Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Learning Environments: How AI Tools Are Reshaping Teaching Practice and Student Competencies

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Technology Enhanced Education".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 567

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Exercise Science, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19144, USA
Interests: AI integration in health professions education; pedagogical innovation in clinical education; technology-enhanced learning in professional programs

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Exercise Science, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19144, USA
Interests: evolving role of generative AI in education and clinical practice; students’ and clinicians’ perceptions and use of AI tools; how AI-generated study materials affect student readiness; AI writing tutors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence tools into educational settings represents one of the most significant technological shifts in contemporary classrooms. As generative AI becomes ubiquitous in students' academic lives, educators worldwide are grappling with fundamental questions about how teaching, learning, and assessment must evolve. Unlike previous educational technologies that supplemented existing practices, AI tools are prompting wholesale pedagogical redesign—requiring teachers to reimagine what students should produce, how intellectual work should be scaffolded, and what competencies constitute genuine learning in an AI-saturated world. This transformation extends beyond technical adoption to encompass the development of new literacies: students must learn not only to use AI tools but to evaluate their outputs critically, understand their limitations, collaborate effectively in human–AI partnerships, and maintain intellectual agency in technology-mediated learning environments.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate empirical research on how AI integration is transforming classroom practice and fostering new forms of literacy. We seek contributions that document observable pedagogical shifts, examine the development of AI-related competencies, explore innovative assessment approaches, and investigate how teachers are learning to navigate AI-enhanced instruction. We particularly welcome studies grounded in actual classroom contexts with evidence of teaching practice and student learning over time.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Case studies of course redesign in response to AI tool availability;
  • Longitudinal studies of pedagogical adaptation and teacher learning;
  • Frameworks for developing critical AI literacy across disciplines;
  • Assessment strategies in AI-rich environments;
  • Collaborative learning and peer assessment when AI tools are present;
  • AI-integrated curriculum innovation;
  • Professional development models for AI pedagogical competency;
  • Equity implications of AI access and literacy development;
  • Transfer of AI literacies across academic and professional contexts;
  • Teacher beliefs, knowledge, and practice transformation;
  • Ethical dimensions of AI use in classroom learning.

Dr. Erin R. Pletcher
Dr. Travis R. Pollen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)
  • pedagogical transformation
  • AI-assisted learning
  • AI literacy
  • AI assessment tools

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 266 KB  
Article
From Teacher to Algorithm: Teacher Endorsement and Student Acceptance of AI-Generated Content Within the Trust Transfer Theory Framework
by Fawzia Omer Alubthane
Educ. Sci. 2026, 16(7), 1118; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16071118 - 13 Jul 2026
Abstract
The integration of AI-generated content into higher education has intensified interest in how students form and calibrate trust toward algorithmic outputs and whether pedagogical relationships can serve as conduits for that trust. Grounded in Trust Transfer Theory, this between-subjects randomized experimental study ( [...] Read more.
The integration of AI-generated content into higher education has intensified interest in how students form and calibrate trust toward algorithmic outputs and whether pedagogical relationships can serve as conduits for that trust. Grounded in Trust Transfer Theory, this between-subjects randomized experimental study (N = 320) investigated whether teacher endorsement shapes students’ perceptions of AI-generated educational content across four dimensions: Perceived AI Competence, Academic Integrity, Perceived Human-Mediated Reliability, and Behavioral Intention to adopt. Participants from Saudi Arabian universities were randomly assigned to an endorsed or non-endorsed vignette condition and responded to a validated 13-item Trust and Acceptance Scale. Independent-samples t-tests confirmed statistically significant differences across all four dimensions in favor of the endorsed condition, with effect sizes ranging from small to large, and findings remained robust after controlling for gender via ANCOVA. Within-condition regression analyses further established Perceived Human-Mediated Reliability as a structurally stable positive predictor of trust outcomes in both conditions, with predictive power consistently amplified under endorsement. Postgraduate students placed greater emphasis on human oversight, while no disciplinary differences emerged, confirming the cross-disciplinary universality of the trust transfer mechanism. These findings are consistent with positioning the teacher as a trust guarantor in AI-mediated learning environments and carry direct implications for pedagogical design and institutional AI governance. Full article
13 pages, 540 KB  
Article
Chatbot-Supported Written Mediation and Pluricultural Competence in Adult EFL: An Exploratory Study in Official Language Schools
by Esther Cores-Bilbao and María-del-Carmen Méndez-García
Educ. Sci. 2026, 16(6), 844; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16060844 - 27 May 2026
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Abstract
This exploratory study examines whether chatbot-mediated written interaction supports adult B2 English learners’ performance in online interaction, pluricultural competence, and mediation in Official Language Schools (OLS) in Spain. The intervention was built around a fictional-culture scenario in which learners had to resolve a [...] Read more.
This exploratory study examines whether chatbot-mediated written interaction supports adult B2 English learners’ performance in online interaction, pluricultural competence, and mediation in Official Language Schools (OLS) in Spain. The intervention was built around a fictional-culture scenario in which learners had to resolve a cultural misunderstanding between a Spanish visitor and a host from an invented culture. In the experimental condition, students interacted with a chatbot previously configured with information about the fictional culture; in the control condition, students worked in pairs in a chatroom, with one peer acting as the cultural expert. Interaction texts were independently rated by two researchers using a Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) Companion Volume-informed rubric. The dataset comprised 16 learners in the control group and 24 in the experimental group, each rated by two evaluators. Inter-rater reliability reached acceptable levels for all aggregated dimensions, with ICC(2,1) values above 0.70. Mann–Whitney U tests showed no significant between-group differences in online interaction or pluricultural competence, whereas the chatbot-supported condition, which included sustained-questioning scaffolding, was associated with significantly higher mediation scores. The findings suggest that chatbot use may be pedagogically promising for mediation-oriented writing tasks, although the evidence should be interpreted cautiously because the study is exploratory, the sample is small, and the scenario relied on a fictional cultural frame. Full article
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