Improving Critical Thinking through AI-Supported Socio-Scientific Issues Instruction

This study developed and evaluated a personalized socio-scientific issues (SSIs) education model based on artificial intelligence (AI) adaptive learning environments with the goal to improve critical thinking skills among college students in China.A quasi-experimental pre/post-test design was used with 101 geology majors, allocating 52 to the experimental group receiving AI-supported SSIs instructions and 49 to the control group receiving regular instructions.The California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory and California Critical Thinking Skills Test were used to measure critical thinking dispositions and skills.The results of analyses of covariance showed that the AI-supported SSI model led to significant increases in critical thinking dispositions (p < 0.01) and skills (p < 0.01) compared to the control.The findings suggest that AI-enhanced personalized SSI education models have the potential to improve critical thinking outcomes for 21st century learning.Further research with larger and more diverse samples is needed to replicate effects.