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Turning Students into Scholars

A New Pedagogical Approach with AI

ETS AI Symposium | University of San Francisco

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Mana Azarm, Nicolas Barsi-Rhyne, Andrew Hoang, and Johnathan Cromwell

April 6, 2026

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Metacognition

Awareness or analysis of one’s own learning or thinking processes

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Constructing Problems

Generating Ideas (15+ techniques)

Prototyping Ideas

Pitching

Ideas

Simplified Creative Process

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Generating Ideas (15+ techniques)

  1. Activation
  2. Analogy
  3. Combination
  4. Recategorization
  5. Substitution
  6. Adaptation
  7. Magnification
  8. Putting to another use
  9. Elimination

10. Reversing

11. Subtraction

12. Multiplication

13. Division

14. Trait Dependency

15. Task Unification

16. Exploiting value

17. Expanding value

18. Exploring value

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OLD: Problem-Solving Exam

3 Major Sections

  • Recall: terms & definitions
  • Analyze: identify concepts in situations
  • Apply: Recognize when to use best techniques

(Following Bloom’s taxonomy)

1 Major Goal

  • Design a creative process that systematically produces higher-quality ideas

(Facilitating Bloom’s taxonomy)

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NEW: Theory Competition

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Our New Tool: PsycSim

www.psycsim.com

Simulation

Interactive whiteboard to design study procedures step-by-step. Control temperature, models, and measures per step.

Measures

Create custom scales with named anchor points. Reusable across simulations for consistency.

Samples

Build AI participant pools from 250+ characteristics: demographics, health, beliefs, and more.

Dashboard

Monitor and manage simulations. Download full datasets as Excel spreadsheets.

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Example: Creative Process Simulation

Rapid Experiment

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Example: Designing Measures

Independent Variables

Dependent Variables

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Example: Designing Samples

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Example: Designing Samples

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Example: Data - Personas

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Example: Data - Problem Formulation

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Example: Data – Generate Ideas

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Example: Data – Evaluate Ideas

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Example: Data – Choose Solution

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9d

Example: Results – Step 2 Generating Ideas

Idea Breadth & Depth by Condition

(Step 2: Generate Ideas)

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9d

Example: Results – Step 2 Generating Ideas

Idea Novelty & Usefulness by Condition

(Step 2: Generate Ideas)

Idea Novelty

Idea Usefulness

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9d

Student Submissions

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9d

Student Feedback (Anonymous)

Average: 6.14 / 10

(7.00 / 10)

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9d

Student Feedback (Anonymous)

Average: 6.85 / 10

(7.83 / 10)

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9d

Student Feedback (Anonymous)

Average: 6.85 / 10

(7.83 / 10)

Average: 7.14 / 10

(8.17 / 10)

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Key Questions & Feedback

1

How could this tool be useful in your teaching?

2

What features would you like to see to be more useful?

3

Anyone interested in using as a trial next semester?

www.psycsim.com