Creating Learning Scaffolds for Engineering Design Using Concept Catalyst

TL;DR

Concept Catalyst leverages Large Language Models to efficiently generate and customize scaffolding questions for engineering design challenges, reducing teacher preparation time.

Contribution

This work introduces a novel LLM-based tool that summarizes, decomposes, and visualizes engineering challenges to aid teachers in creating scaffolding questions.

Findings

Enables rapid creation of scaffold questions for engineering challenges.

Allows visual manipulation and linking of concepts.

Reduces teacher preparation time for engineering design lessons.

Abstract

K-12 teachers employ Engineering Design Challenges to help students learn about the Engineering Design Process hands-on. They use techniques like hard scaffolding questions to guide the students as they think through the different stages of the engineering design process. While useful, the creation of these questions adds to the teacher's preparation time for their classes. Concept Catalyst uses Large Language Models to assist teachers with the rapid creation of scaffold questions for engineering design challenges. Unlike open-ended chat, Concept Catalyst uses LLMs to summarize and decompose an engineering design challenge into the concepts that students will engage with, allow the teacher to visually manipulate and link related concepts, and to propose scaffolding questions for the teacher to modify or accept.