DOES OVER-RELIANCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CAUSE REDUCTION IN CRITICAL THINKING? A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Abstract

This research was conducted to examine the causal effect of over-reliance on artificial intelligence on students’ critical thinking by statistically controlling initial differences between the experimental and control groups. A quasi-experimental research design with a pre-test–post-test control group approach was employed. The sample was selected through simple random sampling. Thirty students from B.Ed. Semester III were assigned to the experimental group, while thirty students from B.Ed. Semester I were selected for the control group. The experimental group (Semester III) was allowed relatively high and independent use of artificial intelligence-based tools in academic activities, whereas the control group (Semester I) was restricted to limited use of AI and continued with traditional teaching and learning methods. To measure students’ critical thinking skills, the Critical Thinking Questionnaire (CThQ) was adapted and administered. The results of the independent samples t-test indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in critical thinking between the experimental and control groups at the pre-test stage. However, the findings of the paired sample t-test showed a significant decline in critical thinking abilities in the experimental group, while no significant change was observed in the control group.