ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Digital Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1597249
Generative AI as a Cognitive Mediator: A Critical-Constructivist Inquiry into Computational Thinking in Secondary Education
Provisionally accepted
Jonathan Arturo Sanchez Munoz1
Gustavo Flores-Eraña1
Juan Manuel Silva-Campos1
Rigoberto Chavira-Quintero2
José Manuel Olais-Govea1,3*- 1School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM), Monterrey, Mexico
- 2Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
- 3School of Humanities and Education, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Monterrey, Nuevo León4, Mexico
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This qualitative study investigates how high school students engage with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), particularly ChatGPT, and how this interaction shapes computational thinking and knowledge construction. Drawing on a critical-constructivist framework, the research employs an action-research methodology structured around design thinking, prompt engineering, Python programming, and elevator pitch activities. Through content analysis, the study traces the evolution of students' cognitive strategies, focusing on how they learn to formulate effective prompts, assess and refine AI-generated responses, and iterate on their problem-solving approaches. Findings indicate that while GenAI supports creativity and computational fluency, it also raises challenges related to epistemic vigilance, critical reflection, and project feasibility. Rather than acting as a neutral tool, GenAI operates as a semiotic mediator and epistemic co-participant, reshaping the student–knowledge relationship and the dynamics of the learning process. The study concludes that pedagogically grounded integration of GenAI must balance automation with the cultivation of analytical, ethical, and metacognitive capacities. These insights contribute to ongoing debates on AI-enhanced education, emphasizing the value of structured, reflexive pedagogies for fostering critical digital literacy and epistemic agency at the secondary level.
Keywords: Generative artificial intelligence, Computational thinking, AI-mediated learning, epistemic agency, Critical constructivism, Educational innovation
Received: 20 Mar 2025; Accepted: 05 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sanchez Munoz, Flores-Eraña, Silva-Campos, Chavira-Quintero and Olais-Govea. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: José Manuel Olais-Govea, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM), Monterrey, Mexico
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