Zhikai Gao

Assistant Professor in Computer Science at Western Carolina University

Works (6)

Updated: February 16th, 2026 05:05

2026 article

From Confidence to Doubt: A Multi-year Analysis of Students' Problem-Solving Attitudes in a CS2 Course

Gao, Z., Zahn, M., Lynch, C., & Heckman, S. (2026, February 13).

By: Z. Gao* , M. Zahn  n, C. Lynch n & S. Heckman n 

topics (OpenAlex): Problem Solving Skills Development; Teaching and Learning Programming; Problem and Project Based Learning; Gender and Technology in Education; Educational Strategies and Epistemologies
Source: ORCID
Added: February 13, 2026

2025 article

Comparing Students' and Teachers' Assessments of Office Hours

Gao, Z., Islam, S., Scott, C., Lynch, C., & Heckman, S. (2025, February 18).

By: Z. Gao n , S. Islam  n, C. Scott n, C. Lynch  n & S. Heckman n 

topics (OpenAlex): Educational Environments and Student Outcomes
UN Sustainable Development Goals Color Wheel
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
4. Quality Education (OpenAlex)
Source: ORCID
Added: February 18, 2025

2025 article

EclipseMonitor: A Real-Time Student Programming Environment Data Collection Tool

Islam, S., Gao, Z., Bacher, J., Oliveira, G. S. D., Patwardhan, V., Heckman, S., & Lynch, C. (2025, February 18).

By: S. Islam  n, Z. Gao n , J. Bacher  n, G. Oliveira  n, V. Patwardhan n, S. Heckman n , C. Lynch  n

topics (OpenAlex): Experimental Learning in Engineering; Online Learning and Analytics; Teaching and Learning Programming
Source: ORCID
Added: February 18, 2025

2024 article

Exploring Novice Programmers' Testing Behavior: A First Step to Define Coding Struggle

Oliveira, G. S., Gao, Z., Heckman, S., & Lynch, C. (2024, March 7). PROCEEDINGS OF THE 55TH ACM TECHNICAL SYMPOSIUM ON COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION, SIGCSE 2024, VOL. 1, pp. 1251–1257.

By: G. Oliveira n, Z. Gao n , S. Heckman n  & C. Lynch n

author keywords: novice programmer behavior; test-driven development; CS2; coding struggle; test-driven development
topics (OpenAlex): Software Engineering Research; Teaching and Learning Programming; Online Learning and Analytics
UN Sustainable Development Goals Color Wheel
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
4. Quality Education (Web of Science)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries, ORCID
Added: March 8, 2024

2024 article

Using Survival Analysis to Model Students' Patience in Online Office Hour Queues

Gao, Z., Gaweda, A., Lynch, C., Heckman, S., Babalola, D., & Oliveira, G. S. (2024, March 14).

By: Z. Gao n , A. Gaweda  n, C. Lynch  n, S. Heckman n , D. Babalola  n & G. Oliveira  n

topics (OpenAlex): Cloud Computing and Resource Management; Online Learning and Analytics; Data Stream Mining Techniques
Source: ORCID
Added: March 22, 2024

2022 article

Who Uses Office Hours?

Gao, Z., Heckman, S., & Lynch, C. (2022, February 22). Proceedings of the 53rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, pp. 300–306.

By: Z. Gao n , S. Heckman n  & C. Lynch n

author keywords: Office Hours; Computer Science education; Data Analysis; Correlation Analysis
topics (OpenAlex): Online Learning and Analytics; Online and Blended Learning; Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods
TL;DR: There is a significant correlation between students attending virtual office hours and an increased interest in CS study; while students attending in-person office hours tend to show an increase in their growth mindset. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goals Color Wheel
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
4. Quality Education (Web of Science)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: December 12, 2022

Employment

Updated: February 2nd, 2026 12:12

2025 - present

Western Carolina University Cullowhee, North Carolina, US
Assistant Professor Mathematic and Computer Science

Education

Updated: August 12th, 2025 15:56

2020 - 2025

North Carolina State University Raleigh, North Carolina, US
PhD in Computer Science Computer Science

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