aiqbench analysis
This study utilizes semantic analysis to expose a critical gap in generative AI research for education, which currently prioritizes task regulation while neglecting the sociocultural dimensions of learner autonomy. By mapping over 14,000 publications, it reveals that existing measurement scales fail to capture intrinsic motivation and social-relational actions essential for holistic learning environments. For developers building next-generation educational agents, this underscores the urgent need to expand behavioral repertoires beyond narrow control mechanisms toward broader human-centric interactions.
Large-scale semantic mapping of learner agency and autonomy reveals what measurement and generative AI research overlook
arXiv:2606.10881v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Learner agency and autonomy are foundational to personal development, yet a pervasive "jingle-jangle" fallacy (i.e. identical terms denoting different constructs, distinct terms denoting identical ones) has substantially hindered cumulative knowledge. Treating meaning as a phenomenon constituted through use in linguistic practice, we extracted 8,954 definitions and 2,700 scale items from over 14,000 publications, to investigate how researchers actually used learner agency and autonomy with a semantic analysis pipeline. The definitional landscape of two constructs resolves into three dimensions: regulation and control of learning (task), intrinsic motivation and internal decision-making (person), and social-relational action (sociocultural), thereby empirically quantifying the jingle-jangle fallacy. Existing scales, however, systematically underrepresent the sociocultural dimension. Critically, current generative AI research in education concentrates on learning regulation and control, narrowing the behavioral repertoire that AI-mediated learning environments are designed to cultivate. Beyond conceptual clarification, this work carries direct implications for conceptualization, measurement, and practice towards supporting the multidimensional learner agency and autonomy.
Abstract:Learner agency and autonomy are foundational to personal development, yet a pervasive "jingle-jangle" fallacy (i.e. identical terms denoting different constructs, distinct terms denoting identical ones) has substantially hindered cumulative knowledge. Treating meaning as a phenomenon constituted through use in linguistic practice, we extracted 8,954 definitions and 2,700 scale items from over 14,000 publications, to investigate how researchers actually used learner agency and autonomy with a semantic analysis pipeline. The definitional landscape of two constructs resolves into three dimensions: regulation and control of learning (task), intrinsic motivation and internal decision-making (person), and social-relational action (sociocultural), thereby empirically quantifying the jingle-jangle fallacy. Existing scales, however, systematically underrepresent the sociocultural dimension. Critically, current generative AI research in education concentrates on learning regulation and control, narrowing the behavioral repertoire that AI-mediated learning environments are designed to cultivate. Beyond conceptual clarification, this work carries direct implications for conceptualization, measurement, and practice towards supporting the multidimensional learner agency and autonomy.
Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI)
arXiv:2606.10881 [cs.AI]
(or arXiv:2606.10881v2 [cs.AI] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2606.10881 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite
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Full text under the publisher's open licence · 246 words
