Yuri UESAKA - 植阪友理

Yuri Uesaka

Associate Professor　
Division of Educational Psychology
Graduate School of Education
The University of Tokyo

Contact Information

I am Yuri Uesaka, an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo.

Drawing on insights from cognitive psychology, I am engaged in a wide range of educational research and practice, including one-on-one learning consultations, instructional design in schools, assessment development, and community-based educational initiatives. I also serve as a member of the committee responsible for developing Japan’s national curriculum. In addition, I actively conduct international collaborative research with researchers around the world.

・For further information about my academic background and publications, please visit my ResearchGate profile. 

・Yuri Uesaka’s English CV is available here.

Research Interests 

I conduct research using the REAL approach (Research from Educational practice, And Learning back to practice; Uesaka, 2014), which involves developing psychological research from real-world educational practice and applying the resulting insights back to practice.
I provide one-on-one learning support through cognitive counseling, an approach grounded in cognitive psychology, with the aim of helping learners become more independent and self-regulated.
I am involved in designing lessons that take learners’ difficulties and misconceptions into account, working collaboratively with teachers in elementary, junior high, and high schools.
I serve as a member of the national committee responsible for developing Japan’s national curriculum. I am currently participating in discussions concerning the curriculum revision scheduled to take effect from 2030.
I also serve on national committees related to the use of ICT in educational practice.
More recently, I have been working to promote practice-based research founded on equitable and mutually beneficial partnerships between teachers and researchers.
I am also involved in several international research projects focusing on the improvement of student learning and classroom instruction.

Representative Publications

Uesaka, Y., Manalo, E., Chuang, H.-H., & Shiba, S. (Eds.). (in press). Co-creating solutions to educational challenges: Equal and mutually beneficial relationships between researchers and practitioners. Routledge. 
Uesaka, Y., & Saso, S. (in press). An empirical examination of diagrammatic competency using cognitive diagnostic models: A subcomponent analysis of diagram interpretation, mental construction, and spontaneous use. Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence. 
Liu, M., & Uesaka, Y. (2026). The mind, not the pen: Deep notetaking instruction enhances lecture understanding by mitigating overestimation bias. Learning and Instruction, 104, 102360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2026.102360
Uesaka, Y., Juan, M., Nakaya, K., Li, K., Anguri, T., & Tsujikawa, K. (2025). Fostering emotion and motivation through English exchange: A study of one-to-one computer-based settings in Japanese and Taiwanese classrooms. Journal of Education & Psychology, 48(2), 39–71.
Uchida, N., Mizuno, Y., & Uesaka, Y. (2023). How are effective learning strategies incorporated into students’ learning? Effects and processes of vocabulary learning strategy instruction through researcher–teacher collaboration. The Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, 71(2), 145–158. (in Japanese)
Saso, S., Okamoto, M., & Uesaka, Y. (2023). Diagnosing depth of understanding using cognitive diagnostic models and applying the models to regular school examinations: Qualitative and quantitative specification of Q-matrices and an examination of the models’ practical utility. Cognitive Studies, 30(4), 515–530. (in Japanese)
Uesaka, Y., Suzuki, M., & Ichikawa, S. (2022). Analyzing students’ learning strategies using item response theory: Toward assessment and instruction for self-regulated learning. Frontiers in Education, 7, 921844.
Liu, M., & Uesaka, Y. (2022). Factors that influence deep and shallow lecture notetaking: Japanese and Chinese students’ strategies in mathematics classes. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition.
Uesaka, Y., Uetake, H., & Shiba, S. (2021). Psychological support for the learning of children from low-income families: A case study applying the principles of cognitive counseling at a support facility. The Annual Report of Educational Psychology in Japan, 60, 175–191. (in Japanese)
Fukaya, T., Uesaka, Y., & Ichikawa, S. (2019). Investigating the effects of the Thinking-after-Instruction approach: An experimental study of a science class. Educational Technology Research, 41, 1–11.
Manalo, E., Uesaka, Y., & Chinn, C. A. (Eds.). (2017). Promoting spontaneous use of learning and reasoning strategies: Theory, research, and practice for effective transfer. Routledge.
Uesaka, Y., Fukaya, T., & Ichikawa, S. (2017). Strategies for achieving deep understanding and improving learning skills: New approaches to instruction and lesson study in Japanese schools. In M. C. Yip (Ed.), Cognition, metacognition and academic performance: An East Asian perspective (pp. 101–121). Routledge.
Uesaka, Y. (2014). Supporting the use of diagrams in mathematical problem solving: Developing the REAL approach to bridge theory and practice. Kazama Shobo. (in Japanese)
Uesaka, Y., Suzuki, M., Kiyokawa, S., Seo, M., & Ichikawa, S. (2014). Assessing students’ fundamental mathematical competencies using the componential assessment test COMPASS: Is it true that students have mastered the basics but struggle to apply them? Japanese Journal of Educational Technology, 37, 397–417. (in Japanese)
Uesaka, Y., & Koushima, A. (2013). Integrating the creation and appreciation of haiku: A proposal for a new unit design in Japanese-language education. The Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, 61, 398–411. (in Japanese)
Uesaka, Y., & Manalo, E. (2012). Task-related factors that influence the spontaneous use of diagrams in math word problems. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 26, 251–260.
Uesaka, Y. (2010). How do learning strategies transfer across school subjects? A case study promoting the spontaneous use of lesson induction. The Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, 58(1), 80–94. (in Japanese)
Uesaka, Y., Manalo, E., & Ichikawa, S. (2007). What kinds of perceptions and daily learning behaviors promote students’ use of diagrams in mathematical problem solving? Learning and Instruction, 17, 322–335.

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