Research topic Archives - Page 3 of 23

May152025 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

ML2MT at the “AI and the Future of Society” Symposium

Artificial Intelligence, Conference, Event

At the final symposium “AI and the Future of Society” on April 23, 2025, the ML2MT project team presented key outcomes from their research on human-machine collaboration. Moving beyond traditional AI, the project explored how machines and humans can mutually benefit and learn from each other in a continuous loop. The results of this interdisciplinary project span multiple domains: In medicine, AI systems were found not only to assist diagnoses but also to promote reflection among professionals, encouraging deeper awareness of their decision-making processes. In education, adaptive AI tools were developed to analyze student feedback and help teachers identify learning gaps more effectively. In human-AI interaction, systems were designed to remember and apply user feedback, improving efficiency and reducing the need for repetitive input. Looking ahead, the project will focus…

Apr232025 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

New Pub: On-Your Marks, Ready? Exploring the User Experience of a VR Application for Runners

Multimodal Learning Analytics, Publication

Do you wish to be a better runner and ready to get going? Becoming a better runner is more than just choosing the right pair of running shoes and increasing your physical ability to perform a successful run. You also need to be mentally prepared to increase your running productivity. Here is where Virtual Reality (VR) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help. Up until now, there have been limited options available for mental training using technologies like sensors and actuators. These technologies have primarily been used to improve physical training. A newly published study explores the possibilities that VR and CBT have to create a technology-based mental training for athletes. Our team carried out a formative study to explore the user experience by incorporating CBT techniques into VR technology,…

Apr152025 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

New Pub: Enhancing User Onboarding in Virtual Reality Educational Applications

Multimodal Learning Analytics, Publication

Learning in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment can be a captivating and immersive experience for students. Despite the potential that VR has to help students learn in new and exciting ways, many students may also struggle during their initial interactions with a given VR environment. Whether or not effective user onboarding takes place can be the make or break of an application’s success. A new publication sheds light on this key challenge of effective onboarding by exploring how pre-training methods impact the onboarding experience in VR educational applications. 36 people, primarily university students, participated in a study to understand how different approaches affected their ability to navigate VR environments and their overall satisfaction. The findings show that pre-training helps users get an orientation and slightly boosts satisfaction, but it falls…

Mar72025 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

A Warm Welcome to Our Guest Researcher Paola Pavone Salafia

Artificial Intelligence, Team

We are pleased to announce that Paola Pavone Salafia, a doctoral researcher from the University of Macerata (UniMC) and the European University of Rome (UER), will be joining us as a guest researcher from 10.03 – 10.06.205. Paola's work focuses on the use of advanced technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), in education to foster inclusive and innovative teaching practices. Her research aligns closely with our ongoing studies on learning disabilities, educational accessibility and teacher agency, particularly in the context of AI-supported teaching methodologies. Paola's research aims to explore how AI can enhance personalized learning for students with special educational needs, as well as investigate the role of AI as a “dual teacher”, which works alongside educators to enrich teaching experiences. Paola will join the HyTea project led by Daniele Di Mitri…

Feb52025 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

New Pub: Memorizing Plans With an App

Journal, Learning Analytics, Publication, School, Self-Regulation

Mobile phones and devices are an integral part of the daily lives of students, and educators are increasingly trying to take advantage of this day-to-day usage for educational purposes. But how can mobile technologies, like app-based learning activities, be designed to effectively help students in the learning process? [caption id="attachment_7331" align="alignright" width="500"] Screenshots of the reading (A), puzzle (B), and emoji (C) activity[/caption] A newly published study from Daniel Biedermann, Jasmin Breitwieser, Lea Nobbe, Hendrik Drachsler and Garvin Brod tries to answer this question. Using the PROMT app, the team compared three types of learning activities used by children aged 9 to 14 years to memorize one learning plan per day over the course of 27 days. The activities varied in their planned level of cognitive engagement based on the…

Jan242025 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

New Pub: The Student Feedback Literacy Instrument (SFLI)

Feedback, Further Education, Journal, New Pub

In the context of higher education, feedback plays an especially important role in the learning process. For students it is not only important to receive feedback, but also to be able to understand and process this feedback in a manner which helps them make learning progress. The knowledge, skills and attitudes students need to navigate the feedback process successfully are referred to as feedback literacy. A recently published study presents a refined version of the Student Feedback Literacy Instrument (SFLI), which offers a powerful tool to measure feedback literacy construct across multiple languages and cultures. The SFLI aims to measure feedback literacy across two key dimensions: feedback attitudes and feedback practices. The full-length version of the instrument was recently refined and tested, alongside a short-form version (SFLI-S), in a multilingual…

Jan152025 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

Legal Assessment of AI and Learning Analytics in Teaching and Learning

Artificial Intelligence, Learning Analytics, Press, Report

As with any new technology, the laws and regulations relating to them seem to always be one step behind and one can feel somewhat lost in a foggy, legal grey zone. The same is true for the use of AI. Using AI in a legally compliant way depends on its specific application, its range and the technical details. This has to be checked and regulated in accordance with the law in order to be able to use each AI technology safely, for the intended purpose and in compliance with data protection regulations. But how can universities know if they are using Learning Analytics and AI technologies in a legally compliant manner? In a first step in answering this question, the Goethe University has recently published an extensive legal assessment about…

Dec32024 by Heather WehnerNo Comments

PhD Defense: Achieving Gender Equity in STEM Education With CSCL

Computer-supported collaborative learning, Gender, PhD defense

Our treasured colleague, Dana Kube, successfully defended her PhD thesis on November 29th at the Open University in Heerlen, Netherlands. We warmly congratulate Dr. Kube for her great academic achievements and advancements in the field of CSCL and gender research! In her dissertation titled “Gender & CSCL – Exploring the Relation of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and Gender Bias in Research and Practice”, Dana emphasizes that gender equity is not just a goal, but a necessity for sustainable development and illustrates the role of gender in research and practice. It remains a challenge to understand which aspects of gender are most important in research, and how to interpret findings in the context of pervasive gender stereotypes and biases. This issue is especially pressing in the field of STEM, where gender…

Dec22024 by Prof. Dr. Hendrik DrachslerNo Comments

PhD Defense: A Bridge between Learning Analytics and Learning Design

Book, Event, Higher Education, Learning Analytics, Learning Design, Multimodal Learning Analytics, PhD defense, Publication, School

We warmly congratulate our esteemed associate partner, DR. Marcel Schmitz, on successfully defending his PhD thesis on November 29, 2024. Marcel is a senior lecturer and researcher in Data Intelligence and the Applied Data Science & Artificial Intelligence program at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences. In his dissertation, titled “Towards Learning Analytics-Supported Learning Design”, he focused on how education can be better personalized by incorporating learning analytics already in the design and course planning. His dissertation was supervised by Prof. Dr. Hendrik Drachsler (DIPF | Leibniz Institute & Goethe University Frankfurt), with co-supervisors Prof. Dr. Maren Scheffel (Ruhr University Bochum) and Dr. Roger Bemelmans (Zuyd University of Applied Sciences). Marcel's dissertation provides actionable strategies not only for higher education but also for other educational sectors. His work envisions a future…

Nov222024 by Daniele Di MitriNo Comments

New Pub: Impact of Artificial Intelligence Based Systems to Improve Mathematics Achievement in Rural Schools

Artificial Intelligence, Journal, New Pub, School

Poor mathematics achievement, especially in rural areas, remains a persistent challenge. Schools in rural areas often struggle to attract and retain highly qualified mathematics teachers, and the teacher shortage across the United States further amplifies this issue. Numerous studies indicate that AI-based systems can enhance mathematics achievement and improve test scores on both standardized and non-standardized tests in K-12 and higher education. These systems offer adaptive and personalized education tailored to the unique needs of each student. By creating learning pathways based on students' current knowledge and offering real-time feedback and support, AI-based systems have the potential to improve learning outcomes across the P-20 educational spectrum. Despite the increasing adoption of AI-based tools, there is limited research on its impact on K-12 classrooms within rural contexts, especially among socioeconomically disadvantaged…