Information Literacy Through Open Pedagogy: What’s the Role of AI Tools?

Student engagement in developing open educational resources (OER; openly licensed materials without fees to access) may be critically important for sustainable higher education and for developing important skills. There has been substantial debate about the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) for the sustainability of OER, but little empirical inquiry. In this quasi-experimental study in the United States, two sections of college students (N = 113) collaborated with their instructor to improve the sources cited in an OER textbook. In one section, students only used traditional library databases to find suitable sources (traditional; n = 55). In another section, students were instructed on how to use GenAI to locate and understand scholarly journal articles using Scite.ai and SciSpace (AI-enhanced; n = 58). Both sections of students reported improved source-finding skills based on pre- and post-semester questionnaires; however, there was no evidence of improved growth with AI enhancement. Students in the traditional section appeared to have better assignment scores. In contrast, students in the AI-enhanced section were more likely to successfully submit assignments. Findings are discussed in the context of how open pedagogy with or without AI tools may support the sustainability of OER as well as overall sustainable education goals in higher education.