Date of Completion

5-31-2026

Degree Type

Open Access Capstone

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

First Advisor

Robert Ricketts

Second Advisor

Jeremy Szteiter

Abstract

In the modern high school physics classroom, the rapid proliferation of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has created a unique educational challenge. While these tools can solve complex problems quickly, they often lead to cognitive offloading, where students bypass the internal dialogue and deep thinking needed for true understanding. This project follows an action research journey that shifts the focus from restricting technology to cultivating curiosity and metacognition. I define curiosity as the gap identifier that appears when a student realizes they do not know something, while metacognition acts as the navigator that helps them decide what to do next. By using curiosity driven mini projects, I aimed to move students away from simply retrieving answers or following a memorized process and toward internalizing their own thinking. My observations indicate that when students focus on their own inner dialogue, they begin to make more personal meaning of physics concepts. This synthesis suggests that fostering these habits can help students become more independent and prepared for a world where information is always changing.

Comments

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