Mindful-condition students completed fewer problem-solving steps and requested fewer hints per step than Cognitive-condition students¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

In Rief et al. (2026), seventh graders practised algebra in the "Math with Matt" tutoring system. The Mindful version added an LLM-based mindful chat, in which the pedagogical agent Matt gave context-sensitive emotional support, and mindful (not only evaluative) feedback and hint messages; the Cognitive version gave cognitive support only.

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Mindful students completed significantly fewer problem-solving steps on average. → Rief 2026 q2 i? Mindful students used significantly fewer hints per completed step. → Rief 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Rief 2026¶

Rief, V., Hladký, M., Yoo, M., Heel, S., Sato, S., Nagashima, T. (2026). Beyond Problem Solving: Large Language Models for Emotional and Reflective Support in Mathematics Learning. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.02611 doi:10.48550/arxiv.2609.02611

q2 · i? · causal · r2

Exploratory analysis of tutor log data collected from all 252 participating students: Mindful students averaged 12.43 steps versus 21.28 for Cognitive students; the Mann-Whitney-U difference was statistically significant (W=11930, p<.001); no effect size was printed.

"Students in the Mindful group completed on average 12.43 math solving steps, which corresponded to the middle of the third problem in Unit 1. The difference between the groups was statistically significant (Mann-Whitney-U,W = 11930,p< .001)."

Rief 2026 (2)¶

Rief, V., Hladký, M., Yoo, M., Heel, S., Sato, S., Nagashima, T. (2026). Beyond Problem Solving: Large Language Models for Emotional and Reflective Support in Mathematics Learning. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.02611. doi:10.48550/arxiv.2609.02611

q2 · i? · causal · r2

Log-data analysis of hint use per completed step (three hints available per step): Cognitive M=1.06 versus Mindful M=0.61, a significant Mann-Whitney-U difference (W=8645, p=.002); no effect size was printed.

"students in the Cognitive group usedM= 1.06 hints per step and students in the Mindful group usedM= 0.61 hints. This group difference was significant (Mann-Whitney-U,W= 8645,p= .002)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Error rates per completed problem-solving step did not significantly differ between conditions — related
• Hint Factory MDP-generated hints gave correct next-step hints over 80% of the time and a pilot showed students solved more logic proofs with hints — related
• A warning message about potential AI mistakes increases seventh-graders' hint requests in a math intelligent tutoring system — related
• Not requesting any hints in at least one problem is related to greater wheel-spinning, consistent with help avoidance — related
• Students in the combined condition tended to make fewer errors and request fewer hints over time than students in individual-only or collaborative-only conditions — related