An AI-enabled feedback-feedforward approach to promoting online collaborative learning

Online collaborative learning has been broadly applied in higher education. However, learners face many challenges in collaborating with one another and coregulating their learning, leading to low group performance. To address the gaps, this study proposed an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled feedback and feedforward approach that not only provide feedback but also offer recommendations for future actions to support online collaborative learning. In total, 153 college students participated in this study, and they were divided into three conditions. Fifty-one students conducted online collaborative learning with the AI-enabled feedback and feedforward approach, another 51 students carried out online collaborative learning with the AI-enabled feedback approach, and the remaining 51 students participated in traditional online collaborative learning without either type of support. The results indicated that the AI-enabled feedback and feedforward approach could significantly boost the level of collaborative knowledge building, coregulated behaviours, and group performance. Research and practical implications of the findings are discussed in depth.