From Passive Recipients to AI Collaborators: 
A Constructivist Framework for Fostering Student 
Agency in College English Class

Yuan Yi

doi:10.70711/frim.v3i4.6476

From Passive Recipients to AI Collaborators: A Constructivist Framework for Fostering Student Agency in College English Class

Yuan Yi

Abstract

Based on constructivist theory, this study explores how AI tools can empower university English classes and promote students
transformation from passive recipients of knowledge to collaborative AI subjects. The study points out that in the traditional large-class
teaching mode, students are often in a passive state, while AI tools can be used as cognitive scaffolding and social interaction intermediary to realize role reconstruction through a four-phase transformation path: (1) cognitive activation; (2) negotiation of meaning; (3)
knowledge reconstruction; and (4) reflective transfer. Empirical cases show that students writing efficiency increased after collaborating
with AI at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The study emphasizes the need for teachers to transform from knowledge transmitters to designers + guides, and suggests that education should strengthen AI instructional design training to ensure that teachers can take advantages of AI tools.

Keywords

Construtivism; AI tools; College English class

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References

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.70711/frim.v3i4.6476

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