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Metacognitive awareness could empower students to monitor their understanding and performance in various subjects, allowing them to identify areas where they may be struggling. By regulating their learning strategies, students can employ more effective approaches to studying, adjusting their methods in response to their performance and comprehension levels. Previous studies showed that accurate metacognitive judgments using metacognitive prompts such as retrospective confidence judgments (RCJ) are essential for making informed decisions about study strategies and problem-solving. Hence, this study investigates how the metacognitive judgment question influence students’ metacognitive awareness. Participants were divided into two groups. Group A engaged in their learning using a location-based AR environment, while Group B completed their learning through a computer-based platform. After the learning sessions, both groups filled out the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) questionnaires to assess their experiences. In the AR condition, students used Microsoft HoloLens and the Near Field Electromagnetic Range (NFER) system to learn biomechanics concepts through a hands-on activity. To compare the results from the AR condition, the study also explored metacognitive awareness in a computer-based task focused on program comprehension. We hypothesize that there are significant MAI differences between the AR and computer-based learning environments. This study provides insights into the role of metacognition and learning environments, with implications for enhancing metacognitive skills in diverse educational contexts. 

In this work, we show that ultralight dark photons, which couple to the Standard Model photon through kinetic mixing, can potentially source galactic scale magnetic fields. Although these magnetic fields would be too weak to detect at present in galaxies due to plasma screening effects, we show that dark photons can provide the seed magnetic field strength ( ${10}^{-20}\mathrm{G}$ ) required for dynamo amplification in galaxies. Such dynamo-amplified magnetic fields are consistent with observations of $\mathrm{\mu }\mathrm{G}$ strength galactic magnetic fields. 

Prior research has found that teacher reflection is important for both teachers’ professional development and students’ learning, but frequent, effective reflection faces many obstacles. Could an analytics-based reflection tool help address these barriers? Reflecto is a novel teacher-facing tool designed to support teachers in reflecting (after-the-fact) on their classroom practices during sessions when students are engaged with intelligent tutoring systems. Whereas many teacher analytics tools support real-time decision-making in class, Reflecto aims to promote teacher agency through out-of-class teacher-initiated, data-driven exploration of possible trends in their classroom practice. Unlike many other analytics tools, it combines learning analytics and teaching analytics. 

Abstract. Green building education prioritizes workforce development to promote high-performing and net zero building adoptions. However, the concept and principles of net zero and building energy have rarely been reflected in the curriculum and instruction of K-12 science education in the United States. This research investigates the design and development of simulation game development paired with a science curriculum to teach green building design and energy principles in rural middle schools. This paper presents our education game development aligned with the newly developed curriculum unit that will be distributed to science classrooms. Green Building Design Studio game was developed from the following research phases: (i) Game scenario design, (ii) Energy simulation module creation, (iii) ML-prediction model development, and (iv) Cost estimation module creation. In ML prediction, the XGBoost algorithm demonstrated reliable performance and accuracy. The game was tested in a 3-day science immersion summer camp with twenty-seven middle school students in Missouri. The research team observed that the game enabled students to iterate de sign changes and promptly see the updated results from the dashboard. This paper describes the game development framework, methods and tools for energy simulation, ML prediction, and game development, as well as the findings and challenges.