LEARNING PREFERENCES, RELIANCE AND CRITICAL THINKING ON AIPOWERED EDUCATIONAL PLATFORMS AMONG RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS OF UPH-DJGTMU, BIÑAN, LAGUNA

Today, AI is revolutionizing education, especially in medicine and allied health. With changing technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) now provides advanced tools to support students' individualized and personalized learning. Students often rely on AI based on its functional capabilities, utilizing AI-powered platforms for diverse academic tasks. AI can adapt content to accommodate different learning preferences, engaging students more deeply and fostering independent critical thinking. However, reliance on AI can potentially improve and stimulate critical thinking and also can hinder the acquisition of higher-order thinking skills, such as analysis, evaluation, and synthesis. This study used a descriptive correlational research design to assess students' learning preferences and investigate the level of reliance and critical thinking skills on AI-powered educational platforms. Moreover, it explored the variables' correlation. The findings revealed that the respondents preferred a visual approach, among other learning preferences, and demonstrated a high level of cognitive reliance and critical thinking in utilizing AI tools. In conclusion, the study underscores that most of the respondents preferred a visual learning approach with a high level of cognitive reliance and a high level of critical thinking within the AI-powered educational platform. Furthermore, the data revealed that when the respondents aligned their learning with their individual preferences, their cognitive reliance and critical thinking toward AI increased.