Trial reportScientific reports2025
AI tutoring outperforms in-class active learning: an RCT introducing a novel research-based design in an authentic educational setting.
Trial report in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Developing metacognitive knowledge for effective AI-supported study behaviors in undergraduate biology: recommendations for instructors.Journal of microbiology & biology education · 2026Article
- Trust formation and fairness perception in GenAI: the divergent psychological pathways of computer science and business-related students.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Student Leadership Development in a Gen-AI Higher Education Landscape: Four Imperatives for the Future.New directions for student leadership · 2026Review
- Students prefer personalized, AI-generated educational videos over non-personalized, human-recorded videos.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Relying on AI at work reduces self-efficacy, ownership, and meaning while active collaboration mitigates the effects.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Will Medical Schools Train AI Tutors to Teach by Humiliation?Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2026Article
- Educating and learning in the Artificial Intelligence era: formative challenges and new roles for the educator.Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2026Article
- A Preliminary Set of Principles to Support Learning in the Context of Generative AI.Journal of chemical education · 2026Review
- Recalibrating academic expertise in the age of generative AI.Patterns (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Review
- AI-enabled remote learning: promoting educational equity and mental health sustainability in resource-scarce contexts.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Advances in generative artificial intelligence show great potential for improving education. Yet little is known about how this new technology should be used and how effective it can be compared to current best practices. Here we report a randomized, controlled trial measuring college students' learning and their perceptions when content is presented through an AI-powered tutor compared with an active learning class. The novel design of the custom AI tutor is informed by the same pedagogical best practices as employed in the in-class lessons. We find that students learn significantly more in less time when using the AI tutor, compared with the in-class active learning. They also feel more engaged and more motivated. These findings offer empirical evidence for the efficacy of a widely accessible AI-powered pedagogy in significantly enhancing learning outcomes, presenting a compelling case for its broad adoption in learning environments.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.