AI-SUPPORTED PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING: A PATHWAY TO DEVELOPING STUDENTS’ CRITICAL THINKING ABILITIES

Аннотация

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into education has transformed learning methodologies, particularly in Problem-Based Learning (PBL). This paper explores the impact of AI-assisted PBL on students’ critical thinking development, analyzing both its benefits and potential drawbacks. While AI-driven learning environments provide personalized feedback, enhance engagement, and support deeper problem-solving skills, concerns remain regarding students’ overreliance on AI-generated responses. The discussion highlights the necessity of a balanced approach where AI serves as a cognitive partner rather than an automation tool. The study emphasizes that AI should be designed to challenge students’ reasoning, prompt inquiry, and encourage intellectual growth, rather than replace human thought processes. Ultimately, the effectiveness of AI in fostering critical thinking depends on its pedagogical integration, ensuring that technology enhances independent learning rather than diminishing it. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Problem-Based Learning, Critical Thinking, AI- Assisted Education, Cognitive Development, Student Engagement, Digital Learning Tools, Independent Reasoning, Pedagogical Integration. Introduction. It is becoming more and more important to address the issue of fostering critical thinking in the current curriculum, particularly when it comes to an independent curriculum. According to studies by standard curricula frequently do not give children enough room to develop their critical thinking abilities. Additional research supports this pattern, showing that curricula that place an excessive emphasis on factual instruction frequently impede the development of critical thinking abilities. Deep, analytical thinking is increasingly becoming a rare today, even though information is abundant at our disposal. The capacity to inquire, evaluate, and reason is fundamental today more than ever. Unfortunately, our conventional education system doesn’t quite inculcate these skills due to the overemphasis placed on rote learning. Consider a classroom setting in which students actively pursue solutions to problems rather than simply passively taking in information. An AI tutor guides them as they engage with multifaceted problems from the real world. A student who is given a broad medical case starts diagnosing various possibilities while an AI assistant challenges them as they work through the case. In another scenario, a different student collaborates with a virtual colleague to create an environmentally friendly city and is offered instant analysis of their logic, reasoning, and ethical considerations. This is not an episode of black mirror - this is the current reality of AI-enabled problem based learning (PBL). As the outdated education system fails to cope with the pace of modern problems, there is a clear reliance on artificial intelligence to solve the gap between theory and practice. The core question remains does AI fuel students abilities to critically analyze, self-solve, and make educated decisions. This is the question we attempt to answer, and for the purposes of this article we will analyze how AI assists PBL models. We seek to understand 40 AI’s role in problem-based learning not merely as an automation tool, but an active collaborator who prompts students to rethink their reasoning and how they acquire knowledge. Through this examination, we will attempt to find out if the technology is the answer for encouraging deep thinking or just another digital veil. In recent years, Problem Based Learning (PBL) has gradually emerged as an innovative approach designed to enhance critical thinking by means of authentic problems. However, the implementation of authentic PBL is never simple, and it certainly does require skilled facilitators, personalization, and constant feedback, which is quite impossible to achieve in a traditional classroom setting. This is where Artificial Intelligence (AI) comes into play. The rapid development in AI technology has led to the emergence of new educational tools that promise intelligent tutoring, feedback, and individualized learning environments. PBL has the potential, through AI, to engage learners in thinking, reasoning, and complex learning goals. But does AI truly facilitate critical thinking among learners, or does it run the risk of overly structuring education to the extent that fosters no real understanding of the content being taught? Literature review. Particularly in Problem-Based Learning (PBL) settings, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into education has spurred discussions on its possible ability to improve or impede students's critical thinking skills. Research already in publication emphasises the advantages and drawbacks of artificial intelligence-assisted learning, thus it is imperative to investigate the degree to which AI helps to foster higher order cognitive skills development. Critical thinking and artificial intelligence: th