Using AI-Generated Feedback to Improve Critical Thinking and Writing Proficiency

Synthesis: This study developed the Writing Improvement and Smart Evaluation Agent (WISE Agent), an AI feedback tool targeting textual logic and perspective biases in student essays. A three-month intervention with 260 Chinese sixth-grade students found structural optimizations in critical thinking dimensions rather than a uniform increase in total scores. Lower-performing students advanced in evidence selection while higher-performing students excelled in perspective diversification, suggesting WISE Agent serves as an effective cognitive scaffold for incremental critical thinking development through personalized feedback loops.

Key Findings

This study developed the Writing Improvement and Smart Evaluation Agent (WISE Agent), an AI feedback tool targeting textual logic and perspective biases in student essays. A three-month intervention with 260 Chinese sixth-grade students found structural optimizations in critical thinking dimensions rather than a uniform increase in total scores. Lower-performing students advanced in evidence selection while higher-performing students excelled in perspective diversification, suggesting WISE Agent serves as an effective cognitive scaffold for incremental critical thinking development through personalized feedback loops.

The work contributes to understanding of Critical Thinking in educational contexts, with implications for Automated Grading, Scaffolding.

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Citation

Zhu, Q., Zhai, X., Zou, Y., & Gao, C. (2026). Using AI-Generated Feedback to Improve Critical Thinking and Writing Proficiency. arXiv:2608.05177.