ORCID

0000-0003-1208-8698 (Burbage), 0000-0002-3753-7018 (Styron)

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

DOI

10.3946/kjme.2025.098

Publication Title

Korean Journal of Medical Education

Volume

38

Issue

1

Pages

5-9

Abstract

Purpose

This paper presents findings from an educational research graduate course in which generative artificial intelligence (AI) was incorporated to strengthen learners' understanding of threshold concepts related to theoretical frameworks. Medical and health professionals often struggle with the transition from a clinical role into the educational research role.

Methods

The study posits that the use of generative AI will help learners understand and apply theoretical frameworks beyond a superficial level, furthering their understanding, constructing new knowledge, and strengthening their ability to develop sound educational research studies. Journal and AI transcripts were analyzed for 37 participants.

Results

Open-ended codes were grouped into five themes reflecting a developmental progression across phases of threshold crossing: encountering challenge, adapting through iteration, deepening engagement, customizing understanding, and cultivating metacognition. The first two themes represent learners' entry into the troublesome and liminal phases of threshold crossing, while the latter three reflect integrative and transformative shifts in their understanding and use of theory.

Conclusion

Learner perceptions of using generative AI to acquire theoretical framework threshold concepts are discussed to better understand how AI can be used as a supplemental resource in asynchronous learning environments. Faculty observations of learner performance, suggested generative AI teaching strategies, and potential threats, including AI hallucinations and the clarification of misinformation, are discussed.

Rights

© The Korean Society of Medical Education.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC 3.0) License which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Data Availability

Article states: "Please contact the corresponding author for data availability."

Original Publication Citation

Burbage, A., & Styron, J. L. (2026). Crossing the theory threshold: The pedagogical potential of generative artificial intelligence in educational research. Korean Journal of Medical Education, 38(1), 5-9. https://doi.org/10.3946/kjme.2025.098

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