CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Due to the demand of consecutive academic works, students find it hard to

accomplish their assignments, especially if those assignments are hard for them to

understand. As a result, students use some sites that will help them accomplish their

assignment. Additionally, the sites that they are using are those sites that are manage by

Artificial intelligence (AI). To further understand, students use this platform as this makes

their life easier as a student. For them, it is less time consuming and using this makes things

less hassle in a way that they will just ask questions or math problem and Artificial

intelligence (AI) will immediately respond to them. To specifically declare, one of the

students that use Artificial intelligence are the students that are under the strand of Science

Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced drastically. Although artificial

intelligence (AI) has been present for many years, it has only recently gained traction as a

mainstream technology, being widely used across a range of industries. Those industries

include healthcare, finance, retail, and transportation (David, 2023). To understand more,

this platform can perform activities that normally require human intelligence. It includes

problem-solving, making essay, making a computer code, and comprehending natural

language. Additionally, this platform can analyze data in a short span of time. In this case,

Artificial intelligence has the potential to enhance society in several ways, such as expanded

access to education, better healthcare, and increased productivity. AI-powered solutions can

also simplify and improve the convenience of our daily lives by helping solve difficult

situations. Using Artificial intelligence, Instructors have been able to accomplish greater

quality in their teaching activities and carry out various administrative tasks, such as
reviewing and grading students' assignments, more successfully and efficiently by using

these platforms. (IEEE Xplore-2024).

According to Dickson as cited by Charmaine (et al 2021), AI is distinguished in three

categories. First, synthetic limited intelligence that is only capable of one thing at a time, like

the court cases' anticipated outcomes. Artificial general intelligence comes in second, which,

given its capacity to replicate some of the human even though the human brain is not able to

perform more complicated jobs like logic. Thirdly, the so-called artificial superintelligence an

AI system of the future that is capable of anything a human brain can, and even exceed it. In

addition, according to development aid (2023), AI has enormous potential to assist emerging

nations in addressing problems in vital domains. First, more physicians may begin using AI

into their practice because of the technology's advancement and the readily available data

that is essential to it. This will allow medical professionals to treat more patients more

effectively. AI can assist medical professionals worldwide in making decisions by assisting

them in diagnosing a condition and suggesting the best course of action. This would be

especially crucial for poorer nations, where there is a dearth of medical professionals and

specialized knowledge. One such instance is Clinicas de Azucarl, a company that operates

in Mexico. AI may also be a helpful tool for comparing the costs of medical products, which

is particularly significant for the populations of developing nations where the cost of essential

medications may be a barrier. One such tool is already in use in India, where it provides

consumers with information about medical items at different price points from different

laboratories, enabling them to make well-informed decisions.

In Philippines education context, according to Carle (et al, 2023), AI-powered tools

can evaluate students' progress, pinpoint, and recommend relevant coursework. Teachers

use this to create learning pathways that are more successful. Grammarly is one of the AI

assistants that the students use, this helps fix and correct the grammar of a text. These AI-

provided explanations give teachers a clear understanding of what they can impart to pupils

while also giving students information that they can

plagiarism is the QuillBot, this helps rephrase a certain sentence. Those are only one of

Artificial intelligence sites that the students use. However, using AI in school has limitations

and risks. Too much use of artificial intelligence can affect one’s ability to think critically.

Most students depend on this that they forgot to work their assignments on their own. STEM

students are one of the students who uses Artificial intelligence.

Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is one of the curriculums

in K-12. The students under this field are expected to be creative, critically thinker,

knowledgeable and good in problem solving. And this is where some of the STEM student

struggle. They have encountered complex problem in mathematics that are very hard for

them to understand, and they also struggle in comprehension, and that is why they use

some sites or applications online for these academic problems. Chatbots are one application

of AI that the students used. These chatbots give students individualized, engaging learning

experiences, improve accessibility, and offer round-the-clock support. (Inna Nomerovska -

2023)

Upon reviewing all the articles, the researcher found that most of the related studies

exclusively addressed the advantages of artificial intelligence. The researcher wanted to find

out the positive and negative academic impact of artificial intelligence on STEM students,

and because of this, they decided to conduct a study at Llorente National High School,

where most of the STEM students used the technology. This study intends to provide

understanding on the opportunities and problems involved with incorporating AI into

academic situations by analyzing how it affects the academic performance of STEM

students. It will discuss the possible advantages and disadvantages of utilizing AI

technology, including chatbots for research and learning, adaptive testing, personalized

learning, and predictive analytics.

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the perceptions and

experiences on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence Tools to the Academic Performance of

STEM students of Llorente National High School. Specifically, this study would like to seek

answers to the following questions;

Central Question:

What is the perceived Impact of Artificial Intelligence to the Academic Performance to

STEM students of Llorente National High School?

Sub-questions:

1. What kind of artificial intelligence tools does the STEM students use?

2. What are the reasons why STEM students use artificial intelligence tools?

3. What are the perceived advantages and disadvantages of using artificial intelligence

tools to STEM students?

4. How does artificial intelligence tools impact the academic performance of STEM

students?

Scope and Delimitations

This qualitative research aims to explore and understand the academic impact of artificial

intelligence as perceived by STEM students of Llorente National High School. According to

Nassaji (2020), qualitative research focuses on exploring the depth and nuances of human

experiences, perceptions, and behaviors within their natural context. This method relies on

nonnumerical data from open-ended surveys, observations, and interviews to glean rich, in-

depth insights. This study will be conducted at Llorente National High School during the

months of April-May of School Year 2023-2024. This study is limited to 20 participants

selected using convenience sampling. In this qualitative research, the researcher will serve

as the main instrument of the study. Another tool will be the interview guide. Data will be
gathered through an unstructured interview with open-ended questions prepared by the

researchers. It is composed of twelve (12) questions. Objectively, interview questions are

formulated to gather the necessary information about the perceived academic impact of

artificial intelligence to STEM students. It will be validated by a group of experts using a

validation matrix to identify the appropriateness of the questions and their suitability for the

research participants. In gathering data, individual or focus discussions are employed

depending on the preferences of the participants.

Significance of the Study

This study aimed to provide valuable information on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence to

the Academic Performance of STEM Students of Llorente National High School. This is

significant because the following sectors can benefit from this study:

Students. This study will help the students find out the academic impact of artificial

intelligence tools. The students will know its advantages and disadvantages in their

academic performance that would make them more responsible in using artificial

intelligence.

Parents. This study will help the parents in providing assistance particularly on educating

their children about responsible using artificial intelligence tools.

Teachers. This study will help the teachers so that they can teach students on how and

when to use artificial intelligence tools.

School Administrators. This study is relevant to them so that they will acknowledge the

academic impact of artificial intelligence tools on students and conduct seminars to help the

students have a wide knowledge about artificial intelligence tools.

Future Researchers. They can use this as guide and basis for future studies.
Definition of Terms

For better understanding of the study, the following terms are hereby defined.

Artificial Intelligence - a branch of technology where it simulates human intelligence

processed by machines, especially computer systems. It performs tasks like speech

recognition, decision-making, and problem-solving. In this study, this pertains to the different

types of artificial intelligence tools used by STEM students.

Academic Performance – is the measurement of student’s achievement across various

academic subjects. In this study, this pertains to the completed academic requirements and

self-reported grades of students.