Intelligent Systems Podcast: Doug Lombardi on Scientific Thinking, Digital Literacy, and AI-Supported Learning
In this episode of the University of Memphis Institute for Intelligent Systems’ Intelligent Systems podcast, Dr. Leah Windsor speaks with Dr. Doug Lombardi about how learners develop scientific thinking, evaluate information, and reason through competing explanations. Their conversation explores digital media literacy, lateral reading, scientific uncertainty, curiosity, collaborative reasoning, and the potential for AI tools to help teachers create adaptable learning materials while preserving student agency and critical reflection.
About Dr. Doug Lombardi
Dr. Doug Lombardi is a professor in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Graduate Studies in the College of Education at the University of Maryland. He leads the Science Learning Research Group, which studies reasoning, critical thinking, and how people evaluate knowledge claims, especially in formal classroom settings.
Lombardi’s professional background includes work as a military weather forecaster, environmental modeling at a federal laboratory, classroom physics teaching, and education and public-outreach work for NASA’s Phoenix Mars mission. These experiences inform his research on designing learning environments that help students make meaning, construct knowledge collaboratively, and develop the agency to apply scientific reasoning to local, regional, and global challenges.
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