ISLS 2026
CSCL Poster

#270: “He’s Gonna Say It’s Trash”: Students’ Emotional Experiences with AI Feedback in Collaborative Scientific Inquiry

Thu Jun 18, 4:15 PM–5:45 PM · Outdoors

This study explores how 5th grade students playing a scientific inquiry game interact with (and react to) AI-generated feedback presented by in-game agent characters. We explore how AI conversational agents impact student inquiry and emotional engagement as students build socioscientific arguments. Results indicate that while students initially take up agent feedback to improve their argumentation, prolonged cycles of revision lead to frustration and negative reflections as students struggle to utilize AI feedback.

Speakers

  • Joshua Danish — University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

Authors

Megan Humburg, Namrata Srivastava, Sarah Burriss, Yeo Jin Kim, Joshua Danish, Cindy E. Hmelo-Silver, Shruti Jain, Clayton Cohn, Umesh Timalsina, Krista Glazewski, Gautam Biswas, James Lester