Bridging the Knowledge Map: Using Generative AI to Foster Integrative Learning and Exploration in an Introductory Materials Science Course

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_42How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Introduction to Materials Science; Outcome-Based Education; AI-enhanced model

Abstract

The “Introduction to Materials Science” course, which covers a wide range of material types from structural to biomedical, faces the inherent challenge of knowledge fragmentation. Students often struggle to form a coherent conceptual framework, leading to superficial understanding and low learning satisfaction. Grounded in the principles of Outcome-Based Education (OBE), this paper proposes a novel teaching strategy that strategically integrates generative AI as a “knowledge exploration and connection assistant.” By designing two core learning activities—a comparative analysis report and a future material exploration project—this approach shifts the student role from passive recipients to active architects of their knowledge landscape. The preliminary findings suggest that this AI-enhanced model effectively cultivates students’ ability to synthesize knowledge across material classes, stimulates critical thinking, and significantly boosts engagement and a sense of accomplishment, thereby transforming a broad survey course into an interactive and integrative learning journey.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Fangxiang Sun
AU  - Yifan Zhang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/25
TI  - Bridging the Knowledge Map: Using Generative AI to Foster Integrative Learning and Exploration in an Introductory Materials Science Course
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Educational Science and Social Culture (ESSC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 368
EP  - 373
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_42
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_42
ID  - Sun2026
ER  -