Toward intelligent education: understanding the cognitive upgrading phenomenon among university students

In the future of intelligent education, enhancing the cognitive ability of students is a promising avenue worth investigating. Although most educational services address students’ explicit knowledge needs, exploring beyond cognitive boundaries to upgrade cognition are rare. In this study, we employ a hybrid approach combining quantitative questionnaire and qualitative epistemic network analysis to investigate the ‘cognitive upgrading’ experiences of 235 university students. Findings of the inquiry indicate: ① ‘Cognitive upgrading’ represents a prevalent and objectively discernible necessity for students, indicating the significance for facilitating its promotion; ②Current information resources cannot directionally guide students towards cognitive upgrading, necessitating the intervention of a third-party to render sporadic events manageable; ③The existing paradigms of cognitive upgrading can be categorized into eight quadrants. There still lacks a data-driven approach to be fully explored for more effectively facilitating the happening occurrence; ④Students with disparity in genders, educational backgrounds, and disciplines exhibit significant differences in cognitive upgrading, suggesting that training programs tailored to students’ characteristics can provide targeted support for enhancing cognitive upgrading efficacy. The study provides valuable insights for educators to implement cognitive upgrading strategies and paves a new path towards cognitive upgrading in intelligent education.