DOI: https://doi.org/10.36719/2789-6919/57/44-47
Khatira Mammadova
Nakhchivan State University
https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3739-032X
khatiramammadova@ndu.edu.az
Redefining Student Autonomy through AI Literacy in the Era of Generative AI
Abstract
The fast adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications like ChatGPT in the educational sector has strongly transformed the way learners interact with knowledge creation, which is mostly relevant to language learning situations. Although it is still feared that AI might make people less independent thinkers, recent studies indicate that its effect might largely hinge on the level of AI literacy in the learner. This paper explores the possibility of redefining student autonomy in the AI-mediated setting by considering the idea that generative AI, when implemented via the inquiry-based prompting approach, can facilitate, as opposed to undermine, the process of independent learning. Based on literature on the learner autonomy and artificial intelligence as an educational tool, the study applies a conceptual framework to study the trends of AI usage. The results show that the more students are involved in the critical work with AI, such as questioning, evaluating, and refining it, the more they exhibit the presence of cognitive involvement. On the contrary, blind application tends to result in shallow learning. The article concludes that AI literacy is a competence that serves as a means of meaningful autonomy and must be included in the contemporary educational practice.
Keywords: Artificial intelligence literacy, student agency, generative AI, inquiry learning, teaching English as a foreign language, online pedagogy