Author(s)

Zhao Yuqian ¹, He Jingru ¹, Wang Chengbo ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ School of Education Science, Yan'an University, Yan'an, Shaanxi, 716000, China

Corresponding Author

Zhao Yuqian

ABSTRACT

With the rapid advancement of AI technology, generative AI is transitioning from a tool to a collaborative partner in classroom instruction. This study employs a quasi-experimental design to investigate whether integrating generative AI as a teaching partner can effectively enhance the quality of classroom dialogue and thereby promote students' conceptual understanding. A nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used, with the experimental group incorporating an AI teaching partner based on GPT-4 into instruction, engaging in multiple rounds of dialogue and concept clarification, while the control group followed traditional teaching methods. Quantitative results show that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in key indicators such as dialogue depth, proportion of higher-order questions, and frequency of joint reasoning (p < 0.01). Posttest scores on conceptual understanding were also significantly higher in the experimental group (Cohen’s d = 0.74). Qualitative analysis further reveals that the AI's immediate feedback and heuristic questioning effectively facilitated students’ shift from factual recall to explanatory and argumentative discourse. The study demonstrates that generative AI, when used as a teaching partner, holds substantial potential for enhancing classroom dialogue and deepening conceptual understanding.

KEYWORDS

Generative AI; Teaching Partner; Classroom Dialogue; Conceptual Understanding

CITE THIS PAPER

Zhao Yuqian, He Jingru, Wang Chengbo. Generative AI as a Teaching Partner: A Quasi-Experimental Study on Its Role in Facilitating Classroom Dialogue and Conceptual Understanding. Advances in Educational Technology and Psychology (2026). Vol. 10, No. 3, 122-128. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/aetp.2026.100316.

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• Transactions on Comparative Education
  
  
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