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higher education

11 papers

Four diverse university students practise prompting and source checking with an instructor at a library learning table
Journal Paper2026
Journal Paper 52

A 90-minute GenAI literacy course improved knowledge, prompting, source checking and self-efficacy across 65 university sections

Allison E. Connell Pensky, Lydia E. Eckstein, Michael C. Melville, Laura O. Pottmeyer, Zach Mineroff, Avi Chawla, Judy Brooks, Chad Hershock, Marsha C. Lovett

Computers & Education

In a large experiment involving 1,368 undergraduate and graduate students across 65 university course sections, a 90-minute asynchronous GenAI learning module improved knowledge of how the technology works, prompt-engineering performance, fact- and source-checking, and self-efficacy. It did not improve critical evaluation of bias, showing that short foundational training needs deeper practice for responsible judgment.

generative AI literacyrandomized experimenthigher education
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A university student compares an AI explanation with handwritten concept notes while an instructor and peers work in a seminar room
Journal Paper2026
Journal Paper 50

Experimental evidence on the learning impact of generative AI: gains persisted when students used it for explanation rather than automation

Zara Contractor, Germán Reyes

arXiv working paper

A randomized, proctored experiment reported that undergraduate access to off-the-shelf generative AI raised immediate factual and conceptual test performance by 0.27 standard deviations and that the gains persisted one week later. The working paper also finds a consequential usage pattern: students who used AI to explain concepts showed stronger delayed gains than students who used it to automate drafting.

generative AIrandomized experimenthigher education
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Editorial cover of undergraduate learners and a lecturer examining a course-grounded RAG chatbot alongside flat learning and motivation outcome traces
Journal Paper2026
Journal Paper 36

AI chatbots in higher education: Comparing expectations to evidence

Andrew Thoeni, Luke K. Fryer

Computers in Human Behavior Reports

A semester-long randomized field experiment with 454 undergraduates found that access to a course-grounded RAG chatbot did not significantly improve interest, self-efficacy, engagement, or test performance, despite students reporting that they liked the tool.

RAG chatbotrandomized field experimenthigher education
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University students discuss transparent and responsible generative-AI use during a collaborative assignment while a teacher facilitates peer reflection
Journal Paper2026
Journal Paper 84

Perceived classmate GenAI use was associated with lower trust, while perceived AI literacy attenuated the direct link

Zhen Zhang, Jiaying Geng, Chunhui Qi

Behavioral Sciences

A cross-sectional survey of 406 students at two institutions found that perceiving a classmate as using more GenAI was associated with lower perceived warmth, competence and interpersonal trust. Perceived target AI literacy weakened only the direct association, while the design cannot establish that AI use caused distrust.

generative AIinterpersonal trustAI literacy
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Editorial cover for a higher-education experiment with GPT-4 feedback
Journal Paper2026
Journal Paper 24

GPT-4 feedback increases student activation and learning outcomes in higher education

Stephan Geschwind, Johann Graf Lambsdorff, Deborah Voss, Veronika Hackl

International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education

A 2026 IJAIED field experiment finds that individualized GPT-4 feedback sustained voluntary participation and improved the content of students' open-ended macroeconomics answers more than lecturer-only or peer-feedback conditions.

AI feedbackstudent activationhigher education
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Diverse university students plan an AI-assisted assignment while a lecturer helps them compare self-reported AI literacy, self-efficacy and independent study strategies
Journal Paper2026
Journal Paper 80

Self-reported AI literacy and self-efficacy showed different relationships with student dependency in a 478-person survey

Hilit Maizel, Maya Kalman Halevi, Miri Sarid, Rony Tutian

Education Sciences

A survey of 478 Israeli higher-education students found that technical dimensions of AI literacy were positively associated with self-reported AI dependency, while AI self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy and effort regulation were associated with less dependency. Its cross-sectional design identifies relationships, not causal effects.

AI dependencyAI literacyacademic self-efficacy
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Editorial cover for ethical and behavioral factors in students' ChatGPT adoption
Journal Paper2026
Journal Paper 20

Generative AI in higher education: ethical and behavioral factors influencing students' intentions to use ChatGPT

Nina Rizun, Ovidiu Niculae Bordean, Anastasija Nikiforova, Ioana Natalia Beleiu, Aleksandra Revina

Computers and Education Open

A 2026 open-access study of 344 European students connects ChatGPT adoption in higher education with explainability, privacy, trust, social influence, and perceived control.

ChatGPTAI ethicshigher education
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A racially diverse university language class evaluates AI-supported writing, speaking, translation and feedback activities with an instructor
Review2026
Review 78

A review of 101 higher-education English-language studies maps five roles for AI and recurring evidence gaps

Yanping Wang, Zuwati Hasim, Ling Wu, Yujia Fang

Cogent Education

A systematic review retained 101 empirical studies of AI in higher-education ESL and EFL from 1,536 records. It identified five broad roles for AI and generally positive reports, while finding regional and skill imbalances, uneven methods, overreliance risks and limited evidence about culture, equity and durable outcomes.

AI in educationEnglish language teachingsystematic review
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University students and a lecturer from diverse backgrounds review responsible AI use, academic pressure and evidence checking in a seminar room
Journal Paper2026
Journal Paper 70

Survey of 493 Chinese university students links academic pressure and peer influence to AI misuse

Hui Zhang, Yutong Chen

Education Sciences

A cross-sectional survey of 493 students across nine Jiangsu institutions found AI misuse associated positively with academic pressure, peer influence and ease of use, and negatively with policy deterrence and academic self-efficacy. Misuse was also associated with lower self-reported innovation ability, not proven to cause it.

AI misuseacademic integrityhigher education
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Academic cover for a systematic review of AI applications in higher education
Review2019
Review 01

Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education: where are the educators?

Olaf Zawacki-Richter, Victoria I. Marin, Melissa Bond, Franziska Gouverneur

International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education

A highly cited systematic review mapping AI applications in higher education and asking why educators, pedagogy, and ethical reflection remain underrepresented in the field.

higher educationAI applicationseducator role
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