{"689954":{"#nid":"689954","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Proposal by John\u202fKos ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EModern Inquiry-Based Modeling in Interactive Learning Environments: An AI Agent System to Support Inquiry\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u202f\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn\u202fKos\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPh.D. Student in Human-centered Computing\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Interactive Computing\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDate: May 6th\u202f2026\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETime:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u202f2:00pm-4:00pm\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELocation:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u202fCODA 1203 Five Points\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETeams\u202f\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/teams.microsoft.com\/l\/meetup-join\/19%3ameeting_NThiMDVhMzAtYmQ4My00YTdkLTljM2EtMTFkZjdmYmU2MDky%40thread.v2\/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22482198bb-ae7b-4b25-8b7a-6d7f32faa083%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22321080b5-c3a1-40cd-91fd-69c586df4a24%22%7d\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ELink\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAshok Goel (Advisor) - School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChris Dede -\u0026nbsp;Graduate School of Education,\u0026nbsp;Harvard University\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChristopher MacLellan - School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChristina Schwarz - College of Education, Michigan State University\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESashank Varma - School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEmily Weigel\u0026nbsp;\u2013\u0026nbsp;School of\u0026nbsp;Biological Sciences, Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbstract\u003C\/strong\u003E\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdult learners are often asked to address open-ended problems that require critical thinking such as scientific inquiry. In scientific inquiry, scientists use inquiry-based\u0026nbsp;modeling to develop\u0026nbsp;hypotheses, evaluate the model based on data, revise the model, and evaluate the outcome of their hypotheses.\u0026nbsp;Supporting inquiry education\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;challenging because it requires the learners to engage in both cognitive (thinking about a problem) and metacognitive (thinking about one\u2019s thinking, high level planning, and reflection)\u0026nbsp;processes.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAI and education tools built to\u0026nbsp;assist\u0026nbsp;these\u0026nbsp;processes\u0026nbsp;have been an\u0026nbsp;open line of research in the literature for two decades.\u0026nbsp;A series of obstacles including modeling the\u0026nbsp;learner\u2019s\u0026nbsp;thought process,\u0026nbsp;establishing\u0026nbsp;the necessary cognitive understanding, and properly encouraging active engagement with metacognitive thinking have presented challenges to tools\u0026nbsp;seeking\u0026nbsp;to support metacognitive thinking using traditional machine learning methods.\u0026nbsp;Traditional machine learning techniques have only been modestly successful in inferring intent from\u0026nbsp;learner\u0026nbsp;modeling actions, and as a result\u0026nbsp;AI agents have struggled with supporting\u0026nbsp;metacognitive\u0026nbsp;thinking.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI\u0026nbsp;propose that the advent of\u0026nbsp;Generative AI,\u0026nbsp;paired with\u0026nbsp;learner\u0026nbsp;self-explanations,\u0026nbsp;allows\u0026nbsp;for evaluation and guidance of\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;learner\u0027s metacognitive thinking.\u0026nbsp;My research\u0026nbsp;explores the use of this new paradigm\u0026nbsp;to support the learner through two different metacognitive processes:\u0026nbsp;inquiry and\u0026nbsp;metamodeling.\u0026nbsp;Using the\u0026nbsp;interactive learning environment VERA\u0026nbsp;as a platform, I design specialized LLM\u0026nbsp;agents\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;enable these\u0026nbsp;metacognitive processes\u0026nbsp;in the\u0026nbsp;context of\u0026nbsp;modeling ecological systems.\u0026nbsp;To additionally support these processes, an\u0026nbsp;additional\u0026nbsp;AI agent orchestration system is designed to evaluate user self-explanation and cognitively scaffold\u0026nbsp;user\u0026nbsp;inquiry using a handful of other AI agents.\u0026nbsp;I plan to\u0026nbsp;evaluate the\u0026nbsp;above Agentic AI\u0026nbsp;system\u0026nbsp;with\u0026nbsp;a set of pilot studies\u0026nbsp;designed\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;measure\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;gains in\u0026nbsp;learning outcomes\u0026nbsp;from\u0026nbsp;the metacognitive\u0026nbsp;agents. Additionally, I will do an\u0026nbsp;analysis of differing architectures for AI agent orchestration\u0026nbsp;and selection, to\u0026nbsp;demonstrate\u0026nbsp;proper deployment of the correct agent based on the learner\u2019s\u0026nbsp;self-explanation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EModern Inquiry-Based Modeling in Interactive Learning Environments: An AI Agent System to Support Inquiry\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Modern Inquiry-Based Modeling in Interactive Learning Environments: An AI Agent System to Support Inquiry "}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2026-04-23 11:51:26","changed_gmt":"2026-04-23 11:52:00","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-05-06T14:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2026-05-06T16:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-05-06T16:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-05-06 18:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-05-06 20:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-05-06 20:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"CODA 1203 Five Points ","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"102851","name":"Phd proposal"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}