Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

DOI

10.1007/s12528-025-09476-y

Publication Title

Journal of Computing in Higher Education

Volume

37

Issue

4

Pages

1531-1563

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) offers potential solutions to educational challenges by personalizing learning experiences for diverse learners. However, it also introduces complexities around issues of ownership of learning. As an indicator of empowered learning, ownership is a multifaceted but underexplored concept. In this study, the authors adopted a mixed-methods multiple-case study design to explore non-traditional online students’ perceived ownership of learning when using ChatGPT for instructional design. The authors adopted the psychology ownership construct consisting of self-efficacy, accountability, belongingness, and self-identity as the theoretical framework. Findings revealed students’ prior AI experiences and educational levels played a significant role in their perceived ownership. In contrast, no significant differences were observed for students in different learning modalities (synchronous vs. asynchronous) or with different neurodivergent conditions. This multiple-case study also explored how students used ChatGPT within and outside the courses, perceived challenges, and the role of GenAI in promoting educational equity from students’ perspectives. As one of the first studies exploring students’ ownership of learning in GenAI-facilitated educational contexts, the implications for practice and research were discussed.

Rights

© The Authors 2025.

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original authors and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

Original Publication Citation

Yang, M., Luo, T., Herman, K., Li, B., Chappell Moots, S., Glaser, N., & Jiang, S. (2025). Examining non-traditional online learners’ ownership of learning in the context of ChatGPT-facilitated design. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 37(4), 1531-1563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-025-09476-y

ORCID

0000-0003-4125-7569 (Herman), 0000-0001-6540-7985 (Moots)

Download

Share

COinS