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Evaluating generative AI teaching assistants in simulated learning environments: how instructor type and support type

Yuzhen Wang¹, Ruifeng Yu¹

¹Department of Industrial Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

|June 30, 2026

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Generative AI Teaching Assistants (GAITAs) work best alongside human instructors, not AI ones. Emotional support from GAITAs boosts student motivation and attitudes, especially in social science courses.

Area of Science:

Educational Technology
Artificial Intelligence in Education
Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

Generative AI Teaching Assistants (GAITAs) present significant educational potential but require further research for effective integration.
Understanding student perceptions of GAITAs is crucial for optimizing their role in learning environments.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the influence of instructor type (human vs. AI), support type (instrumental vs. instrumental and emotional), and course type (social vs. natural sciences) on student perceptions of GAITAs.
To explore how GAITA collaboration with human instructors impacts student engagement and attitudes.
To determine the effect of emotional support provided by GAITAs across different academic disciplines.

Main Methods:

A Wizard-of-Oz-based online between-subjects experiment was conducted with 136 participants.

Keywords:

Online learning emotional support large language model pedagogical AI agent trust

Related Experiment Videos

Student perceptions were measured through a three-factor analysis of variance, examining instructor type, support type, and course type.

Key metrics included perceived adaptability, attitudes, trust, and hedonic motivation.

Main Results:

GAITAs demonstrated higher perceived adaptability and more positive student attitudes when collaborating with human instructors compared to AI instructors.
In social science courses, human-GAITA collaboration significantly enhanced student trust and hedonic motivation.
Emotional support from GAITAs positively impacted hedonic motivation, perceived adaptability, and attitudes in social science courses, with no significant effect in natural science courses.

Conclusions:

Human-GAITA collaboration is more effective than AI-AI collaboration for student engagement and positive perceptions.
The strategic application of emotional support by GAITAs can significantly enhance student motivation and attitudes, particularly in social science disciplines.
Findings offer valuable insights for designing and implementing GAITAs to maximize their educational benefits.