Proceedings of the 18th National IQAC Conference (ICon 2026)

18th National IQAC Conference (ICon 2026)

📍Bengaluru, India🗓️ 24-25 April 2026
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Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Examining Its Impact on Student Learning Outcomes and Critical Thinking

Authors
Swetha Thomas1, *, Don Caeiro1, S. Devi1, T. S. Unnikrishnan2
1Department of Forensic Science, Kristu Jayanti (Deemed to Be University), Bengaluru, India
2Department of Social Work, Kristu Jayanti (Deemed to Be University), Bengaluru, India
*Corresponding author. Email: swetha.t@kristujayanti.com
Corresponding Author
Swetha Thomas
Available Online 6 October 2026.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-618-5_16How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Artificial Intelligence in Education; Higher education; Elaborative reasoning; AI literacy
Abstract

The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in academic environments has generated substantial debate regarding their influence on higher-order cognitive processes. This study examines the relationship between AI tool usage frequency and students’ cognitive learning strategies, specifically elaborative reasoning, critical thinking, and metacognitive self-regulation, as operationalized by an adapted version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). A quantitative descriptive design was employed with 337 purposively sampled higher education students from Bengaluru, India. Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression and one-way ANOVA were conducted. AI use was significantly correlated with elaboration (r = .655), critical thinking (r = .558), and metacognition (r = .546). However, regression analysis revealed that AI use did not independently predict critical thinking (β = .062, p = .168) when elaboration (β = .456, p < .001) and metacognitive self-regulation (β = .362, p < .001) were control factors. Critical thinking outcomes are driven by underlying cognitive tendencies rather than the frequency of AI use. To optimize the educational potential of AI tools, pedagogical frameworks must place a high priority on intentional cognitive engagement and metacognitive scaffolding.

Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 18th National IQAC Conference (ICon 2026)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
6 October 2026
ISBN
978-2-38476-618-5
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-618-5_16How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Swetha Thomas
AU  - Don Caeiro
AU  - S. Devi
AU  - T. S. Unnikrishnan
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
TI  - Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Examining Its Impact on Student Learning Outcomes and Critical Thinking
BT  - Proceedings of the 18th National IQAC Conference (ICon 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 174
EP  - 189
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-618-5_16
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-618-5_16
ID  - Thomas2026
ER  -