This study explores the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) assistant in educational settings, focusing on two key teacher-student interaction activities: Teacher-Student Book Talk and Book Wish Lists. Conducted at an elementary school in northern Taiwan, semi-structured interviews to identify the main challenges and difficulties faced by teachers. The literature review highlighted the significant potential of AI as an educational assistant. Using a design-based research approach, several interviews with teachers led to the development and optimization of a digital system designed to address these challenges. The identified challenges included tracking classroom book availability, managing students' reading histories with paper-based wish lists, and recording book talk activities. The implemented system enabled teachers to efficiently track students' reading histories, manage book recommendations, and facilitate AI-assisted book talk. Results showed that the system not only streamlined the management of reading activities, significantly reducing teacher workload, but also enhanced the quality of teacher-student interactions by providing personalized guidance. While some teachers noted an increased workload in managing new content, overall feedback was positive, with a strong willingness to continue using the system. This study addresses previous challenges in managing reading activities and demonstrates that AI-assisted book talk can improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of educational activities. Future research will explore the integration of AI with learning companions to further support reading among parents, teachers, and students.

This pilot study explores the potential of AI book talk companion to enhance students' self-efficacy, a critical factor in learning engagement, persistence, and academic achievement. The AI book talk companion system was designed to facilitate real-time interaction, providing immediate feedback and encouragement following students' reading activities. The study involved fourth to sixth-grade students, employing an exploratory design to assess the system's initial impact on their self- efficacy. While the findings did not indicate a significant increase in self-efficacy, there was a noticeable improvement in students' performance during book talk activities. This improvement suggests that the depth of interaction with the AI companion increased over time, with the quality of content output gradually approaching that of interactions with teachers. These preliminary results suggest that AI book talk companion hold promise for supporting student self-efficacy, meriting further investigation and application in educational settings.

Studies suggest that questioning is a potent cognitive tool that can guide students toward a more profound engagement with their learning and comprehension, mainly driven by their innate curiosity. In conventional teaching methods, instructors often assign writing topics directly, causing a lack of enthusiasm and hindering students' ability to generate original ideas. This circumstance can gradually breed an aversion to writing. In response to this challenge, our research aims to introduce a question-oriented activity that provides students with a participatory platform for idea generation and organization. By engaging in group collaboration and brainstorming, questioning elements are presented to stimulate students' curiosity. Participation in this activity allows students to compile a broad range of ideas for future writing tasks. The intended outcome is to aid students in developing coherent ideas, bolster their motivation for writing, and refine their skills in questioning.

This study confronts the issue of insufficient writing practice among elementary students, a concern prevalent in Taiwan. Despite the integral role of writing in learning, students frequently need more opportunities for consistent writing practice, affecting their reading and writing abilities. This research proposes a novel approach through an artificial intelligence-based "Writing Companion," designed to supplement the writing practice gap in current education. Three design mechanisms of the Writing Companion include facilitating autonomous writing opportunities, providing writing prompts, and aiding self-monitoring of the writing process. By encouraging consistent writing habits and promoting a balance of writing practice and strategy learning, this study aims to enhance students' writing literacy and motivation. The findings may provide critical insights into harnessing artificial intelligence to improve writing education.

As a medium of communication, language encapsulates four core competencies: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Notably, speaking, which facilitates direct communication, is critical. Yet, Taiwan's English pedagogy heavily emphasizes reading, inadvertently fostering a deficit in speaking skills among students. Addressing this, the current study proposes an English conversational practice system that adheres to language acquisition tenets, integrating 10-minute mini-lessons for English listening and speaking exercises. In these activities, students utilize a natural approach, engaging with the system-provided English conversational audio to refine their listening and speaking skills. The system, furnished with a recording function, empowers students to engage in self-paced English listening and speaking practice during their free time. The process of "listening to system audio, followed by speaking practice (recording), and re-recording" offers students corrective feedback from their recordings, enhancing their pronunciation, grammar, and fluency - vital elements of conversational competency. Additionally, the system incorporates a voice-based chatbot, facilitating situational speaking exercises based on the practice topics. The overarching goal of this study is to instill in students the skill to transfer their learning to diverse conversational contexts they might encounter, fostering habitual speaking to mitigate the disparity in the development of the four English language skills.

Extensive reading enhances horizons, deepens understanding, and nurtures critical thinking. This study aims to gamify reading goals, turning teacher-recommended books into engaging game levels. Books are categorized and distributed by genre and depth. And we will design achievement medals, allowing students to earn medals upon meeting specific criteria. The goal is to boost reading interest, fostering a passion for learning through accomplishments. This research addresses selective reading, encouraging exploration of varied genres while nurturing a genuine love for reading.