Research

Research Method

Our research combines Design Science and Design-Based Research and Action Research as complementary approaches. Design Science guides the development of educational technologies by providing systematic methods to design, construct, and rigorously evaluate artifacts such as platforms, tools, and frameworks. It produces validated technological artifacts and reusable design principles. Design-Based Research focuses on the application of these technologies in authentic educational contexts. Through iterative collaboration with practitioners, it studies how technologies affect teaching and learning, generating knowledge about learning processes and deriving actionable theory.

As applied researchers, we go beyond empirical evaluation and use Action Research to bring newly developed and empirically evaluated technologies into practice. Through iterative cycles of planning, action, and reflection, we work directly with educators and institutions to deploy, refine, and scale our solutions in real-world settings. For example, Artemis, our open-source learning platform, and Iris, its AI-powered virtual tutor, have been developed, evaluated, and continuously improved through close collaboration with instructors and students across multiple universities. Together, these methods allow us to advance the field of educational technologies with solutions that are both scientifically validated and pedagogically impactful.

Research Fields

Education Technologies
The research field of Education Technologies at the research group of Applied Education Technologiesfocuses on the development of software systems and the processes and methods used to develop them. The research field covers a wide range of topics, including competencies, team-based learning, automatic assessment, learning platforms, machine learning, DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion), learning analytics, adaptive learning, K12 / Schools, security, and infrastructure.

Generative AI in Education
We research how generative AI and large language models can improve teaching and learning at scale. Our work includes developing Iris, an AI-driven virtual tutor integrated into the Artemis learning platform, using LLMs for automated assessment and feedback on programming exercises, and studying the impact of AI support on student learning outcomes, stress, and performance. We also investigate how generative AI can enhance discussion forums and explore the opportunities and challenges of responsibly integrating AI into higher education.

Human Computer Interaction
The research field of Human Computer Interaction at the research group of Applied Education Technologiesfocuses on the design and evaluation of interactive systems. The research field covers a wide range of topics, including interaction design, user involvement, user experience, creativity, user model, interactive technology, mockups, and prototyping.

Software Engineering
The research field of Software Engineering at the research group of Applied Education Technologiesfocuses on the development of software systems and the processes and methods used to develop them. The research field covers a wide range of topics, including agile development, mobile development, continuous software engineering, modeling, innovation, project courses, distributed systems, deployment, and DevOps.


Publications

Publications
↓ 2026

↓ 2025

↓ 2024

↓ 2023

ChatGPT for Good? on Opportunities and Challenges of Large Language Models for Education
Enkelejda Kasneci, Kathrin Sessler, Stefan Küchemann, Maria Bannert, Daryna Dementieva, Frank Fischer, Urs Gasser, Georg Groh, Stephan Günnemann, Eyke Hüllermeier, Stephan Krusche, Gitta Kutyniok, Tilman Michaeli, Claudia Nerdel, Jürgen Pfeffer, Oleksandra Poquet, Michael Sailer, Albrecht Schmidt, Tina Seidel, ..., and Gjergji Kasneci.
In: Learning and Individual Differences, Volume: 103. March 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2023.102274

↓ 2022

What Makes Agile Software Development Agile?
Marco Kuhrmann, Paolo Tell, Regina Hebig, Jil Klünder, Jürgen Münch, Oliver Linssen, Dietmar Pfahl, Michael Felderer, Christian R. Prause, Stephen G. MacDonell, Joyce Nakatumba-Nabende, David Raffo, Sarah Beecham, Eray Tüzün, Gustavo López, Nicolás Paez, Diego Fontdevila, Sherlock A. Licorish, Steffen Küpper, ..., and Ita Richardson.
In: Transactions on Software Engineering, Volume: 48. July 2022. doi: 10.1109/TSE.2021.3099532 [BibTeX]

↓ 2021

↓ 2020

↓ 2019

Continuous Data-Driven Software Engineering - Towards a Research Agenda: Report on the Joint 5th International Workshop on Rapid Continuous Software Engineering (RCoSE 2019) and 1st International Works
Ilias Gerostathopoulos, Marco Konersmann, Stephan Krusche, David Issa Mattos, Jan Bosch, Tomás Bures, Brian Fitzgerald, Michael Goedicke, Henry Muccini, Helena Holmström Olsson, Thomas Brand, Robert Chatley, Nikolaos Diamantopoulos, Arik Friedman, Miguel Jiménez, Jan Ole Johanssen, Putra Manggala, Masumi Koseki, Jorge Melegati, ..., and Iris Figalist.
In: ACM SIGSOFT Softw. Eng. Notes, Volume: 44. November 2019. doi: 10.1145/3356773.3356811 [BibTeX]

Catching Up With Method and Process Practice: An Industry-Informed Baseline for Researchers
Jil Klünder, Regina Hebig, Paolo Tell, Marco Kuhrmann, Joyce Nakatumba-Nabende, Rogardt Heldal, Stephan Krusche, Masud Fazal-Baqaie, Michael Felderer, Marcela Fabiana Genero Bocco, Steffen Küpper, Sherlock A. Licorish, Gustavo López, Fergal McCaffery, Özden Özcan Top, Christian R. Prause, Rafael Prikladnicki, Eray Tüzün, Dietmar Pfahl, ..., and Stephen G. MacDonell.
41st International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Practice (ICSE SEIP '19 , 255-264) . Montreal, QC, Canada, May 2019. doi: 10.1109/ICSE-SEIP.2019.00036

↓ 2018

Towards Understanding the Motivation of German Organizations to Apply Certain Software Development Methods
Jil Klünder, Philipp Hohl, Steffen Küpper, Stephan Krusche, Pernille Lous, Masud Fazal-Baqaie, and Christian R. Prause.
International Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement (PROFES '18, 449-456) . November 2018. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-03673-7_36 [BibTeX]

50 Years of Software Engineering: Challenges, Results, and Opportunities in Its Education
Stephan Krusche, Bruce Scharlau, \AAsa Cajander, and Janet M. Hughes.
23rd Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE '18, 362-363) . July 2018. doi: 10.1145/3197091.3205848

↓ 2017

↓ 2016

↓ 2015

↓ 2014

↓ 2013

↓ 2012

↓ 2011


Completed Doctoral Dissertations
↓ 2022


↓ 2016