UNDERSTANDING THE PERCEPTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS ABOUT PERSONALIZED LEARNING THROUGH GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Abstract

This qualitative phenomenological research study aims to understand the perceptions of higher education students about personalized learning through Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI). For the nuanced and comprehensive insights 15 participants were selected through purposive sampling from three renowned universities in Lahore: FAST, University of Lahore, and Lahore College for Women University. Researcher collected data over semi-structured interviews with 5 participants. Findings of study vindicate that widespread adoption of GAI tools among Higher Education students is due to perceived ease of use and usefulness in the personalized learning. The participants from diverse academic background reveal that GAI is playing an instrumental role in enhancing their personalized learning experience.Benefits reported by the participants include assistance in writing and research,ideas generation,easy accessibility of information,project and assignment assistance,and enhanced learning experience over visualization, summarization, and comprehension of text. However,challenges like undue reliance,adverse impacts on creativity and thinking capabilities,data privacy & security concerns were also reported. Therefore,the study recommends policymaker and educators to raise ethical awareness among higher education students and equip them with skills to use GAI responsibly and effectively.The AI creators are recommended to enhance usability and accessibility of GAI tools for optimizing the use of GAI in the higher education.