Instructional Material
Dual-Stream Cross-Modal Representation Learning via Residual Semantic Decorrelation
Li, Xuecheng, Jia, Weikuan, Kurbonaliev, Alisher, Alisher, Qurbonaliev, Rustam, Khudzhamkulov, Shuhratjon, Ismoilov, Javhariddin, Eshmatov, Zheng, Yuanjie
Cross-modal learning has become a fundamental paradigm for integrating heterogeneous information sources such as images, text, and structured attributes. However, multimodal representations often suffer from modality dominance, redundant information coupling, and spurious cross-modal correlations, leading to suboptimal generalization and limited interpretability. In particular, high-variance modalities tend to overshadow weaker but semantically important signals, while naรฏve fusion strategies entangle modality-shared and modality-specific factors in an uncontrolled manner. This makes it difficult to understand which modality actually drives a prediction and to maintain robustness when some modalities are noisy or missing. To address these challenges, we propose a Dual-Stream Residual Semantic Decorrelation Network (DSRSD-Net), a simple yet effective framework that disentangles modality-specific and modality-shared information through residual decomposition and explicit semantic decorrelation constraints. DSRSD-Net introduces: (1) a dual-stream representation learning module that separates intra-modal (private) and inter-modal (shared) latent factors via residual projection; (2) a residual semantic alignment head that maps shared factors from different modalities into a common space using a combination of contrastive and regression-style objectives; and (3) a decorrelation and orthogonality loss that regularizes the covariance structure of the shared space while enforcing orthogonality between shared and private streams, thereby suppressing cross-modal redundancy and preventing feature collapse. Experimental results on two large-scale educational benchmarks demonstrate that DSRSD-Net consistently improves next-step prediction and final outcome prediction over strong single-modality, early-fusion, late-fusion, and co-attention baselines.
ProofBridge: Auto-Formalization of Natural Language Proofs in Lean via Joint Embeddings
Jana, Prithwish, Kale, Kaan, Tanriverdi, Ahmet Ege, Song, Cruise, Vishwanath, Sriram, Ganesh, Vijay
Translating human-written mathematical theorems and proofs from natural language (NL) into formal languages (FLs) like Lean 4 has long been a significant challenge for AI. Most state-of-the-art methods either focus on theorem-only NL-to-FL auto-formalization or on FL proof synthesis from FL theorems. In practice, auto-formalization of both theorem and proof still requires human intervention, as seen in AlphaProof's silver-medal performance at the 2024 IMO, where problem statements were manually translated before automated proof synthesis. Our training ensures that NL-FL theorems (and their proofs) are mapped close together in this space if and only if the NL-FL pairs are semantically equivalent. Experiments show substantial improvements in proof auto-formalization over strong baselines (including GPT -5, Gemini-2.5, In mathematics, ensuring the correctness of proofs is a crucial yet inherently difficult task. Traditionally, mathematicians rely on the peer-review process for proof verification, yet as proofs grow increasingly complex, even careful human scrutiny can overlook subtle errors. For instance, in 1989, Kapranov and V oevodsky published a proof connecting -groupoids and homotopy types, which was later disproven by Carlos Simpson in 1998; more recently, while formalizing his 2023 paper (Tao, 2023) on the Maclaurin-type inequality, Terence Tao discovered a non-trivial bug. To mitigate challenges of verifying complex proofs, proof assistants and formal mathematical languages like Coq (Barras et al., 1999), Isabelle (Nipkow et al., 2002), HOL Light (Harrison, 2009), Meta-math (Megill & Wheeler, 2019), Lean 4 (Moura & Ullrich, 2021), and Peano (Poesia & Goodman, 2023) have been developed, offering a way to create computer-verifiable formal proofs. Such formal language (FL) proofs, defined by strict syntax and symbolic logic, enable reliable automated verification guarantees that resolve the inherent ambiguity of natural language (NL) proofs.
From Frustration to Fun: An Adaptive Problem-Solving Puzzle Game Powered by Genetic Algorithm
McConnell, Matthew, Zhao, Richard
This paper explores adaptive problem solving with a game designed to support the development of problem-solving skills. Using an adaptive, AI-powered puzzle game, our adaptive problem-solving system dynamically generates pathfinding-based puzzles using a genetic algorithm, tailoring the difficulty of each puzzle to individual players in an online real-time approach. A player-modeling system records user interactions and informs the generation of puzzles to approximate a target difficulty level based on various metrics of the player. By combining procedural content generation with online adaptive difficulty adjustment, the system aims to maintain engagement, mitigate frustration, and maintain an optimal level of challenge. A pilot user study investigates the effectiveness of this approach, comparing different types of adaptive difficulty systems and interpreting players' responses. This work lays the foundation for further research into emotionally informed player models, advanced AI techniques for adaptivity, and broader applications beyond gaming in educational settings.
Learning to Use AI for Learning: Teaching Responsible Use of AI Chatbot to K-12 Students Through an AI Literacy Module
Xiao, Ruiwei, Hou, Xinying, Tseng, Ying-Jui, Nieu, Hsuan, Liao, Guanze, Stamper, John, Koedinger, Kenneth R.
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into daily life, there is a growing need to equip the next generation with the ability to apply, interact with, evaluate, and collaborate with AI systems responsibly. Prior research highlights the urgent demand from K-12 educators to teach students the ethical and effective use of AI for learning. To address this need, we designed an Large-Language Model (LLM)-based module to teach prompting literacy. This includes scenario-based deliberate practice activities with direct interaction with intelligent LLM agents, aiming to foster secondary school students' responsible engagement with AI chatbots. We conducted two iterations of classroom deployment in 11 authentic secondary education classrooms, and evaluated 1) AI-based auto-grader's capability; 2) students' prompting performance and confidence changes towards using AI for learning; and 3) the quality of learning and assessment materials. Results indicated that the AI-based auto-grader could grade student-written prompts with satisfactory quality. In addition, the instructional materials supported students in improving their prompting skills through practice and led to positive shifts in their perceptions of using AI for learning. Furthermore, data from Study 1 informed assessment revisions in Study 2. Analyses of item difficulty and discrimination in Study 2 showed that True/False and open-ended questions could measure prompting literacy more effectively than multiple-choice questions for our target learners. These promising outcomes highlight the potential for broader deployment and highlight the need for broader studies to assess learning effectiveness and assessment design.
Generative Large-Scale Pre-trained Models for Automated Ad Bidding Optimization
Lei, Yu, Zhao, Jiayang, Zhao, Yilei, Zhang, Zhaoqi, Cai, Linyou, Xie, Qianlong, Wang, Xingxing
Modern auto-bidding systems are required to balance overall performance with diverse advertiser goals and real-world constraints, reflecting the dynamic and evolving needs of the industry. Recent advances in conditional generative models, such as transformers and diffusers, have enabled direct trajectory generation tailored to advertiser preferences, offering a promising alternative to traditional Markov Decision Process-based methods. However, these generative methods face significant challenges, such as the distribution shift between offline and online environments, limited exploration of the action space, and the necessity to meet constraints like marginal Cost-per-Mille (CPM) and Return on Investment (ROI). To tackle these challenges, we propose GRAD (Generative Reward-driven Ad-bidding with Mixture-of-Experts), a scalable foundation model for auto-bidding that combines an Action-Mixture-of-Experts module for diverse bidding action exploration with the Value Estimator of Causal Transformer for constraint-aware optimization. Extensive offline and online experiments demonstrate that GRAD significantly enhances platform revenue, highlighting its effectiveness in addressing the evolving and diverse requirements of modern advertisers. Furthermore, GRAD has been implemented in multiple marketing scenarios at Meituan, one of the world's largest online food delivery platforms, leading to a 2.18% increase in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) and 10.68% increase in ROI.
Reinforcement Learning Integrated Agentic RAG for Software Test Cases Authoring
This paper introduces a framework that integrates reinforcement learning (RL) with autonomous agents to enable continuous improvement in the automated process of software test cases authoring from business requirement documents within Quality Engineering (QE) workflows. Conventional systems employing Large Language Models (LLMs) generate test cases from static knowledge bases, which fundamentally limits their capacity to enhance performance over time. Our proposed Reinforcement Infused Agentic RAG (Retrieve, Augment, Generate) framework overcomes this limitation by employing AI agents that learn from QE feedback, assessments, and defect discovery outcomes to automatically improve their test case generation strategies. The system combines specialized agents with a hybrid vector-graph knowledge base that stores and retrieves software testing knowledge. Through advanced RL algorithms, specifically Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) and Deep Q-Networks (DQN), these agents optimize their behavior based on QE-reported test effectiveness, defect detection rates, and workflow metrics. As QEs execute AI-generated test cases and provide feedback, the system learns from this expert guidance to improve future iterations. Experimental validation on enterprise Apple projects yielded substantive improvements: a 2.4% increase in test generation accuracy (from 94.8% to 97.2%), and a 10.8% improvement in defect detection rates. The framework establishes a continuous knowledge refinement loop driven by QE expertise, resulting in progressively superior test case quality that enhances, rather than replaces, human testing capabilities.
Uncovering Students' Inquiry Patterns in GenAI-Supported Clinical Practice: An Integration of Epistemic Network Analysis and Sequential Pattern Mining
Wei, Jiameng, Dang, Dinh, Yang, Kaixun, Stokes, Emily, Mazeh, Amna, Lim, Angelina, Dai, David Wei, Moore, Joel, Fan, Yizhou, Gasevic, Danijela, Gasevic, Dragan, Chen, Guanliang
Assessment of medication history-taking has traditionally relied on human observation, limiting scalability and detailed performance data. While Generative AI (GenAI) platforms enable extensive data collection and learning analytics provide powerful methods for analyzing educational traces, these approaches remain largely underexplored in pharmacy clinical training. This study addresses this gap by applying learning analytics to understand how students develop clinical communication competencies with GenAI-powered virtual patients -- a crucial endeavor given the diversity of student cohorts, varying language backgrounds, and the limited opportunities for individualized feedback in traditional training settings. We analyzed 323 students' interaction logs across Australian and Malaysian institutions, comprising 50,871 coded utterances from 1,487 student-GenAI dialogues. Combining Epistemic Network Analysis to model inquiry co-occurrences with Sequential Pattern Mining to capture temporal sequences, we found that high performers demonstrated strategic deployment of information recognition behaviors. Specifically, high performers centered inquiry on recognizing clinically relevant information, integrating rapport-building and structural organization, while low performers remained in routine question-verification loops. Demographic factors including first-language background, prior pharmacy work experience, and institutional context, also shaped distinct inquiry patterns. These findings reveal inquiry patterns that may indicate clinical reasoning development in GenAI-assisted contexts, providing methodological insights for health professions education assessment and informing adaptive GenAI system design that supports diverse learning pathways.
Small Language Models Reshape Higher Education: Courses, Textbooks, and Teaching
While large language models (LLMs) have introduced novel paradigms in science and education, their adoption in higher education is constrained by inherent limitations. These include a tendency to produce inaccuracies and high computational requirements, which compromise the strict demands for accurate and reliable knowledge essential in higher education. Small language models (MiniLMs), by contrast, offer distinct advantages in professional education due to their lightweight nature and precise retrieval capabilities. This research takes "Atmospheric Physics" as an example. We established a specialized corpus and image repository by gathering over 550,000 full-text PDFs from over 130 international well-respected journals in Earth and environmental science. From this collection, we extracted over 100 million high-quality sentence-level corpus and more than 3 million high-resolution academic images. Using MiniLMs, these resources were organized into a high-dimensional vector library for precise retrieval and efficient utilization of extensive educational content. Consequently, we systematically redesigned the courses, textbooks, and teaching strategies for "Atmospheric Physics" based on MiniLMs. The course is designed as a "interdisciplinary-frontier" system, breaking down traditional boundaries between atmospheric science, space science, hydrology, and remote sensing. Teaching materials are transformed from static, lagging text formats into a dynamic digital resource library powered by MiniLM. For teaching methods, we have designed a question-based learning pathway. This paradigm promotes a shift from passive knowledge transfer to active cognitive development. Consequently, this MiniLM-driven "Atmospheric Physics" course demonstrates a specific avenue for "AI for education".
MedTutor-R1: Socratic Personalized Medical Teaching with Multi-Agent Simulation
He, Zhitao, Yang, Haolin, Qin, Zeyu, Fung, Yi R
The significant gap between rising demands for clinical training and the scarcity of expert instruction poses a major challenge to medical education. With powerful capabilities in personalized guidance, Large Language Models (LLMs) offer a promising solution to bridge this gap. However, current research focuses mainly on one-on-one knowledge instruction, overlooking collaborative reasoning, a key skill for students developed in teamwork like ward rounds. To this end, we develop ClinEdu, a multi-agent pedagogical simulator with personality-driven patients and diverse student cohorts, enabling controlled testing of complex pedagogical processes and scalable generation of teaching data. Based on ClinEdu, we construct ClinTeach, a large Socratic teaching dialogue dataset that captures the complexities of group instruction. We then train MedTutor-R1, the first multimodal Socratic tutor designed for one-to-many instruction in clinical medical education. MedTutor-R1 is first instruction-tuned on our ClinTeach dataset and then optimized with reinforcement learning, using rewards derived from a three-axis rubric, covering structural fidelity, analytical quality, and clinical safety, to refine its adaptive Socratic strategies. For authentic in-situ assessment, we use simulation-based interactive evaluation that redeploys the tutor back into ClinEdu. Experimental results demonstrate that our MedTutor-R1 outperforms the base model by over 20% in average pedagogical score and is comparable to o3, while also exhibiting high adaptability in handling a varying number of students. This promising performance underscores the effectiveness of our pedagogical simulator, ClinEdu.
Learning to Code with Context: A Study-Based Approach
Borghoff, Uwe M., Minas, Mark, Schopp, Jannis
The rapid emergence of generative AI tools is transforming the way software is developed. Consequently, software engineering education must adapt to ensure that students not only learn traditional development methods but also understand how to meaningfully and responsibly use these new technologies. In particular, project-based courses offer an effective environment to explore and evaluate the integration of AI assistance into real-world development practices. This paper presents our approach and a user study conducted within a university programming project in which students collaboratively developed computer games. The study investigates how participants used generative AI tools throughout different phases of the software development process, identifies the types of tasks where such tools were most effective, and analyzes the challenges students encountered. Building on these insights, we further examine a repository-aware, locally deployed large language model (LLM) assistant designed to provide project-contextualized support. The system employs Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to ground responses in relevant documentation and source code, enabling qualitative analysis of model behavior, parameter sensitivity, and common failure modes. The findings deepen our understanding of context-aware AI support in educational software projects and inform future integration of AI-based assistance into software engineering curricula.