended questions was honored as one of the NSTC’s 50 Great Achievements in 2008.

In 2003, 2009, and 2012, Chang was granted three times one of the highest honors given by NSTC: the “Outstanding Research Award.” In 2013, the Ministry of Education presented Dr. Chang with the Academic Award for Science Education. Also in 2013, the film entitled “The Journey of Science Achievements,” featuring the research outputs produced by an interdisciplinary research team comprised of Dr. Chang and other professors from NTNU was granted the 2013 Award for Excellent Contributions in Technology Transfer. Dr. Chang’s biography has been honorably included in the 2007-2010 Marquis, Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in Science and Engineering 2008-2009, Who’s Who in America 2009, Special 30th Pearl Anniversary Edition of Who’s Who in the World 2013, Who’s Who in the World 2016, as well as Who’s Who in Science and Engineering 2016-2017.

In February 2013, Dr. Chang’s catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) study was privileged in a New York Times Sunday Magazine report and in the news featured on the Association of Psychological Science website. In 2019, the CouldClassRoom (CCR) mobile system he and his research team developed was selected as an exemplary institution in the 2019 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report.

To carry out innovative research with contemporary significance and mission, since 2011, a comprehensive research team that combines the field of education, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and genomics (ECNG) has been created. The research aims to study the related mechanisms of human learning and memory formation and the correlation between genes and epigenetics with cognitive ability and emotional intelligence. The research team’s objectives are (i) to increase our understanding of the complex scientific reasoning and learning mechanisms, (ii) to provide important support to the "adaptive teaching-learning" interaction, and (iii) to design smart learning environments that can be of help for the metacognition of learning: learn how-to-learn. 

In 2019, the research team published an article on the theme: “Multiple epigenetic biomarkers for evaluation of students’ academic performance” (Lee et al., Genes, Brain and Behavior). The research aims to explore the correlation between genetic and epigenetic factors in neural pathways related to brain plasticity, cognitive ability, and scientific learning effectiveness. This study confirms that epigenetic biomarkers affect adolescents’ cognitive function and the effectiveness of scientific learning. Understanding how the learning environment and heredity affect each other will inspire the academic and practical aspects of adaptive learning. 

Over the years, our ECNG research team has explored the correlation between related genes and students’ cognition, emotional psychology, and scientific learning and has evaluated students’ learning effectiveness, emotional development, and social behavior. 

In 2021, the latest research results were published in the internationally renowned journal “Molecular Brain”. This research confirms the mutual regulation of students’ cognitive abilities and important genetic genes. The research results will have a revolutionary impact on neuroscience and science education, and we will further develop the results of this research. The new generation of scientific inquiry improves learning efficiency and provides cross-scientific knowledge learning for future students.