Pedagogical partnerships with generative AI in higher education: how dual cognitive pathways paradoxically enable transformative learning

The rapid integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into higher education has precipitated a critical tension between the pursuit of efficiency and the imperative for deep, transformative learning. While GenAI offers unprecedented speed in knowledge processing, it raises concerns that efficiency-driven motivations may erode the cognitive struggle essential for intellectual growth. This study investigates how Human-GenAI pedagogical partnerships influence transformative learning through the dual cognitive pathways of vigilance and offloading, moderated by efficiency orientation. Employing a rigorous mixed-methods design across three cultural contexts (China, Europe, and the United States, N =…