Flipping the switch: how artificial intelligence learning companions in flipped classrooms enhance students’ computational thinking
摘要
Artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in an era where Computational Thinking (CT) emerges as a crucial skill. This interconnected, data-driven landscape necessitates deeper CT skills, enabling students to effectively navigate both the opportunities and challenges presented by AI. The flipped classroom model has gained widespread acceptance in CT education owing to its adaptability, interactivity, and personalization. However conventional implementations of the flipped classroom model still face significant limitations such as insufficient student autonomy in learning processes and a need for enhanced quality of classroom interactions. Addressing these, our study introduces a synergy of flipped classrooms with AI, termed the Flipped Classroom with AI Learning Companion teaching model (FC-AIC). This model aims to enhance high school students CT, self-efficacy, and motivational levels compared to traditional flipped classrooms (FC). Our quasi-experimental research involved 60 first-year high school students from central China, divided into control (FC) and experimental (FCAIC) groups over eight weeks. Students completed a questionnaire to self-appraise their CT, self-efficacy, and motivation at pre-intervention and post-intervention stages. Results indicate that FC-AIC significantly boosts student self-perceptions of their own CT skills, specifically in problem-solving and creativity, and improves perceived self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation without notably impacting perceived extrinsic motivation. This investigation highlights how integrating flipped classrooms with AI technologies can synergistically enhance educational paradigms offering new insights about practical innovations for intelligent educational frameworks.