{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T13:59:31Z","timestamp":1790171971774,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"American Society for Microbiology","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790121600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790121600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/non-commercial-tdm-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.asm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["J Microbiol Biol Educ."],"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title\/>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Critical thinking and persuasive communication are essential for biology graduates navigating socioscientific dilemmas. While debate pedagogy fosters problem-solving, autonomy, competence, and relatedness aligned with adult learning and self-determination theories, inexperienced students often struggle with the cognitive load and anxiety from this format. To bridge this gap, \u201cDr. Contrarian,\u201d a persona-based conversational AI agent, was developed to function as an adversarial coach during debate preparation. Survey data (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 21) adapted from the Technology Acceptance Model show that 85.7% of students found the tool easy to use, and 71.4% would use it again. Thematic analysis of metacognitive reflections suggests that while Dr. Contrarian facilitated meaningful cognitive engagement, spontaneous live rebuttals remain challenging for most students. Ultimately, by serving as a low-stakes ideological sandbox, this instructor-designed AI tool overcomes pedagogical barriers faced by novice debaters, allowing students to fully engage in and benefit from classroom debates.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1128\/jmbe.00178-26","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T13:01:18Z","timestamp":1790168478000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/asmj-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Dr. Contrarian: a persona-driven conversational AI agent for coaching argumentative reasoning in infectious disease classroom debates"],"prefix":"10.1128","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2976-1965","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Khayriyyah","family":"Mohd Hanafiah","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05ech9204","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Division of Life Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, St. John Fisher University","place":["Rochester, USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"235","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_2","unstructured":"American Association for the Advancement of Science. 2009. Vision and change in undergraduate biology education: a call to action. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Washington . https:\/\/www.aaas.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2025-07\/Vision%20%26%20Change%20A%20Call%20to%20Action%202011_0.pdf."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/87567555.2021.1910477"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3205\/zma001245"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_2","volume-title":"The adult learner: the definitive classic in adult education and human resource development","author":"Knowles MS","year":"2015","unstructured":"Knowles MS, Holton EF, Swanson RA. 2015. The adult learner: the definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. 8th ed. Routledge, London New York.","edition":"8"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1521\/978.14625\/28806"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_7_2","first-page":"e13","article-title":"Student perceptions of the use of debate as a teaching strategy in the allied health professions","volume":"36","author":"Randolph DS","year":"2007","unstructured":"Randolph DS. 2007. Student perceptions of the use of debate as a teaching strategy in the allied health professions. J Allied Health 36:e13\u201329.","journal-title":"J Allied Health"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_8_2","volume-title":"Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health: WHO guidance","author":"WHO","year":"2021","unstructured":"WHO. 2021. Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health: WHO guidance. 1st ed. World Health Organization, Geneva.","edition":"1"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s41239-024-00453-6"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nepr.2025.104697"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ICETM67477.2025.11413580"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/jmbe.00122-25"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/249008"}],"container-title":["Journal of Microbiology &amp; Biology Education"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1128\/jmbe.00178-26","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1128\/jmbe.00178-26","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T13:01:21Z","timestamp":1790168481000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/doi\/10.1128\/jmbe.00178-26"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Nancy M.","family":"Boury","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]]},"references-count":12,"alternative-id":["10.1128\/jmbe.00178-26"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/jmbe.00178-26","relation":{},"ISSN":["1935-7877","1935-7885"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1935-7877","type":"print"},{"value":"1935-7885","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2026-06-25","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-09-09","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-09-23","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e00178-26"}}