Artificial Intelligence Tools in Environmental Education: Facilitating Creative Learning about Complex Interaction in Nature

The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, etc., into academic and professional settings has raised important questions about their influence on human cognition. This study examines the relationship between reliance on AI tools and critical thinking skills, with a particular focus on cognitive load. A quantitative survey design was employed, using structured questionnaires to collect data from 350 university students across diverse disciplines. Measures assessed the extent of AI usage, perceived cognitive load, and levels of critical thinking. AI tool use and critical thinking while controlling for demographic and educational factors. Findings indicate that frequent use of AI tools is associated with significantly lower reported cognitive load during complex tasks (β = –0.37, p < .01) but also with slightly lower self-assessed critical thinking skills (β = –0.21, p < .05). Results suggest that while AI support can reduce mental effort, it may inadvertently discourage deeper engagement with information. Implications for education and workplace training include encouraging deliberate reflection and structured critical analysis when integrating AI tools.

This paper discusses the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in education, delineating their potential to transform pedagogical practices alongside the challenges they present. Generative AI models like ChatGPT, had a disruptive impact on teaching and learning, due to their ability to create text, images, and sound, revolutionizing educational content creation and modification. However, nowadays the educational community is polarized, with some embracing AI for its accessibility and efficiency thus advocating it as an indispensable tool, while others cautioning against risks to academic integrity and intellectual development. This document is designed to raise awareness about AI tools and provide some examples of how they can be used to improve education and learning. From an educator’s perspective, AI is an asset for curriculum development, course material preparation, instructional design and student assessment, while reducing bias and workload. For students, AI tools offer personalized learning experiences, timely feedback, and support in various academic activities. The Turkish Biochemical Society (TBS) Academy recommends educators to embrace and utilize AI tools to enhance educational processes, and engage in peer learning for better adaptation while maintaining a critical perspective on their utility and limitations. The transfer of AI knowledge and methods to the teaching experiences should complement and not replace the educator’s creativity and critical thinking. The paper advocates for an informed embrace of AI, AI fluency among educators and students, ethical application of AI in academic settings, and continuous engagement with the evolving AI technologies, ensuring that AI tools are used to augment critical thinking and contribute positively to education and society.

Purpose This study reviews the extent of application of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach A thorough literature review (based on 165 articles) was conducted using Elsevier's Scopus due to its simplicity and as it encapsulates an extensive variety of databases to identify the literature related to the scope of the present study. Findings The following items were extracted: type of AI tools used, the major purpose of application, the geographical location where the study was conducted and the distribution of studies in terms of the journals they are published by. Based on the review results, the disciplines the AI tools have been used for were classified into eight major areas, such as geotechnical engineering, project management, energy, hydrology, environment and transportation, while construction materials and structural engineering. ANN has been a widely used tool, while the researchers have also used other AI tools, which shows efforts of exploring other tools for better modelling abilities. There is also clear evidence of that studies are now growing from applying a single AI tool to applying hybrid ones to create a comparison and showcase which tool provides a better result in an apple-to-apple scenario. Practical implications The findings can be used, not only by the researchers interested in the application of AI tools in construction, but also by the industry practitioners, who are keen to further understand and explore the applications of AI tools in the field. Originality/value There are no studies to date which serves as the center point to learn about the different AI tools available and their level of application in different fields of AEC. The study sheds light on various studies, which have used AI in hybrid/evolutionary systems to develop effective and accurate predictive models, to offer researchers and model developers more tools to choose from.

Instructional writing has long been at the forefront of research, with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT. Understanding teachers’ perceptions of ChatGPT's use for teaching English writing skills has become increasingly significant. The present study explores Pakistani English teachers’ perceptions of using ChatGPT to teach writing skills to college-level students. Using a qualitative research design, the study involved 15 faculty members from a government college in Pakistan who participated in semi-structured interviews. The study found that teachers perceived ChatGPT as a valuable tool for developing vocabulary, syntactic structure, paragraph writing, and emotional intelligence. The results also showed a potential increase in the students’ involvement while reducing writing anxiety. However, concerns were rising about the overreliance on AI tools, less academic creativity, diminished critical thinking, and a lack of AI-assisted writing classrooms. Further, the findings suggest a balanced approach towards implementing ChatGPT favors creative writing skills, organization, and accuracy. This study recommends practical strategies and provides clear instructions for using AI tools. Moreover, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) highlights perceived usefulness, influence, and challenges as key determinants of TAM acceptance. The participants emphasized the need to prompt teachers’ training programs, provide scaffolding, and integrate ChatGPT and other AI tools for effective writing instruction, focusing on structured guidelines to minimize risks and maximize outcomes. This research contributes to contemporary debates on the use of AI tools to support digital transformation in education and provides an actionable plan for integrating AI tools into the English writing classroom.

Background Histological remission is an important target for Ulcerative Colitis (UC) treatment; however, scoring of histological images is time-consuming and prone to inter and intra-observer variability. Thus, a need exists for an accurate, reproducible, and reliable automated method. Previously, we demonstrated an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tool using image processing and machine learning algorithms to measure histological disease activity using the Nancy index consistently and accurately.1 Here, we aim to enhance the capabilities of the AI Tool, by adding substantially more population-diversified training data while maintaining accuracy and robustness of results. Methods Eight global sites submitted 600 UC histological images. These were added to the 200 images previously used to train and validate the AI Tool. The 800-image dataset was divided into 2 groups: 90% used for training, 10% for testing. The novel AI algorithms were trained using state-of-the-art image processing and machine learning techniques based on deep learning and feature extraction. Cell and tissue regions of each training image were manually annotated, measured, and assigned a Nancy Index independently by 3 histopathologists, and used to further train the AI using over 43,000 characterisations. The AI Tool fully characterises histological images, identifying tissue types, cell types, cell numbers and locations, and automatically measures the Nancy Index for each image. Intra Class Correlation (ICC) and Confusion Matrix analyses were performed to evaluate the AI Tool and assess accuracy. Results The average ICC was 92.1% among the histopathologists and 91.1% between histopathologists and AI Tool, compared with 88.3% and 87.2% in the previous study.1 Confusion matrix analysis (Table 1) demonstrated the strongest correlation at the extremes of the Nancy Index, with 80% correlation between predicted and true labels for Nancy Scores of 0 or 4. When 2 adjacent scores were combined, correlations were stronger: 96% for a true Nancy score of 0 being predicted as 0 or 1, and 100% for a true Nancy score of 2 being predicted as 2 or 3. Conclusion By adding a larger number of images to the AI Tool training data, the robustness of the AI Tool was substantially improved while maintaining accuracy. The continued high correlation of AI Tool performance with the histopathologists reinforces the potential role for the AI Tool for IBD clinical applications. Fully characterising whole slides could standardise and validate an AI-driven scoring system for histology slides in IBD, eliminating the subjectivity of the human pathologist in assessment of disease activity.

The rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in higher education has transformed learning practices, prompting concerns about their influence on students’ critical thinking, originality, and independent engagement with academic materials. This study explores the perceived impact of AI on academic literacy among Indonesian university students, with particular attention to critical thinking, originality, and independent learning. Employing a qualitative approach, the study captures students' experiences and perspectives, revealing that while AI tools such as ChatGPT and Grammarly are perceived to enhance learning efficiency, they may also diminish deeper engagement with academic content and critical thinking processes. Many participants reported a tendency to rely on AI-generated summaries, which they associated with reduced independent analysis and creativity. Nevertheless, the findings suggest that when AI tools are integrated with thoughtful pedagogical strategies, they can support the development of academic literacy within ethical boundaries. The study underscores the importance of implementing AI literacy programs and ethical guidelines to foster responsible and reflective use of AI in academic contexts.

The domain of academic writing poses a series of persistent challenges for students transitioning into higher education, particularly stemming from deficiencies in fundamental writing competencies. This paper, therefore, examined these obstacles and advocated for the implementation of personalised digital feedback through artificial intelligence (AI) tools to enhance students’ writing abilities. The researchers collected data from 147 participants using purposive sampling among the ECP (Extended Curriculum Programme) students, a group specifically selected for their need for writing support. Data was collected using questionnaires, narrative inquiries, and an analysis of written essays. The Field-Mode-Tenor framework from Register theory was used to categorise language usage mistakes and errors systematically. The integration of AI tools, particularly Meta AI and Grammarly, was found to improve students’ writing skills by providing timely and individualised feedback. The findings of this study highlight key academic writing challenges, such as redundancy, orthographic errors, and the misuse of contractions. The findings of this study demonstrate that both Meta AI and Grammarly provided substantial feedback on assessments. They offered practical solutions and enhanced confidence in the effectiveness of these AI tools. Furthermore, the findings suggest that AI tools possess the capacity to bridge gaps in academic proficiency, thereby contributing to a more equitable education system. This study contributes to the literature on integrating AI tools in language teaching and providing constructive feedback that significantly improves students’ writing skills. Consequently, this promotes digital literacy and critical thinking, encouraging students to be engaged users of technology rather than passive consumers. Keywords: Error Tagging, AI, Discursive Writing, Peer Feedback, Prowess.

The paper presents the results of the research study conducted on students at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb (FHSS), Croatia, at the end of 2024, focusing on their experiences with artificial intelligence (AI) tools, and its use in academic activities, students' trust in AI, and the future use of AI by students. While over 81 % of respondents reported using AI tools for study purposes, more than 89% did not receive any education about AI and expressed a need for such education. Generative AI tools for text creation are the most frequently used type of AI tools, but students still require additional knowledge to use them effectively. AI tools are also utilized for seeking advice, finding information, being available 24/7, and assisting in writing student papers, though not yet on a massive scale. Teachers remain the most trusted source for information and for recommending AI tools. Despite known shortcomings of AI tools such as content errors, potential costs and ethical or privacy concerns, students expressed their intention to continue using AI tools in the future.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have demonstrated success in US medical licensing examinations; however, their utility in infection prevention and control (IPC) remains unknown. Methods: The program of hospital epidemiology handles consultation calls and records each question and answer. Using 2022 data, we selected 31 frequently asked questions. We utilized four AI tools, including Chat GPT-3.5 and 4.0, Bing AI, and OpenEvidence, to generate answers. We predefined scales (Table 1) to capture responses by three reviewers, including two hospital epidemiologists and one infection preventionist. The mean score of ≥ 3 and ≥ 4 was considered acceptable in accuracy and completeness, respectively. We reported the percentage of responses with acceptable accuracy and completeness out of assessed questions for each category. Results: Among 31 questions, 16 were associated with isolation duration, 9 with healthcare personnel (HCP) exposure, 4 with cleaning contaminated rooms, and 2 with patient exposure. Regarding accuracy, most AI tools performed worse in questions about isolation duration, ranging between 75% and 93.8%. All AI tools, except OpenEvidence, had a 100% accuracy rate for HCP and patient exposure. All AI tools had a 100% accuracy rate for contaminated room handling. The highest overall acceptable accuracy rate was observed in Chat GPT-3.5. Regarding completeness, most AI tools performed worse in questions about isolation duration, ranging between 44% and 75%. All AI tools, except OpenEvidence, had a 100% completeness rate for contaminated rooms and patient exposure. The highest overall acceptable completeness rate was observed in Bing AI (Table 2). Conclusions: All AI tools provided reasonable answers to commonly asked IPC-related questions, although, there were variations among different tools used. AI could be used to supplement the infection control program, especially if resources are limited.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the workflow of scholarly writing, including scientific and medical writing, offers transformative advantages while raising critical ethical and practical concerns. Among the pros, AI substantially enhances efficiency by automating several time-consuming tasks such as literature review, data synthesis and text editing. In particular, tools such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, and SciSpace Copilot remarkably empower researchers when they draft, refine, and format manuscripts, increasing precision and speed. In addition, AI tools may foster inclusivity by assisting non-native English speakers with seamless translations and also enabling interdisciplinary collaboration, thereby hopefully democratizing access and boosting scientific communication and cooperation. However, the rapid adoption of novel AI tools brings significant challenges. First, there is a distinct risk of perpetuating biases in training datasets, and other key issues include ambiguity in authorship accountability and the potential erosion of critical thinking skills. In addition, AI tools could be purposefully misused to generate mock datasets and fraudulent papers (e.g. by paper mills), and this clearly poses a threat to academic integrity. This challenge is all too pressing given that traditional plagiarism detection tools often fall short against sophisticated AI-generated content. We hereby explore the pros and cons of AI on medical writing, poignantly leveraging Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly movie as a metaphor. By providing general concepts as well as focusing on several key AI tools, we are hopeful this overview may prove useful to anyone wishing to conscientiously adopt AI tools for scientific writing. In addition, we make a compelling case for transparent guidelines, robust and freely available detection mechanisms, and ongoing critical oversight to ensure AI will be able to serve as a catalyst for innovation and dissemination without compromising the credibility of scholarly endeavors.

Technical English (TE) proficiency is crucial for the future careers of polytechnic students. While Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools offer significant potential to enhance language learning, their effectiveness relies on student acceptance and use. There is limited understanding of what drives polytechnic students to adopt these tools specifically for TE. This study aims to identify the key factors influencing polytechnic students' acceptance and use of AI tools in this context and employ a quantitative approach based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze survey data collected from 100 Polytechnic Kota Bharu (PKB) students enrolled in TE courses. The research investigates core antecedents, primarily perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU), and their impact on students' behavioral intention (BI) to use AI tools. The potential influence of external factors such as social influence and lecturer support are examined. The study found PEOU was identified as a critical antecedent, which significantly positively affected PU and BI. The study reaffirmed the significant predictive power of BI on AU, indicating that students' stated intentions reliably translate into their subsequent usage behaviour. This research will offer practical recommendations for educators seeking to integrate AI tools effectively into TE instruction. Theoretically, this study contributes to understanding technology adoption within the specific domain of technical and vocational language education, providing valuable insights for leveraging AI to improve essential communication skills for aspiring technical professionals.

This study aims to explore English Language Education Study Program (ELESP) students' perceptions of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in supporting their academic writing processes and identify the benefits and limitations they encounter when using these tools in their writing process. Six sixth-semester students from the ELESP were purposively selected based on their prior engagement with AI tools such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, or QuillBot in academic writing tasks. Data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews that allowed participants to express their experiences openly while giving the researcher flexibility to probe further when necessary. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the findings. The findings indicate that the majority of students perceive AI paraphrasing tools as highly useful in the writing process, both in the linguistic and affective dimensions. The majority of EFL students also perceive AI tools as providing substantial benefits in supporting academic writing. Given these insights, it is suggested that educators and institutions integrate AI tools into writing pedagogy while providing explicit guidance on ethical and critical use.

This research study focused on the students perception on the utilization of Flipped Classroom and the development of 21st century skills among Grade 8 students. The descriptive method of research was used to gather the necessary data and information on the level of students perception as to satisfaction, motivation, engagement, independent learning, self-efficacy, and involvement and the level of 21st century skills development in terms of critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration skills. The purpose of this study is to examine if there will be a significant difference on the 21st century skills development before and after the utilization of Flipped Classroom. The developed questionnaire and the pre-test post-test were the main instruments used in gathering data. Gathered data were analyzed and interpreted using appropriate statistical procedures such as mean, Standard Deviation and T – test. The results revealed that students have a positive view of Flipped Classroom in terms of satisfaction, motivation, engagement, independent learning, self-efficacy, and involvement and is viewed as an effective approach to learning. In addition, it was also revealed that among the 21st century skills, students had a high level of mastery on collaboration skills, average mastery on critical thinking skills and below-average mastery on their problem-solving skills. Furthermore, the study indicated that there is a significant difference in the development of 21st century skills among students before and after the utilization of Flipped Classroom Learning Approach. Utilization of innovative teaching approaches such as Flipped Classroom can help students develop 21st century skills that will help them adapt and succeed in a world with rapidly changing technological advancement and globalization.

The presented study describes how Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have affected the learning experiences of university students in Pakistan and how the pedagogical strategies transformed. To evaluate the perception of the AI tools amongst students in three Lahore-based public universities, a survey of 230 students was carried out to determine their views on AI tools, its usefulness and simplicity, impact on student performance, critical thinking, engagement and pedagogical change. The information obtained during the survey was analyzed with the help of SPSS software through both descriptive and inferential statistics, correlation, and regression analysis. The findings show that the use of AI tools in teaching has a positive effect on the academic achievements of students, their engagement, as well as the development of high-order thinking skills. Also, AI technologies lead to the continuation of the pedagogical transition to one-on-one learning, self-directed learning, and active student engagement. Nevertheless, the issues connected to accessibility, academic honesty, and ethical issues involving privacy of the data were also detected. The article highlights the need to implement AI practices within pedagogues in a manner that supports fair usage yet provides equal opportunities. Some of the recommendation areas contain offering an equal access to AI tools, offering faculty training, and ethical issues related to AI implementation in the higher education setting.

This non-systematic, empirical integrative review presents a synthesis of studies authored by Filipino scholars between 2020 and 2025 on the self-reported cognitive effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in Philippine classrooms. Key insights derived from the review highlight that AI tools can (a) foster critical thinking skills and boost self-efficacy, (b) adapt to create a personalized learning experience, and (c) enhance academic writing skills, primarily through large language models and adaptive learning systems. However, concerns arise regarding students' (a) over-dependence on AI, (b) altered fundamental cognitive processes, and (c) adverse effects on physical and mental health. These findings illustrate the paradox of AI-enhanced learning, where the advantages of technology in teaching and learning coexist with its limitations, potentially compromising deep and reflective engagement. To address this issue, it is recommended that AI tools be integrated into the curriculum with extreme caution while prioritizing ethics. Precautionary measures should include a critical assessment of AI-generated content, promoting mental health resources concerning AI use, and employing a context-aware implementation that considers local classroom environments. Further research is necessary to thoroughly examine its long-term cognitive and socio-emotional effects. This synthesis can guide educators, policymakers, and stakeholders in making informed, evidence-based decisions that harness the potential of AI while mitigating its risks.