ChatGPT as a Metacognitive Catalyst in Personalized Learning Ecosystems

This qualitative study explores the role of ChatGPT in shaping students’ metacognitive development and self-regulated learning within equity-driven, personalized learning environments. It draws on data from 24 semi-structured interviews, 300 hours of classroom observation, and analysis of student work collected from a yearlong youth apprenticeship program based in the northeastern United States. The program served culturally and socioeconomically diverse high school students and combined project-based learning with blended synchronous and asynchronous online instruction designed to promote career readiness and digital fluency. Grounded in Social Constructivism and Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) theory, one of the study’s key outcomes is the development of AI-Mediated Metacognitive Development (AIMD), a new theoretical framework that conceptualizes artificial intelligence as a dynamic cognitive mediator that can either support or hinder metacognitive growth. The findings reveal that ChatGPT fosters reflection, strategic thinking, and adaptive reasoning when implemented through structured scaffolding and peer collaboration. However, in the absence of intentional guidance, students often relied on ChatGPT in ways that led to cognitive offloading and superficial engagement. The study emphasizes that the educational value of AI depends not solely on its technological capabilities but on how it is embedded within pedagogical, cultural, and social contexts. AIMD provides a critical framework for designing AI-integrated instruction that advances learner agency, equity, and reflective autonomy.