Joseph T. Wong

Higher-order thinking is a key component of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) reasoning and supports students’ ability to reflect on their ideas, make connections, and generalize across contexts. We report a new approach to the use of generative AI in STEM education, in which we are developing a chatbot that aims to engage students in higher-order thinking, rather than giving instructional content. We describe a proof of concept test of whether interaction with our generative artificial intelligence chatbot could elicit students’ higher-order thinking talk (HOTT) in conversation as they reflected on their solutions to proportional reasoning problems. Thirty-three fifth- and sixth-grade students received a 30-min lesson on symbolic and number line strategies for comparing ratios and completed an assessment following the lesson. Students then engaged in dialog with the UCI Math ThinkBot (afterward Math ThinkBot ) to explain their solutions and compare strategies. These transcripts were examined qualitatively and quantitatively for HOTT, revealing that HOTT appeared in both chatbot prompts and children’s responses—which is important because eliciting student HOTT can be a challenge in classroom discourse. In addition, children’s HOTT was positively associated with the HOTT produced by the chatbot. These findings suggest that human-artificial intelligence dialog can lead to instructional HOTT discourse and may offer a promising approach for supporting higher-order thinking and STEM reasoning.

With the prevalence of digital technologies in the classrooms, educators continue to seek ways to augment traditional in-person teaching with the benefits of educational technologies, utilizing blended learning approaches. This study investigates the role of learning experience design (LXD) in supporting children’s engagement in blended, video-based math lessons on proportional reasoning. The research focuses on operationalizing LXD through the integration of instructional design (ID) techniques to promote situational interest (SI) and prioritize user experience (UX). By combining SI and UX principles, the aim is to foster student engagement in a blended classroom learning environment. The quantitative findings demonstrate significant correlations between students’ situational interests, user experience, and their level of course engagement. The results from the multiple regressions also showed that students’ situational interests and user experience significantly predicted their course engagement. The qualitative analysis highlights three key themes: the positive impact of Learning Experience Design on student engagement, the pedagogical value of employing multiple solution strategies by the teacher, and the influence of the blended course’s user experience on students’ learning journey. These mixed-method results provide practical insights for refining future designs, ensuring sustained active engagement and effective math learning within blended learning environments, and preparing for various instructional modalities, including traditional, online, and blended formats.

This study delves into the realm of student conceptual change, examining shifting understandings as important steppingstones on the path to sensemaking and canonical understanding in science education. It explores the potential of a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) curriculum, aiming to provide equitable learning opportunities, especially for emerging bilingual (EB) student populations. To achieve this, elementary school educators from randomly assigned schools received professional development training to implement a novel curriculum encompassing both STEM and STEAM (STEM + Arts) approaches to life science instruction. These approaches comprised: (1) an NGSS‐aligned STEM unit employing inquiry‐based science instruction; (2) an NGSS‐aligned STEAM unit utilizing Arts‐based science instruction instead of inquiry methods. The results indicated that a STEAM‐first approach was most beneficial in helping students change from non‐canonical conceptual understanding toward more nuanced canonical science knowledge. Specifically, for EB students, the STEAM‐first approach showed even more promise, signifying its potential to bridge educational disparities. Furthermore, the study revealed that the integration of Arts as an instructional tool to teach science education played a pivotal role in enhancing the overall learning experience among students. Arts integration stimulated motivation, invigorated conceptual understanding, and offered unique avenues for elucidating complex scientific concepts and terminologies. This research contributes valuable insights for improving science education instruction, emphasizing the efficacy of conceptual change toward canonical scientific understanding through patterns of instructional sequencing of effective STEAM integration. It provides educators with evidence‐based strategies to foster inclusive and equitable science learning experiences, ultimately guiding students toward deeper conceptual comprehension.

In light of the educational challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a growing need to bolster online science teaching and learning by incorporating evidence-based pedagogical principles of Learning Experience Design (LXD). As a response to this, we conducted a quasi-experimental, design-based research study involving nN = 183 undergraduate students enrolled across two online classes in an upper-division course on Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at a large R1 public university. The study extended over a period of 10 weeks, during which half of the students encountered low-stakes questions immediately embedded within the video player, while the remaining half received the same low-stakes questions after viewing all the instructional videos within the unit. Consequently, this study experimentally manipulated the timing of the questions across the two class conditions. These questions functioned as opportunities for low-stakes content practice and retention, designed to encourage learners to experience testing effect and augment the formation of their conceptual understanding. Across both conditions, we assessed potential differences in total weekly quiz grades, page views, and course participation among students who encountered embedded video questions. We also assessed students’ self-report engagement, self-regulation, and critical thinking. On average, the outcomes indicated that learners exposed to immediate low-stakes questioning exhibited notably superior summative quiz scores, increased page views, and enhanced participation in the course. Additionally, those who experienced immediate questioning demonstrated heightened levels of online engagement, self-regulation, and critical thinking. Moreover, our analysis delved into the intricate interplay between treatment conditions, learners’ self-regulation, critical thinking, and quiz grades through a multiple regression model. Notably, the interaction between those in the immediate questioning condition and self-regulation emerged as a significant factor, suggesting that the influence of immediate questioning on quiz grades varies based on learners’ self-regulation abilities. Collectively, these findings highlight the substantial positive effects of immediate questioning of online video lectures on both academic performance and cognitive skills within an online learning context. This discussion delves into the potential implications for institutions to continually refine their approach in order to effectively promote successful online science teaching and learning, drawing from the foundations of pedagogical learning experience design paradigms and the testing effect model.

Traditionally, learning among young students has taken place within structured, physical classroom settings. However, the emergence of distance learning has introduced a diverse range of learning methods, including online, hybrid, and blended approaches. When the COVID-19 pandemic led to extended delays in in-person instruction, use of educational technologies such as asynchronous videos and online platforms were deployed to deliver mathematics curricula aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), though best practices for teaching mathematics asynchronously are not well studied. This study focuses on exploring the effectiveness of a math course on proportional reasoning that was co-designed, developed, and deployed in 5th and 6th grade Orange County classrooms. Examining the learning experience design (LXD) paradigm, this research focuses on discerning its influence on (n = 303) children's engagement during their involvement in an online, video-based math course. LXD is implemented by combining evidence-based pedagogical instructional design with human-centered user experience (UX) design. The study utilized a structural equation model to analyze the relationships between learners' user experiences, situational interest, mind-wandering, and online engagement. The results demonstrated significant direct effects between students' situational interest, user experience, and their level of online engagement. Findings also indicate that students' situational interest and mind-wandering significantly mediate the relationship between their user experiences and online engagement. These results have important theoretical and practical implications for researchers, designers, and instructors. By combining evidenced-based pedagogical learning design with human-centered user experience design, LX designers can promote situational interest, reduce mind-wandering, and increase engagement in elementary mathematics courses conducted in asynchronous online settings.

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