Artificial Intelligence In Education: Literature Review

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Literature Review of AI In Education

Introduction

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of machines or computers to think and act as humans do (Wartman & Combs, 2018). The development of artificial intelligence has affected many situations, from teaching to learning to assessment and administration. Researchers such as Majeed (2023), discussed factors such as the potential of AI to revolutionize education by assisting educators in adapting teaching methods, automating grading systems, providing personalized learning for the learners, and improving overall educational outcomes. Consequently, AI, like many other tools, offers many opportunities but is also faced with a myriad of threats, thus making the necessity of taking human rights principles into account right from the early stages of the designs. As for the educators using AI, they must be aware of the weaknesses and the strengths of artificial intelligence in education (AIEd). However, developments in AIEd can deeply impact educators and learners which may undermine the core of education, which is fostering free will and independent and critical thinking (Council of Europe 2019). Several other researchers have conducted intensive studies in this field and thus, through this literature review, I aim to provide an overview of recent research in this file, the impact and effects of (AIEd), challenges, and potential implications in education.

Impacts of AI In Education

??????????? Artificial intelligence (AI) technology makes human life easy and trouble-free and contributes to the advancement of human development. It is driving the technological force of the century and it has been a center of discussion in technological innovation for its unlimited potential to alter the scenario of social interaction through resolving social challenges and virtually transforming every industry. Alam, A., et al. (2022) discussed education as a top priority of present society because it is a fundamental human right that builds peace and drives sustainable development across the world. In light to this, the researchers did study the integration and application of AI in the classroom and suggested that AIEd will make teaching and learning effective by supporting teachers and learners in the process through the usage of robotics technology and sensors. This AI-based technology facilitates inclusive and equitable quality education along with ensuring universal access to life-long learning for all across the world. ?AI technology is such an advanced tool such as to recognize the gestures of the students as well as understand their mood and ease during lectures. It can read the facial expressions and posture of students to understand the difficulties and problems faced during lectures and give appropriate recommendations. AI technology-based assessment systems can be used to assess students' knowledge, understanding, skills such as collaboration and persistence, and characteristics such as confidence and motivation, etc. AI technology has developed speech-to-text transcription, predictive text, and facial recognition promising an inclusive future for all learners.

Additionally, the impact of AI in institutions of higher learning is a topic that has gained significant research and discussion in recent years. Several studies have explored this topic in transforming teaching and learning practices. For example, Slimi (2023), conducted an empirical study that examined the impact of AI in personalizing teaching methods, providing prompt feedback, and automating administrative tasks. Besides this, he also highlighted the effects of AI on teaching and learning, assessment, ethics, required skills, and future careers. Slimi’s study suggests that institutions of higher learning will need AI integration into their systems as a priority to ensure a competitive advantage for their graduates. AI positively impacts learning experiences through the facilitation of acquiring new knowledge and skills. This research also provided insights into the possibility of AI transforming education and contributing to new skills development, thus, an important implication to educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders.

Artificial Intelligence in Pedagogical Trends

The research of Crompton and Burke (2023) further provided an overview of AI in identifying emerging trends and challenges in Education. They highlighted the increase in the adoption of AI-assisted tools in classrooms and the shifting focus of research to student-centered applications. Their findings also showed that research was conducted in six of the seven continents of the world. This trend, however, has significantly shifted from the US to China leading in the publications. Similarly, another new trend is in the researcher affiliations. Prior studies showed that there was a lack of researchers from the Department of Education taking part in AIEd research. There is a change, however, to be the most dominant department. Furthermore, to answer the pertinent question of how AIEd was used in education, grounded coding was used. Five usage codes emerged from the data: Assessment/Evaluation, Predicting, AI Assistant, Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS), and Managing Student Learning. This systematic review revealed gaps in the literature to be used as a ground for future researchers, including new tools, such as Chat GPT.

Moreover, Gocen, A. & Aydemir, F. (2020), also discussed artificial intelligence in education and schools and investigated the belief of many scholars that the role of teachers, schools, and leaders in education will change. Their research results suggested that educators will have new products, advantages, and challenges with the arrival of Artificial intelligence. The teachers' and academicians’ participants except for positive perceptions of AI, they however also noted certain drawbacks regarding the future of teaching.

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Technology focuses on Students’ learning

Finally, Means, B. (2010) study examined technology implementation practices associated with student learning gains. The study used interviews and observation among staff at schools where teachers who were using mathematics software with their students attained above-average achievements and schools where software-using teachers had below-average gains. Through the findings, we learn the importance of school practices in the areas of principal support and the educators' collaboration around the use of software and the educators' practices around software use in classroom management and software-generated student performance data. The study also highlights the issues of instructional development and competition for instructional time are noted as some of the challenges to software implementation. This study, therefore, reflected more on the importance of considering the socio-technical aspects of AI integration in education.

Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in STEM Education

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in STEM education (AI-STEM), as an emerging field, is challenged to integrate diverse AI techniques and complex educational elements to meet instructional and learning needs. To gain a comprehensive understanding of AI applications in STEM education, Xu and Ouyang (2022) examined the major elements of the AI-STEM system as well as the effects of AI in STEM education. Within the research, six categories of AI applications were studied. The results showed the relationship of these AI categories with other elements that is, information, subject, medium, and environment in AI-STEM. Moreover, this review revealed the educational and technological effects of AI in STEM education.? It is therefore notable that, the application of AI technology in STEM education is confronted with the challenge of integrating diverse AI techniques in the complex STEM educational system. The researchers therefore proposed technological, educational, and theoretical implications to apply AI in STEM education.

AI in Education Ethics Consideration

According to Zawacki-Richter et al. (2019), study findings suggest that AI integration into the educational curriculum is essential and thus needs to be integrated extensively. Institutions however need to consider the ethical implications of AI in the development and implementation of their programs and consider the possibility of AI bias based on the data and the programs used by the developers. By doing so, they can better prepare graduates for the demands of the future workforce. Again, Zawacki-Richter et al. (2019) conducted a systematic review of AI applications in higher education, emphasizing the need for critical reflection on AI technologies' ethical and pedagogical implications.

Gaps in the research for Artificial intelligence in education

Xu, W., & Ouyang, F. (2022), through their research, identified several research gaps as follows; lack of focus on AI application in STEM education in existing literature reviews, the need for a comprehensive understanding of the integration of AI technologies in STEM education, the necessity for a better fit between AI technologies and other system elements in STEM education, potential biases in the searching and screening process, the need to investigate the mutual relationships between elements in AI-STEM and the suggestion for a future meta-analyses to report effects sizes of recent empirical studies.

Additional research gaps were identified by Zawacki-Richter, O., et al. (2019), these include a lack of critical reflection on the challenges and risks of AIEd, weak connection to theoretical pedagogical perspectives, absence of explicit theories underpinning empirical studies, dominance of data analysis and algorithms over pedagogical considerations, limited presence of authors from educational departments in the research.

In conclusion, the literature reviewed here shows the growing significance of Artificial intelligence in education and its ability to transform teaching and learning practices at all levels of education. It is a tool that needs to be incorporated into the day-to-day activities in this field. While AI technologies provide potential and promising opportunities for improving education outcomes, they consequently pose challenges related to ethics, bias, and equity. Future research in this field should focus on addressing these challenges and also exploring innovative ways to harness the potential of AI to create more inclusivity and effective learning environment.

References

Alam, A., Hasan, M., & Raza, M. M. (2022). Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on education: Changing paradigms and approaches. Towards Excellence, 281–289. https://doi.org/10.37867/te140127

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Crompton, H., & Burke, D. (2023). Artificial intelligence in higher education: the state of the field. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-023-00392-8

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Gocen, A., & Aydemir, F. (2020). Artificial Intelligence in Education and Schools. Research on Education and Media, 12(1), 13–21. https://doi.org/10.2478/rem-2020-0003

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Holmes, W., Persson, J., Chounta, I.-A., Wasson, B., & Dimitrova, V. (n.d.). Artificial intelligence and education: a critical view through the lens of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

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Krsti?, L., Aleksi?, V., & Krsti?, M. (2022). Artificial Intelligence in Education: A Review. Proceedings TIE 2022, 223–228. https://doi.org/10.46793/TIE22.223K

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Majeed, M. (2023). Predicting the Future of Education in the Light of Artificial Intelligence. In Digital Transformation in Education: Emerging Markets and Opportunities (pp. 173–188). BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS. https://doi.org/10.2174/9789815124750123010014

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Means, B. (2010). Technology and Education Change: Focus on Student Learning

(Vol. 42, Issue 3). www.iste.org.

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Slimi, Z. (2023). The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Higher Education: An Empirical Study. European Journal of Educational Sciences, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.19044/ejes.v10no1a17

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Xu, W., & Ouyang, F. (2022). The application of AI technologies in STEM education: a systematic review from 2011 to 2021. In International Journal of STEM Education (Vol. 9, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-022-00377-5

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Zawacki-Richter, O., Marín, V. I., Bond, M., & Gouverneur, F. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education – where are the educators? In International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (Vol. 16, Issue 1). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0171-0

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