My work runs across machine learning, statistics, educational measurement, learning science, and mathematics. Papers and talks are grouped by topic, with the newest first in each group.

AI evaluation and synthetic data

• under review Asthana, S., Ion, M., Collins-Thompson, K. (2026). Beyond Mode Collapse: Generating Diverse Synthetic Expert Conversations via Generative Flow Networks. Under review at the International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR 2027).
• under review Ion, M., Collins-Thompson, K. (2026). When Can Synthetic Data Replace Human Data? Validity Criteria for Tutoring Dialogues. Coordinated paper session “Simulating Student Responses with LLMs: Diverse Purposes, Designs, and Evaluation Frameworks,” National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME 2027). Toronto, Canada.
• preprint Ion, M., Godfrey, J. (2026). The Evaluation Blind Spot: Per-Prompt Similarity Can Systematically Misrank Instruction-Tuned Text Distributions. In preparation.
• under review Ion, M., Collins-Thompson, K. (2026). MathMentorDB: A Massive Dataset of Authentic Online Mathematics Tutoring Dialogues. Under review at ACL Rolling Review (preferred venue EACL 2027). [dataset]
• proceedings Ion, M., Collins-Thompson, K. (2026). Measuring Simulation Fidelity via Statistical Detectability: A Diagnostic Framework for AI-Generated Tutoring Conversations. In Proceedings of the 13th ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale (L@S '26). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 11 pages. Accepted, 22% acceptance rate. [paper]
• demo Ion, M., Collins-Thompson, K. (2026). A Fidelity Diagnostic Workbench for Synthetic Tutoring Conversations. ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale (L@S 2026), Demonstration Track.
• workshop Ion, M., Asthana, S., Jiao, F., Wang, T., Collins-Thompson, K. (2025). Adaptive Knowledge Assessment in Simulated Coding Interviews. Innovation and Responsibility in AI-Supported Education Workshop (AAAI 2025). Proceedings of Machine Learning Research, 273, 260–262. Philadelphia, PA. [paper]
• poster Wang, T., Ion, M., Asthana, S., Jiao, F., Collins-Thompson, K. (2025). The Fidelity of LLM Classifiers in Analyzing Mathematics Teaching and Learning Conversations. Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) Symposium, Ann Arbor, MI. Blue Ribbon Outstanding Presenter Award.

Statistical modeling and NLP for conversation and text

• proceedings Light, M., Ion, M., Collins-Thompson, K. (2026). From Moves to Pathways: Characterizing Pedagogical Discourse Dynamics in Online Tutoring with Bayesian Generative Modeling. 27th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED '26), Late-Breaking Results (Posters) Track. Accepted, 29% acceptance rate. [paper]
• talk Ion, M. (2026). Structured Outputs from LLMs: Prompting vs. Fine-Tuning on Free Colab. Infinicon. San Luis Obispo, CA. [notebook]
• talk Ion, M., Light, M., Asthana, S., Collins-Thompson, K. (2025). Bayesian Hierarchical Modeling of Large-Scale Math Tutoring Dialogues. Joint Statistical Meetings 2025. Nashville, TN. [session]
• talk Ion, M. (2025). Text-as-Data in Mathematics Education: Harnessing LLMs to Analyze Student Conversations at Scale. AMS Special Session on SoTL: Connecting Generative AI and Scholarly Inquiry to Improve Teaching and Learning, Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM). Seattle, WA. Invited. [session]
• talk Ion, M. (2024). Use of LLMs and Langchain to Extract Insights about Mathematics Conversations at Scale. Guest lecture, SIADS 676: Applications of Generative AI. University of Michigan.
• journal Gere, A., Godfrey, J., Griffin, M., Hartwell, K. D., Ion, M., Limlamai, N., Moos, A., Pine, A. A., Van Zanen, K. (2023). Alumni Perspectives on Undergraduate Education: How Writing Can Increase What We Know. Journal of General Education, 70(1–2), 149–175. [DOI]
• talk Ion, M. (2023). New Directions in Education Research: Harnessing Text-as-Data Methods. San Diego State University, CA. Invited.
• poster Danai, A., Quimper Osores, A., Ion, M., Herbst, P. (2023). Analysis of Citation Networks of Submitted Manuscripts in Mathematics Education. UROP Symposium, Ann Arbor, MI. Blue Ribbon Outstanding Presenter Award.
• proceedings Ion, M., Herbst, P. (2022). Conceptions of the Derivative: A Natural Language Processing Approach. Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education Conference. Boston, MA. [paper]
• talk Paulsen, A., Ion, M., Godfrey, J. (2022). Writing Across the Curriculum: A Text-as-Data Approach. Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar. Ann Arbor, MI.
• poster Ion, M., Herbst, P. (2022). Studying Conceptions of the Derivative at Scale: A Machine Learning Approach. 45th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. Alicante, Spain. [poster]
• poster Ion, M., Bardelli, E., Herbst, P. (2018). Learning About the Norms of Teaching Practice: How Can Machine Learning Help Analyze Teachers' Reactions to Scenarios? Michigan Institute for Data Science Annual Symposium. Awarded 'Most Likely Scientific Impact'. [poster]

Measurement and assessment

• under review Asthana, S., Ghanate, A., Ion, M., Banovic, N., Collins-Thompson, K. (2026). Designing Human-AI Collaborative Assessment Workflows: A Sociotechnical Study of Prerequisite Skill Evaluation in Graduate Entrance Assessments. Under review at the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2027).
• proceedings Ion, M., Herbst, P., Ko, I., Hetrick, C. (2023). Agreeing on Objectives of Geometry for Teachers' Courses: Feedback from Instructors on an Initial List. Proceedings of the 45th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 2, pp. 362–369). Reno, NV. [paper]
• poster Ko, I., Ion, M., Herbst, P. (2022). Comparing the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Geometry of Preservice and Inservice Secondary Teachers. 24th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (pp. 1235–1236). Boston, MA. [poster]
• article Ko, I., Ion, M., Herbst, P. (2022, May). Does Our MKT-G Instrument Measure the Same Knowledge in the Same Way for GeT Students and for Practicing Teachers? GeT: The News!, 3(3). [article]
• article Ion, M., Herbst, P. (2021). A Contribution to Stewarding the SLOs: Developing SLO Assessment Items and Examining Item Responses. GeT: The News!, 3(1). [article]
• article Herbst, P., Ion, M. (2021). A Deeper Dive into an SLO Item. GeT: The News!, 3(1). [article]
• proceedings Bardelli, E., Ion, M., Ko, I., Herbst, P. (2020). Who Benefits from Mathematics Courses for Teachers? An Analysis of MKT-G Growth During Geometry for Teachers Courses. American Education Research Association. San Francisco, CA. [paper]
• proceedings Ion, M., Herbst, P., Margolis, C., Milewski, A., Ko, I. (2019). Developing Practical Measures to Support the Improvement of Geometry for Teachers Courses. Psychology of Mathematics Education, North America Annual Conference. St. Louis, MO. [paper]

Mathematics education and teacher education

• in prep Ion, M., Ball, D.L. (2026). Teaching and Learning in the Age of Generative AI: Understanding the Human Work of Instruction. In preparation for For the Learning of Mathematics.
• chapter An, T., Boyce, S., Brown, A., Buchbinder, O., Cohen, S., Dumitrascu, D., Escuadro, H., Herbst, P., Ion, M., Krupa, E., Miller, N., Pyzdrowski, L., Sears, R., St. Goar, J., Szydlik, S., & Vestal, S. (2024). (Toward) Essential Student Learning Objectives for Teaching Geometry to Pre-Service Secondary Teachers. In B. M. Benken (Ed.), The AMTE Handbook of Mathematics Teacher Education (Vol. 5, pp. 175–197). Information Age Publishing. [chapter]
• journal Herbst, P., Brown, A.M., Ion, M., Margolis, C. (2023). Teaching Geometry for Secondary Teachers: What are the Tensions Instructors Need to Manage? International Journal of Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education. [DOI]
• proceedings Brown, A., Herbst, P., Ion, M. (2023). How Instructors of Undergraduate Mathematics Courses Manage Tensions Related to Teaching Courses for Teachers. Psychology of Mathematics Education, North America Annual Conference. Reno, NV. [paper]
• proceedings Boyce, S., An, T., Pyzdrowski, L., Oppong-Wadie, K., Ion, M., St. Goar, J. (2023). Learning from Lesson Study in the College Geometry Classroom. 25th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education. Omaha, NE. [paper]
• proceedings Hetrick, C., Herbst, P., Ion, M., Brown, A. (2023). Building Instructional Capacity Across Difference: Analyzing Transdisciplinary Discourse in a Faculty Learning Community Focused on Geometry for Teachers Courses. 25th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education. Omaha, NE. [paper]
• proceedings Hetrick, C., Herbst, P., Brown, A., Ion, M. (2023, April). Contention and Coalescence in Mathematical Knowledge: Undergraduate Geometry Instructors' Cooperative Design of Student Learning Objectives. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL. [paper]
• poster Boyce, B., Ion, M. (2023). Geometry Students' Ways of Thinking About Adinkra Symbols. Psychology of Mathematics Education, North America Annual Conference. Reno, NV.
• poster Berzina-Pitcher, I., Ion, M., An, T., Buchbinder, O., Herbst, P., Milewski, A., Miller, N., Prasad, P., Pyzdrowski, L., St. Goar, J., Sears, R., Szydlik, S., Vestal, S. (2022, April). Learning and Participating in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Through a Faculty Online Learning Community. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA. [poster]
• poster Beckemeyer, R., Brown, A., Ion, M., Spiteri, A., Herbst, P. (2022). How Experience and Knowledge Affect the Breaching Patterns of Secondary Mathematics Teachers. UROP Symposium, Ann Arbor, MI. Blue Ribbon Outstanding Presenter Award.
• article Boyce, S., Ion, M., Lai, Y., McLeod, K., Pyzdrowski, L., Sears, R., St. Goar, J. (2021). Best-Laid Co-Plans for a Lesson on Creating a Mathematical Definition. AMS Blogs: On Teaching and Learning Mathematics. [article]
• proceedings Margolis, C., Ion, M., Herbst, P., Milewski, A., Shultz, M. (2020). Understanding Instructional Capacity for High School Geometry as a Systemic Problem Through Stakeholder Interviews. Psychology of Mathematics Education, North America. Mexico. [paper]
• poster Herbst, P., Stevens, I., Milewski, A., Ion, M., Ko, I. (2020). State of Undergraduate Geometry Courses for Secondary Teachers. Joint Mathematics Meeting. Denver, CO.
• proceedings Milewski, A., Ion, M., Herbst, P., Shultz, M., Ko, I., Bleecker, H. (2019). Tensions in Teaching Mathematics to Future Teachers: Understanding the Practice of Undergraduate Mathematics Instructors. American Educational Research Association Conference. Toronto, Canada. [paper]
• proceedings Herbst, P., Milewski, A., Ion, M., Bleecker, H. (2018). What Influences Do Instructors of the Geometry for Teachers Course Need to Contend With? Psychology of Mathematics Education, North America. Greenville, SC. [paper]

Algebraic combinatorics

• journal Ion, M., McDonough, A. (2026). Chip-Firing and the Sandpile Group of the R10 Matroid. Galois Journal of Algebra, Special Issue on Recent Advances in Algebraic Combinatorics. [paper] [arXiv]