Zhanel Zhexenova
Papers
5
Total Citations
132
H-Index
5
About
Zhanel Zhexenova is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of educational technology, human-robot interaction, and assistive therapy. Her work focuses on two transformative areas: leveraging social robots for literacy acquisition and developing robot-assisted interventions for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. In a landmark 2020 study (51 citations), she compared the efficacy of a social robot against a tablet and a human teacher in teaching Kazakhstan’s new Latin-based script, demonstrating robots’ unique potential in high-stakes language transitions. She also developed the CoWriting Kazakh system (21 citations), an autonomous robot that scaffolds children’s handwriting practice during the country’s alphabet reform. In clinical contexts, Zhexenova has made significant contributions to robot-assisted therapy for children with severe ASD and ADHD. Her 2019 paper (29 citations) introduced a patient-centered interaction design for non-verbal children, while subsequent work (25 citations) provided observational evidence of robots’ impact in rehabilitation centers. Her quantitative analysis (6 citations) of a 21-child clinical study further validated these approaches. By combining rigorous methodology with real-world relevance—from classroom literacy to therapeutic play—Zhexenova’s research is shaping how robots can serve as adaptive, engaging partners in both education and healthcare.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 3Robot-Assisted Therapy for Children with ADHD and ASD25 citations · 2019
- 4CoWriting Kazakh21 citations · 2020
- 5