@inproceedings{abraar-etal-2026-beyond-passive,
    title = "Beyond Passive Viewing: A Pilot Study of a Hybrid Learning Platform Augmenting Video Lectures with Conversational {AI}.",
    author = "Abraar, Mohammed  and
      Dandekar, Raj  and
      Dandekar, Rajat  and
      Panat, Sreedath",
    editor = {A{\ss}enmacher, Matthias  and
      Biester, Laura  and
      Borg, Claudia  and
      Kov{\'a}cs, Gy{\"o}rgy  and
      Mieskes, Margot  and
      Serrano, Sofia},
    booktitle = "Proceedings of the Seventh Workshop on Teaching Natural Language Processing ({T}each{NLP} 2026)",
    month = mar,
    year = "2026",
    address = "Rabat, Morocco",
    publisher = "Association for Computational Linguistics",
    url = "https://preview.aclanthology.org/ingest-eacl/2026.teachingnlp-1.15/",
    pages = "109--117",
    ISBN = "979-8-89176-375-3",
    abstract = "The exponential growth of AI education has brought millions of learners to online platforms, yet this massive scale has simultaneously exposed critical pedagogical shortcomings. Traditional video-based instruction, while cost-effective and scalable, demonstrates systematic failures in both sustaining learner engagement and facilitating the deep conceptual mastery essential for AI literacy. We present a pilot study evaluating a novel hybrid learning platform that integrates real-time conversational AI tutors with traditional video lectures. Our controlled experiment $(N = 58,\ \text{mean age } M = 21.4,\ SD = 2.8)$ compared traditional video-based instruction with our AI-augmented video platform. This study employed a sequential within-subjects design where all participants first completed the traditional video condition followed by the AI-augmented condition, providing direct comparisons of learning outcomes. We measured learning effectiveness through immediate post-tests and delayed retention assessments $(2\text{-week delay})$. Results suggest improvements in learning performance: immediate post-test performance showed a large effect size $(d = 1.505)$ with participants scoring 8.3 points higher after AI-augmented instruction $(91.8\ \text{vs.}\ 83.5\ \text{out of}\ 100,\ p < .001)$. Behavioral analytics revealed increased engagement duration $(71.1\%$ improvement with AI tutoring$)$ in the experimental group. This pilot study provides preliminary evidence that conversational AI tutors may enhance traditional educational delivery, suggesting a potential avenue for developing scalable, adaptive learning systems."
}