Time for Class Study: Tyton Partners release findings on the efficacy and impact of digital learning on student success in a world of AI

Towards the end of 2022, the world was surprised with the launch of the first generative AI open to all: ChatGPT. The technology facilitates the creation of content for multiple sectors, and quickly began to increase the level of concern in education, as students had easy and open access to a platform that can do academic work for them with just a few guidelines.

In a study conducted by Tyton Research, students continue to lead in regular generative AI adoption rates (59 percent compared to approximately 40 percent of instructors and administrators), underscoring student agility in adapting to technological change. However, all key groups in higher education–students, instructors, and administrators–have all shown a marked increase in their use of generative AI tools in the past year.**

“Unlocking access to digital learning for all students is a shared mandate that higher education institutions, educators, courseware and solution providers must fulfill. Yet, our research shows that a quarter of students are still limited in their access to basic infrastructure required for digital learning such as reliable internet access,” said Catherine Shaw, Tyton Partners Managing Director and lead author of Time for Class. “If we want to drive equitable outcomes for learners, we must address fundamental barriers and embrace innovation. Generative AI has many potential ways to advance teaching and learning, including helping to scaffold content for students of all levels of preparedness.”

With input and insights from educators and educational institutions, Turnitin, an education technology company dedicated to fostering academic integrity, launched an AI-based solution in April 2023 designed to help educators identify text that might be prepared by a generative AI tool. “We are at a high juncture in education because technologies are transforming learning. That makes the need to ensure academic integrity more imperative than ever,” said Belén Correa, Turnitin's regional director for LATAM.

One year after the launch of this tool - as of March 2024, Turnitin had processed more than 200 million documents - so far, only in English. Of that total, about 22 million (about 11% of the 200 million submissions) indicate a probability of more than 20% presence of AI-generated writing, while 6 million (about 3% of the 200 million submissions), may contain up to 80% of AI-generated writing.

“The ongoing presence of AI-generated content in documents highlights a continued need to consider generative AI writing as a complex and constantly evolving puzzle. Likewise, educators and institutions alike, must look at the variety of factors, or pieces of the puzzle, beyond detection,” said Correa. Therefore, it is important to encourage open discussions with students about the acceptable use of AI-generated writing in the classroom, academic policies, assignment instructions, past submissions, etc.”

Educators, for their part, are increasingly open to making these changes in the classroom. The same study cited that at the beginning of last year, 50% of teachers thought that the use of AI in the classroom would have negative effects. By the end of the year, that figure dropped to 39%.

"AI is here to stay, and the education sector has an opportunity to embrace it and teach students about its use rather than condemn it,” concluded Correa. “The work of the future will be influenced and assisted by AI, so we must find effective ways to teach these skills to students in a framework that will also serve them for the working world.”

**Turnitin was a partner in providing compensation to conduct Tyton Partners’ research and reports: Time for Class 2023, Time for Class - Fall 2023 Update and Time for Class 2024.