Integrating AI-assisted design thinking in citizenship education: Enhancing university students’ problem analysis and critical thinking skills

Novia Wahyu Wardhani; Eni Rahmawati; Ganda Febri Kurniawan

doi:10.21831/jc.v23i2.94331

Authors

Novia Wahyu Wardhani Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0661-7103
Eni Rahmawati Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia
Ganda Febri Kurniawan Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21831/jc.v23i2.94331

Keywords:

artificial intelligence, citizenship education, critical reasoning, design thinking, higher education

Abstract

This study aims to analyse the implementation of an AI-assisted design thinking learning model in enhancing university students’ problem analysis and critical thinking skills in Citizenship Education programmes. The study employed a qualitative approach involving undergraduate students from several Citizenship Education programmes at universities on Java Island, Indonesia. The learning implementation integrated artificial intelligence (AI) to assist students in exploring information, generating ideas and reflecting on solutions to civic and social issues. Research data were collected through observations of the learning process, analysis of students’ assignment documents, AI-assisted interaction records and group discussions conducted during the implementation of the model. Data were analysed descriptively to identify the dynamics of the learning process at each stage of design thinking. The findings indicate that AI-assisted design thinking encouraged students to engage actively in social problem analysis and problem-solving. During the empathise stage, students identified social issues through digital information exploration, AI use and group discussions, enabling them to understand problems from multiple perspectives. In the define stage, students formulated problems more systematically by identifying causal relationships and the underlying social contexts. The ideate stage encouraged students to generate alternative solutions creatively and collaboratively through group discussions and AI-supported idea development. In the prototype and test stages, students developed solution designs in the form of programmes or simple policy models and evaluated their effectiveness through reflection, feedback and AI-assisted analysis. The study concludes that AI supports, but does not replace, students’ critical reasoning, the quality of which depends on reflective pedagogical design.

References

Alrakhman, R., Budimansyah, D., Sapriya, S., & Rahmat, R. (2024). The effect of digital citizenship on the quality learning civic education. Jurnal Civics: Media Kajian Kewarganegaraan, 21(1), 29–40. https://doi.org/10.21831/jc.v21i1.67086

Amirian, S. M. R., Ghaniabadi, S., Heydarnejad, T., & Abbasi, S. (2023). The contribution of critical thinking and self-efficacy beliefs to teaching style preferences in higher education. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 15(3), 745–761. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-11-2021-0441

Anisa, A. R., Ipungkarti, A. A., & Saffanah, K. N. (2021). Pengaruh kurangnya literasi serta kemampuan dalam berpikir kritis yang masih rendah dalam pendidikan di Indonesia [The effect of limited literacy and persistently low critical thinking skills on education in Indonesia]. Current Research in Education: Conference Series Journal, 1(1), 1–12.

Ariani, D., Isnaeni, W., Djuniadi, D., Rusilowati, A., & Sukaesih, S. (2025). Systematic literature review: Tren penelitian literasi sains siswa SMA berorientasi PISA di Indonesia periode 2016–2025 [Systematic literature review: Trends in PISA-oriented research on senior high school students’ scientific literacy in Indonesia, 2016–2025]. Jurnal Pendidikan MIPA, 15(4), 1771–1782. https://doi.org/10.37630/jpm.v15i4.3683

Aston, K. J. (2024). ‘Why is this hard, to have critical thinking?’ Exploring the factors affecting critical thinking with international higher education students. Active Learning in Higher Education, 25(3), 537–550. https://doi.org/10.1177/14697874231168341

Auh, Y., & Kim, C. (2024). Global citizenship education: Towards a critical moral pedagogy. Social Education Research, 5(2), 450–471. https://doi.org/10.37256/ser.5220244897

Benjamin, A. (2024). Studying the student’s perceptions of engagement and problem-solving skills for academic achievement in chemistry at the higher secondary level. Education and Information Technologies, 29(7), 8347–8368. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12165-x

Bosch, N., Härkki, T., & Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, P. (2025). Teachers as reflective learning experience designers: Bringing design thinking into school-based design and maker education. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 43, Article 100695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2024.100695

Bosio, E. (2023). Global citizenship education as a reflexive dialogic pedagogy. Citizenship Teaching & Learning, 18(2), 177–194. https://doi.org/10.1386/ctl_00119_1

Chen, H., Lewis, H., & Myhill, D. (2021). Fostering critical reasoning: Developing argumentative competence in early and middle primary years. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 44(2), 46–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03652072

Culver, K. C., Braxton, J., & Pascarella, E. (2019). Does teaching rigorously really enhance undergraduates’ intellectual development? The relationship of academic rigor with critical thinking skills and lifelong learning motivations. Higher Education, 78(4), 611–627. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00361-z

Darmawan, I. G. N., Maadad, N., & Ben, F. (2025). Twenty-five years of PISA in Southeast Asia: Cross-national studies of student performance in mathematics, science, and reading (2000–2025). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003632160

Facione, P. A. (2015). Critical thinking: What it is and why it counts. Insight Assessment.

Fong, C. J., Kim, Y., Davis, C. W., Hoang, T., & Kim, Y. W. (2017). A meta-analysis on critical thinking and community college student achievement. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 26, 71–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2017.06.002

Ghanizadeh, A. (2017). The interplay between reflective thinking, critical thinking, self-monitoring, and academic achievement in higher education. Higher Education, 74(1), 101–114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0031-y

Guaman-Quintanilla, S., Everaert, P., Chiluiza, K., & Valcke, M. (2023). Impact of design thinking in higher education: A multi-actor perspective on problem solving and creativity. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 33(1), 217–240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-021-09724-z

Huang, M.-H., & Rust, R. T. (2018). Artificial intelligence in service. Journal of Service Research, 21(2), 155–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670517752459

Karunarathne, W. S. (2026). Design thinking in the digital world: Enhancing user experience. In K. S. Chandrasekar & A. Wickramasinghe (Eds.), Design thinking applications and challenges for modern business (pp. 111–144). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3373-3038-9.ch003

Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., III, & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (8th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315816951

Leem, S. (2024). Unveiling the design thinking process in interdisciplinary education. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 51, Article 101438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101438

Makokha, J. M., & Cakmakci, G. (2026). Design thinking applied to science teaching and learning. In B. Akpan & B. Svendsen (Eds.), The convergence of learning sciences and science education (pp. 151–164). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-16939-6_8

Martha, A. S. D., Junus, K., Santoso, H. B., & Suhartanto, H. (2021). Assessing undergraduate students’ e-learning competencies: A case study of higher education context in Indonesia. Education Sciences, 11(4), Article 189. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11040189

McKenney, S., & Reeves, T. C. (2025). Educational design research for relevant & robust scholarship. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 37(2), 614–638. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-025-09456-2

Micheli, P., Wilner, S. J. S., Bhatti, S. H., Mura, M., & Beverland, M. B. (2019). Doing design thinking: Conceptual review, synthesis, and research agenda. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 36(2), 124–148. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12466

Nurjamin, A., Abd Rahim, N., Nurjamin, L. R., & Fajriah, Y. N. (2026). Evaluating cognitive depth and multimodality in Indonesian elementary textbooks based on the PISA 2022 reading literacy framework in the 2024 revised edition [Preprint]. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9310643/v1

Schoormann, T., Stadtländer, M., & Knackstedt, R. (2023). Act and reflect: Integrating reflection into design thinking. Journal of Management Information Systems, 40(1), 7–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2023.2172773

Song, X. (2016). ‘Critical thinking’ and pedagogical implications for higher education. East Asia, 33(1), 25–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-015-9250-6

Sousa, D., Morris, P., & Moss, P. (2026). The International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study, PISA, and the decline of the OECD’s testing regime. Globalisation, Societies and Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2025.2601162

Tang, K.-Y., Chang, C.-Y., & Hwang, G.-J. (2023). Trends in artificial intelligence-supported e-learning: A systematic review and co-citation network analysis (1998–2019). Interactive Learning Environments, 31(4), 2134–2152. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2021.1875001

Tanshzil, S. W., Suryadi, K., Komalasari, K., & Anggraeni, L. (2023). Comparative analysis of the anti-radicalism value project model and the conventional model in improving citizen commitment. Jurnal Civics: Media Kajian Kewarganegaraan, 20(2), 370–380. https://doi.org/10.21831/jc.v20i2.64617

Van Damme, D., Zahner, D., Cortellini, O., Dawber, T., & Rotholz, K. (2023). Assessing and developing critical-thinking skills in higher education. European Journal of Education, 58(3), 369–386. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12563

Wagino, W., Maksum, H., Purwanto, W., Simatupang, W., Lapisa, R., & Indrawan, E. (2024). Enhancing learning outcomes and student engagement: Integrating e-learning innovations into problem-based higher education. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, 18(10). https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v18i10.47649

Wahid, A., Afni, N., & Sujarwo, S. (2025). Promoting learners’ autonomy through metacognitive, higher-order thinking skills and digital literacy of Indonesian private universities. Educational Process: International Journal, 26, Article e2025204.

Wale, B. D., & Bishaw, K. S. (2020). Effects of using inquiry-based learning on EFL students’ critical thinking skills. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 5(1), Article 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-020-00090-2

Zawacki-Richter, O., Marín, V. I., Bond, M., & Gouverneur, F. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education – where are the educators? International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16, Article 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0171-0