High-achieving students less often endorse AI-supported autonomy, effective learning, and active engagement, and more often agree that reliance on AI hinders critical thinking and independent problem solving¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r1 · q2 · i1 small
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i1 At item level, GPA band correlates negatively with feeling more autonomous when using AI (ρ = −0.285) and actively using AI for academic tasks (ρ = −0.269), and positively with agreeing that relying on AI hinders critical thinking and independent problem solving (ρ = 0.252). → Jason Zagami 2026

Evidence¶

Jason Zagami 2026¶

Jason Zagami. (2026). Guarded adoption of generative AI in higher education: high-achieving students, successful-student identity, and epistemic agency in a single-university mixed-methods survey. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education 23:47. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-026-00625-6

q2 · i1 · associational · r1

Item-level Spearman correlations with student-reported GPA band (Table 2), conducted because the grouped indices had weak internal consistency. Strongest item associations ranged from ρ = −0.285 (autonomy) to ρ = 0.252 (reliance hinders critical thinking), all p < 0.001.

"High-achieving students were less likely to report that AI supported autonomy, helped them learn more effectively, or formed part of active academic engagement. They were also more likely to agree that reliance on AI hinders critical thinking and independent problem solving."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Higher reliance on AI tools is correlated with lower critical-thinking performance, mediated by cognitive offloading — a broader claim this one bears on
• In SDT, autonomy is not synonymous with independence nor the opposite of dependence — related
• Cognitive offloading tendency is negatively associated with critical thinking, technical problem-solving, and metacognitive self-regulation — a broader claim this one bears on
• AI tools can enhance short-term task performance while undermining durable learning (the learning-performance paradox) — related
• The cohort's baseline perception profile shows high endorsement of critical-thinking risk and training interest and substantially more cautious trust for complex-task use than for accuracy — related
• Exploratory stage-of-study analyses: undergraduate year level is positively associated with AI-related disengagement, and the GPA-band pattern is stronger in postgraduate/research students for active engagement and perceived learning impact — related
• Profiles differ in self-perceived academic skills: Engaged and Literate users report the highest problem-solving and cognitive endurance gains, while Uncritical Reliant users report the highest independent thinking — related
• Students from higher-ranked universities and with stronger prior knowledge are more likely to adopt proactive and critical AI engagement — reports the opposite
• More teacher support in AI-based instruction is not always better; a review found support worked well when balanced with students' autonomy and independent thinking — related
• GPA band remains a significant negative predictor of active AI engagement, positive affect, perceived learning impact, and AI-related disengagement when controlling for age, gender, and year category — a broader claim this one bears on