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ERIC Number: EJ1475018
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Dec
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2056-7936
Available Date: 2025-06-18
Structured Human-LLM Interaction Design Reveals Exploration and Exploitation Dynamics in Higher Education Content Generation
Pablo Flores Romero1; Kin Nok Nicholas Fung1; Guang Rong1; Benjamin Ultan Cowley1,2
npj Science of Learning, v10 Article 40 2025
Large Language Models (LLMs) present a radically new paradigm for the study of "information foraging behavior." We study how LLM technology is used for pedagogical content creation by a sample of 25 participants in a doctoral-level Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education course, and the role of computational-thinking skills in shaping their foraging behavior. We used editable prompt templates and socially-sourced keywords to structure their prompt-crafting process. This design influenced participants' behaviors towards "exploration" (to generate novel information landscapes) and "exploitation" (to dive into specific content). Findings suggest that exploration facilitates navigation of semantically diverse information, especially when influenced by social cues. In contrast, exploitation narrows the focus to using AI-generated content. Participants also completed a Computational Thinking survey: exploratory analyses suggest that trait cooperativity encourages exploitation of AI content, while trait critical thinking moderates reliance on participants' own interests. We discuss implications for future use of LLM-driven educational tools.
Nature Portfolio. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://www.nature.com/npjscilearn/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1University of Helsinki, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Helsinki, Finland; 2University of Helsinki, Cognitive Science, Faculty of Arts, Helsinki, Finland