Jinhua Yang, Tianyue Niu
Introduction Artificial intelligence-driven feedback and assessment have become increasingly important teaching approaches in design education. However, empirical evidence regarding their impact on students' critical thinking remains limited. Methods To address this gap, this study employed a mixed-methods design involving a three-week intervention with 70 undergraduate design students. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group ( n = 38) and a control group ( n = 32), both with comparable academic backgrounds. Standardized instruments were used to measure students' critical thinking abilities before and after the intervention. During an age-friendly design workshop, the experimental group received AI-assisted feedback and assessment, while the control group completed the same instructional activities without AI support. Results The results indicated that the experimental group demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in critical thinking abilities compared to the control group after the intervention ( p < 0.05). Qualitative analysis further revealed several mechanisms through which AI-assisted feedback supported students' reflective thinking, iterative design processes, and problem-solving strategies. Discussion These findings suggest that AI- effectively enhance critical thinking in design education. The study contributes empirical evidence to the growing body of research on AI-supported learning and provides practical implications for integrating AI tools into workshop-based design instruction to foster higher-order thinking skills.