The Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools on Cognitive and Emotional Engagement of Biology Education Students in Rivers State Universities

Abstract

This study examined the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools on the cognitive and emotional engagement of Biology Education students in Rivers State Universities. Four objectives and four corresponding null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population comprised 1,738 Biology Education students from Rivers State University and Ignatius Ajuru University of Education. A sample of 350 students was selected using the Taro Yamane formula, while simple random and proportionate sampling techniques were employed in selecting the respondents. Data were collected using a self-structured questionnaire titled Impact of AI Tools on Cognitive and Emotional Engagement among Biology Education Students Questionnaire (IAITCEEBSQ). The instrument was validated by experts and a reliability coefficient of 0.87 was obtained using the test retest method. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while independent samples t-test was used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that AI tools had a low influence on the cognitive and emotional engagements of Biology Education students in Rivers State Universities. Although AI tools supported students' understanding of Biology concepts, concentration, problem solving, and retention of learning materials, their overall influence on cognitive and cognitive and emotional engagement was not statistically significant. The findings further showed that there was no significant difference between the mean responses of male and female students regarding the influence of AI tools on cognitive and emotional engagements. The study concluded that although AI tools possess the potential to support both cognitive and emotional engagement among Biology Education students, their overall influence remains limited. The study recommended that Biology lecturers should integrate more interactive and student centred AI based learning activities into instruction and that university management should provide adequate training and support to enhance students' effective use of AI tools for improved engagement