Artificial intelligence in content design enhances student engagement and satisfaction across individual learning differences

This study investigates the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) designed study materials on student learning experience. The objective is to measure engagement, explore the potential for acquiring digital skills, and assessing possibilities of using AI-enabled study materials to enhance student engagement across different personality groups. Thus, it seeks to present evidence to support arguments regarding innovative applications of digital pedagogy to improve student engagement. Design/methodology/approach: Tripartite framework grounded in contemporary literature evaluates student engagement and satisfaction and investigates the moderating role of learning style and dogmatism in the process. Survey data is collected from undergraduate business students at an Australian university who utilized AI designed study materials for learning. Data analysis employed structural equation modelling using SmartPLS. Findings: AI-designed interactive study contents engaged students at the cognitive, affective, and behavioural levels. Students’ different engagement level positively influenced their satisfaction; however, contrary to the previous research, results show that learning style and dogmatism do not affect engagement or satisfaction. This indicates that academics should acquire expertise and required training to develop innovative materials capable of mitigating the negative impact of personality traits on the learning experience. Originality: The study brings novelty by incorporating instructor-created AI-designed content and adding psychological and personality moderators to measure engagement, thus enriching the explanatory power of the Tripartite model. This study also enriches the technology acceptance model (TAM) theory, suggesting a mitigated effect of personality differences on accepting AI-designed innovative content. The study is a fresh call for educators to enhance digital skills through training.