RESEARCH TOPIC/TITLE:
Overreliance: The impact of Artificial Intelligence Writing
Assistance on Academic Writing Skills of Colle/Senior High Students in
University of Mindanao Digos College.
I. RATIONALE
Overview
The introduction of AI writing assistance tools like Grammarly, Quillbot,
and ChatGPT has changed how students approach academic writing by
providing immediate feedback, grammar correction, paraphrasing, and even
generating content to make the process much faster. Recent technological
advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have paved way for improved and in
many cases in creation of entirely new and innovative, electronic writing tools,
(Alharbi,2023). While these advancements provide great support for
students, they also raise concerns about over-reliance and its impact on
student writing skills.
The integration of AI-powered support at the University of Mindanao
Digos, where learners from both senior high school students and tertiary
levels are participating in academic writing, has its advantages and
disadvantages. The use of AI tools in educational contexts, and particularly in
higher education, has been associated with both positive and negative effects,
(Liang, 2023). On the one hand, students benefit from increased productivity,
better tools, and exposure to more sophisticated vocabulary. On the other
hand, excessive reliance on artificial intelligence could inhibit the growth of
independent writing skills, creativity, and critical thinking. This problem is
particularly relevant in educational settings, where writing serves as a learning
tool, self-expression and academic integrity, alongside being a skill.
Gap
According to the concept, students’ academic writing performance has
a significant impact by their level of reliance on AI technologies, ranging from
little to a lot. Advantages include increased writing speed, grammar, and
structure. Disadvantages include a decrease in creativity, critical thinking, and
problem-solving skills when writing texts. As a result, an over-reliance on AI
could lead to a skills gap where students perform well on helped writing
assignments but poorly on unassisted ones.
Variables of the Study
Independent Variable (IV): Level of AI tool usage (frequency, purpose, and
intensity of use).
Dependent Variable (DV): Writing skills of students (measured through rubric-
based writing assessments).
Background/ Aims of the study
Ensuring that support for technology improves, rather than detracts
from, the ability of students to write effectively requires understanding the
consequences of over-reliance on artificial intelligence. The dependence on
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology makes learning more effective and
efficient. However, the revolution of something always has both advantages
ang disadvantages; relying upon Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in
studies by the students are some drawbacks too, while consistently
dependent on AI tools by the students it brings fails to improve the basic
foundational skills, critical thinking and makes them inactive in the academic
performance also potentially affect the problems solving skills in real life
(Basha, 2024).
The aim of this study is to determine whether artificial intelligence (AI)
tools are used as teaching aids or as substitutes for real efforts, which can
compromise the students' ability to make independent arguments, organize
ideas and think critically.
OBJECTIVES The main objective of this study is to examine th
II. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
General Objective
The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of over-
reliance on Artificial Intelligence (AI) writing assistance on the academic
writing skills of College and Senior High School students at the University of
Mindanao – Digos College.
Specific Objectives
1. Determine to what extent do students rely on writing assistance from
artificial intelligence for grammatical and mechanical corrections, vocabulary
enhancement, word and sentence construction, content-creation and the
development of ideas, while avoiding plagiarism and paraphrasing?
2. What is the current level of academic writing ability of students in terms of
grammar and language skills, organization and consistency, originality and
critical thinking, as well as academic style and structure?
3. What are the possible disadvantages and difficulties that students may face
if they rely too heavily on artificial intelligence (AI) for academic purposes?
III. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The researchers would like to carry out this study using:
1. Constructivist Learning Theory (Piaget, Vygotsky) the fundamental concept
is that learners actively build knowledge through experience, reflection and
interaction, and;
2. The Self-Regulated Learning Theory is effective learners plan, monitor,
and evaluate their learning processes on their own.
Constructivist Theory = AI as a scaffold versus a lost- reflection
Self-Regulated Learning Theory = AI can help or harm independence.
IV. METHODOLOGY
A. Research Design
This study employs a quantitative research methodology to measure,
compare, and analyze the extent to which students utilize artificial intelligence
(AI) writing assistance and to assess whether varying degrees of dependence
on AI influence the academic writing skills of the students. Although a
qualitative approach may be more appropriate for exploring personal
experiences or narratives related to the use of AI in writing support, a
quantitative design is deemed more suitable for this investigation due to its
focus on collecting quantifiable data—such as the frequency of AI writer
usage, rubric-based scores of written assignments, and proficiency levels—
and for examining the relationships among variables, including the degree of
reliance on AI, the associated challenges in writing, and the consequent
impact on academic writing performance.
The study guarantees objectivity, reliability, and generalizability of
results by utilizing numerical data obtained from surveys and writing
performance tasks. Statistical analysis will enable the researcher to ascertain
both the magnitude of AI utilization and its correlation with students' writing
proficiency, as well as the performance disparities between scenarios with
and without AI assistance. This method helwithout AI assistance. This method
helps find patterns, test ideas, and come up with conclusions based on
evidence that can help both students and teachers understand how using AI
in writing can affect their schoolwork.
B. Researach Participants
The participants will be Senior High School Students and College
Students of University of Mindanao Digos College, chosen through purposive
sampling. Approximately 50-100 students will be surveyed depending on
availability.
C. Data Process
I. Data Collection Tools
A structured questionnaire that the researcher developed based on the
existing literature about AI’s use in academic writing and education. The
questionnaire wil consist of three parts:
1. Demographic Profile- information about participants/respondents
(age,gender, year level, strand/course, frequency of AI tool usage).
2. Extent of AI writing Assistance Use- items measuring how frequently and
for what purposes students use AI writing tools (e.g., grammar,
vocabulary, paraphrasing, idea generation.
3. Academic Writing Skills- items measuring grammar and language
proficiency, organization and coherence, originality and critical thinking.
II. Procedure
1. Checking and Validation of Responses
The questionnaires will be reviewed to ensure completeness and
accuracy.
2. Coding of Data
a) Each questionnaire will be assignes a unique identification number.
b) Reponses to close-ended numerically according to the Likert scale
(e.g., 1= strongly Disagree, 2- Disagree, 3-Neutral, 4= Agree, 5=
Strongly Agree)
3. Data Encoding
All coded responses will be entered into a statistical software program
(such as excel) for systematic organization and analysis.
III. Analysis
Use a statitical methods (e.g., Pearson correlation, regression analysis)
to determine how strongly overreliance on AI writing assistance influences the
academic writing skills of students.