# LitLinker: Supporting the Ideation of Interdisciplinary Contexts with Large Language Models for Teaching Literature in Elementary Schools

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.16097 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.16097/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 18 of its 66 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 22 Feb 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 18 of 18)

- [Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.11401/) (2020)
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- [AI-Augmented Brainwriting: Investigating the use of LLMs in group ideation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.14978/) (2024)
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- [CreativeGAN: Editing Generative Adversarial Networks for Creative Design Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.06242/) (2021)
- [The AI Revolution in Education: Will AI Replace or Assist Teachers in Higher Education?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.01185/) (2023)
- [Selenite: Scaffolding Online Sensemaking with Comprehensive Overviews Elicited from Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.02161/) (2023)
- [DiscipLink: Unfolding Interdisciplinary Information Seeking Process via Human-AI Co-Exploration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.00447/) (2024)
- [Qlarify: Recursively Expandable Abstracts for Directed Information Retrieval over Scientific Papers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.07581/) (2023)
- [C2Ideas: Supporting Creative Interior Color Design Ideation with Large Language Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.12586/) (2024)
- [Charting the Future of AI in Project-Based Learning: A Co-Design Exploration with Students](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.14915/) (2024)
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- [DiaryHelper: Exploring the Use of an Automatic Contextual Information Recording Agent for Elicitation Diary Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.19738/) (2024)
- [LessonPlanner: Assisting Novice Teachers to Prepare Pedagogy-Driven Lesson Plans with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.01102/) (2024)
- [FathomGPT: A Natural Language Interface for Interactively Exploring Ocean Science Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.02784/) (2024)
- [DesignQuizzer: A Community-Powered Conversational Agent for Learning Visual Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.12019/) (2023)
- [VizGroup: An AI-Assisted Event-Driven System for Real-Time Collaborative Programming Learning Analytics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.08743/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Teaching literature under interdisciplinary contexts (e.g., science, art) that connect reading materials has become popular in elementary schools. However, constructing such contexts is challenging as it requires teachers to explore substantial amounts of interdisciplinary content and link it to the reading materials. In this paper, we develop LitLinker via an iterative design process involving 13 teachers to facilitate the ideation of interdisciplinary contexts for teaching literature. Powered by a large language model (LLM), LitLinker can recommend interdisciplinary topics and contextualize them with the literary elements (e.g., paragraphs, viewpoints) in the reading materials. A within-subjects study (N=16) shows that compared to an LLM chatbot, LitLinker can improve the integration depth of different subjects and reduce workload in this ideation task. Expert interviews (N=9) also demonstrate LitLinker's usefulness for supporting the ideation of interdisciplinary contexts for teaching literature. We conclude with concerns and design considerations for supporting interdisciplinary teaching with LLMs.