About

Susanna Tsai has been a pioneer in novel approaches to learning and performance improvement.

Starting in the early 90s, Susanna promoted the use of internet technologies for education and training. She launched one of the earliest web-based online learning platforms in the mid-90s, at the onset of the web rise in popularity.

Susanna is an expert in building novel learning and pedagogical models. For the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), she invented the OEC curriculum model. Since the late 90s, she was involved in research of games for learning, including for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). At the University of Hawaii (UH) and Chaminade University, she investigated alternative flipped-classroom models, and for Indiana University Bloomington (IU), Susanna devised models for group learning and affective learning.

Since the 80s, Susanna has been engaged in the development of learning and performance processes. She was involved in the Instructional Systems Life Cycle (ISLC) process of EDS (HP), Method-E of Arthur Andersen (Accenture), and the performance support development process of Federal agencies. She is currently working on a novel agile process for ADDIE.

Susanna has served as Chief Learning Scientist and Officer at InkiTiki, CEO and Principal Learning Scientist at Planet Smart, President of the founding Chapter of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI), and Associate Director of the Office of Research for the University of Hawaii System (UH) with oversight over 10 campuses.

Susanna holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Systems Technology and an M.A. in Linguistics, both from Indiana University Bloomington (IU), and a B.A. in English and Foreign Languages from Providence University.

She is a native-level speaker of English, Chinese, and Taiwanese, and knowledgeable in Japanese and Spanish.