Developing a multi-layer agent framework to enhance AI-generated educational questions for cybersecurity
摘要
This study evaluates the quality of questions generated by large language models, such as ChatGPT, in the context of cybersecurity education, using the CompTIA Security + certification as a case study. By analyzing 360 human-authored questions across 17 chapters and comparing them with AI-generated counterparts, the study employs Bloom’s Taxonomy to assess the cognitive levels achieved. The results reveal that AI-generated questions are predominantly limited to lower-order cognitive tasks, such as remembering and understanding, with significant gaps in addressing higher-order cognitive tasks, including applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. To address these limitations, a multi-layer agent framework was developed and implemented on a website. This framework integrates the ChatGPT API and processes the generated questions through multiple stages of evaluation, aligning them with Bloom’s Taxonomy and enhancing their quality. The framework includes scenario-based refinements, domain-specific fine-tuning, and a feedback mechanism to iteratively improve the cognitive depth of the questions. The agent systematically aligns AI-generated content with higher Bloom’s levels, making the questions more robust and applicable to real-world contexts. Evaluation of the framework demonstrates notable advancements in the quality of AI-generated questions, achieving closer alignment with human-authored content in terms of cognitive complexity, scenario depth, and relevance. The agent achieved substantial improvements in generating higher-order cognitive tasks, addressing the limitations of baseline AI performance. This study provides a scalable foundation for leveraging large language models in high-stakes educational assessments, with implications for adaptive learning and enhanced question design across diverse domains.