AI as Scaffold or Shortcut? Metacognitive Regulation in Graduate Students’ Educational App Design

The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has raised important questions about how learners and teachers regulate their thinking when interacting with AI-supported tools. This study investigates metacognitive regulation during the design of AI-supported educational applications by graduate students (N = 12) in a UAE teacher education programme. The qualitative research adopted a multiple-case study method to analyse six student design teams involved in designing educational applications as part of a technology integration course. Data were collected from three main sources: the educational apps themselves, the corresponding Teacher Guides, and reflective interviews conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. Data analysis combined deductive qualitative coding based on the regulation-of-cognition dimensions of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) framework with inductive thematic analysis of participants’ experiences and conceptualisations of AI. The findings show that AI was used differently across the six cases. It appeared to function more as a cognitive scaffold when participants questioned, checked, revised, or justified AI-generated outputs, and more as a shortcut when outputs were used mainly for convenience with limited further reflection. Planning was the most visible regulatory process, while stronger regulatory engagement was evident when AI-generated outputs were examined, questioned, and refined rather than accepted without further consideration.