Saudi Arabian college students may face challenges in developing critical thinking skills, which are considered essential for the future workforce under Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 initiative. The present study used a quasi-experimental design to test the effectiveness of the Devil’s Advocate approach in improving critical thinking among Saudi undergraduates. Forty-three students enrolled in two equivalent course sections were assigned to an experimental group (n = 22) employing the Devil’s Advocate method or a control group (n = 21) engaging in traditional consensus-oriented discussion across a 15-week semester. Critical thinking was assessed at pretest and posttest using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test Form 2000 (CCTST; Insight Assessment, 2013), yielding scores on five reasoning domains (Analysis, Inference, Evaluation, Induction, and Deduction) and an Overall composite score. Independent-samples t-tests confirmed baseline equivalence (all p > .65). Within the experimental group, paired-samples t-tests revealed statistically significant and very large gains on every domain (Cohen's d = 1.64-2.15, all p < .001), whereas the control group showed only small, non-significant changes. ANCOVA controlling for pretest scores confirmed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group on every outcome, with large effect sizes (partial η² = .324-.445). The intervention shifted the median experimental participant from the Moderate to the Strong CCTST proficiency tier, χ²(3, N = 43) = 15.69, p = .001, Cramér's V = .604. Non-parametric tests corroborated every parametric inference. These findings support cognitive conflict, social constructivist, and metacognitive accounts of how structured dissent advances reasoning, and demonstrate that the Devil’s Advocate approach is a low-cost, theoretically grounded intervention for addressing critical thinking deficits in Saudi higher education and supporting the human-capital aspirations of Vision 2030. Practically, these findings indicate that a low-cost, easily embedded classroom protocol can yield substantial critical-thinking gains, offering instructors, curriculum designers, and higher-education policymakers a scalable, resource-light strategy for strengthening students' reasoning without wholesale curricular reform.
Symbolic obstacles in calculus prevent students from moving away from intuition and towards formal thinking, but are rarely studied in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) interaction logs. We investigated symbolic obstacles and AI-supported representational transitions among 12 Indonesian undergraduate mathematics education students in a non-intrusive intrinsic case study. Semi-structured interviews, eight classroom observations, diagnostic tests, academic artifacts, and AI logs were analyzed through inductive-deductive thematic analysis, based on Tall’s Three Worlds of Mathematics. Four obstacles are highlighted: graph-to-symbol translation, integral and sigma notation, limit notation, and symbolic algebraic manipulation. Participant-level comparisons showed 27.4%–53.8% fewer coded symbolic errors in post-activity assessments than at baseline. AI scaffolding through dynamic visualization, adaptive feedback, step-by-step guidance, and solution validation was associated with representational cycling, metacognitive reflection, reported self-efficacy gains, and lower mathematics anxiety. The study integrates AI-log evidence with the Three Worlds framework to explain how scaffolding can support students in addressing symbolic obstacles.
Purpose: Educators are central to the successful integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in health sciences education, yet evidence from North African contexts remains scarce. This study examined the factors associated with nursing educators' behavioral intention to adopt AI in their teaching practices in Laayoune, Morocco. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 108 nursing educators (response rate: 90.8%) between June and July 2025. A French-language, self-administered questionnaire based on the Technology Acceptance Model and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology measured behavioral intention and ten individual, technological, and organizational dimensions (45 items; Cronbach's α = 0.835–0.983). Behavioral intention, the canonical acceptance outcome in both models, was analyzed as a continuous variable using independent-samples t-tests with effect sizes, Pearson correlations, and multiple linear regression with backward elimination, bootstrap confidence intervals, and a logistic sensitivity analysis. Results: Behavioral intention was high (per-item mean 4.29 ± 0.53 out of 5), and 94.4% of educators already used AI tools in teaching, despite high anxiety (4.50 ± 0.70), high perceived risk (3.98 ± 0.73), and very low perceived facilitating conditions (2.11 ± 1.27). In the final regression model, awareness (β = 0.556, p < 0.001) and self-efficacy (β = 0.248, p = 0.010) were the only independent predictors, together explaining 57.4% of the variance in intention (F(2, 105) = 70.62, p < 0.001). The bivariate associations of age, teaching experience, AI knowledge, and AI proficiency with intention were fully accounted for by these two factors. Conclusion: AI adoption among these nursing educators appears largely individual and self-directed, driven by awareness and confidence rather than institutional support, which was perceived as weak. Strengthening AI literacy and self-efficacy, alongside institutional investment in infrastructure, training, and guidelines, may support responsible AI integration. Findings from this single-institution study should be interpreted with appropriate caution.
Transforming an infinite process into a mathematical object is a core cognitive challenge in calculus learning, yet many classrooms lack access to specialized dynamic visualization software. This study explores whether intentionally designed animations in Microsoft PowerPoint, a widely available tool with basic animation capabilities, can scaffold this cognitive leap within the Vietnamese context. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, 60 eleventh-grade students were assigned to either an experimental group learning with theory‑guided PowerPoint Dynamic Multiple Representations (DMRs) or a control group receiving traditional instruction over a two‑week unit on infinite geometric series. The experimental group demonstrated significantly higher conceptual gains (d = 2.25, a large effect comparable to intensive intervention studies in mathematics education) and lower cognitive load (d = 1.52). Qualitative analysis revealed that the animations triggered cognitive mechanisms of completion and totality construction, enabling students to view infinite sums as manipulable objects rather than unending processes. This study introduces a “high‑design, low‑barrier” model that promotes educational equity by enabling sophisticated mathematics instruction without specialized software. This paper offers practical design principles that teachers can implement immediately using existing classroom technology.
This study examined individual, relational, and classroom-level factors associated with affiliation motivation among Elementary School Teacher Education students participating in ethnoscience-based inquiry learning. A cross-sectional explanatory survey involved 173 students drawn from four classes randomly selected from eight eligible classes. Self-efficacy, goal setting, social needs, sense of belonging, teacher-student relationships, peer support, recognition and appreciation, classroom climate, and affiliation motivation were measured at one time point and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The eight predictors jointly explained 55.8% of the variance in affiliation motivation. All structural associations were positive and statistically significant (β = .128–.187, p = .004–.041), although individual effect sizes were small (f² = .026–.053). The findings indicate cumulative contributions of individual, interpersonal, and classroom-level resources to affiliation motivation. Because the study was cross-sectional, self-reported, and conducted at one institution, the findings should not be interpreted causally and should be generalized cautiously.
