Generative AI in Education: Applications and Perspectives from Collaborative Learning

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, tools and applications powered by Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) have become a focal source of disruption in educational ecosystems. As these tools continue to rapidly evolve and diffuse, new ways of using them in teaching and learning are emerging. Some reviews note that most GenAI and chatbot applications mirror dominant paradigms of teaching and learning, which remain largely teacher-centered and knowledge-transmission-focused (Xu & Ouyang, 2022), leaving open, group-based learning underexplored, despite the advantages and challenges highlighted by Bozkurt et al. (2023).

The many advantages of contemporary GenAI tools present opportunities to reimagine collaboration between humans and machines in education.  However, the adoption of GenAI also raises critical educational, environmental and societal concerns that must not be overlooked.

While general-purpose chatbots such as ChatGPT and Copilot have been reported to be the prevalent choices among students (Johnston et al., 2024; Sousa & Cardoso, 2025; von Garrel et al., 2023), their context-agnostic design seems to conflict with the dynamic nature of situated pedagogies—especially problem-based learning (PBL) and other open and collaborative learning formats.

We welcome submissions on collaborative learning across educational contexts using GenAI. Contributions may be empirical, conceptual or design-oriented, but should explicitly connect learning theory, learning design and the advantages/challenges of GenAI in education. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• GenAI-supported social and collaborative forms of learning, such as problem- or project-based learning;
• Design frameworks aligning chatbot dialog with collaborative inquiry;
• The GenAI-supported orchestration of group project work, reflection and assessment;
• Ethical, equity-focused and transparency issues when deploying AI companions in teams;
• Professional development for teachers to facilitate AI-supported collaboration;
• Case studies of custom or open-source chatbots tailored to curricula;
• Methodological innovations for studying joint knowledge construction with AI chatbots/agents, etc.

We welcome qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies; reviews; practice reports; and conceptual papers. Manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review and will be published online immediately upon acceptance. The deadline for manuscript submissions is 15 April 2026.

References:

Xu, W., & Ouyang, F. (2022). A systematic review of AI role in the educational system based on a proposed conceptual framework. Education and Information Technologies, 27(3), 4195-4223. Available online: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10639-021-10774-y

Bozkurt, A., Junhong, X., Lambert, S., Pazurek, A., Crompton, H., Koseoglu, S., ... & Romero-Hall, E. (2023). Speculative futures on ChatGPT and generative artificial intelligence (AI): A collective reflection from the educational landscape. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 18(1), 53-130. Available online:https://researchers.cdu.edu.au/en/publications/speculative-futures-on-chatgpt-and-generative-artificial-intellig

Johnston, H., Wells, R.F., Shanks, E.M. et al. Student perspectives on the use of generative artificial intelligence technologies in higher education. Int J Educ Integr 20, 2 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-024-00149-4

Sousa, A. E., & Cardoso, P. (2025). Use of Generative AI by Higher Education Students. Electronics, 14(7), 1258. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14071258

von Garrel, J., Mayer, J. Artificial Intelligence in studies—use of ChatGPT and AI-based tools among students in Germany. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 10, 799 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02304-7

Dr. Niels Erik Ruan Lyngdorf
Dr. Nicolaj Riise Clausen
Prof. Dr. Thomas Ryberg
Guest Editors

Sofie Otto
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• artificial intelligence in education (AIEd)
• collaborative learning
• education and pedagogy
• learning design
• participant-direction
• educational technology