ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN VIRTUAL LEARNING SETTINGS

Joshua Sule Mamman, PhD

Abstract


 

 

This study explores the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on student engagement in virtual learning settings in tertiary institutions. The study provided answers to two research questions. One null hypothesis was tested. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population of the study comprised 926 business education students in universities offering business education in Kwara State, Nigeria. A sample of 272 was drawn from the population. Data were collected through a duly validated structured questionnaire tagged Artificial Intelligence and Student Engagement Questionnaire (AISEQ) designed by the researcher. The AISEQ has a Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.92. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation. The hypothesis was tested using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study reveal that artificial intelligence has a very high extent influence on the frequency of communication (mean =3.43), participation in the discussion forum (mean = 3.67), and quality of feedback (mean = 3.69), This means that there was no significant difference between male and female respondents regarding their perceptions of AI's influence on the frequency of communication, participation in the discussion forums and quality of feedback (F (1, 348) = 1.920, P= 0.103; Wilk's Λ = 0.975. The study concludes that artificial intelligence has a positive ‗very high extent‘ on student engagement dimensions (frequency of communication, participation in discussion forums, and quality of feedback) measured in this study. It was recommended that there is a need for tertiary institutions and policymakers to prioritize the integration of AI technologies in virtual learning. By leveraging AI effectively, the frequency of student-lecturer communication will be increased, which will ultimately lead to improved educational outcomes, management of tertiary institutions should implement comprehensive training programmes for educators to effectively integrate AI tools into their teaching practices, this will motivate the students to participate in the discussion forums.

Keywords: Artificial, intelligence, Student engagement, virtual, learning

 


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