Award Date

5-15-2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education

First Committee Member

E. Michael Nussbaum

Second Committee Member

Omolola Odejimi

Third Committee Member

Vanessa Vongkulluksn

Fourth Committee Member

Vincent Hsu

Number of Pages

147

Abstract

This study examined whether structured ChatGPT tutoring could approximate the learning gains historically associated with one-on-one human tutoring. Grounded in cognitive load theory and informed by Bloom’s two-sigma benchmark, the investigation used double-entry accounting as a procedurally dense testbed requiring coordinated schema construction and rule-based reasoning. A randomized proof-of-concept design assigned thirty first-year accounting students to either human tutoring or ChatGPT tutoring across an eight-week instructional interval. Learning outcomes were assessed at pretest, posttest, and delayed retention. Repeated-measures analyses revealed substantial within-subject learning gains across both instructional modalities. Performance improved significantly from baseline to post-instruction assessment, indicating acquisition of procedural schemas. A significant Group × Time interaction demonstrated differentiated learning trajectories, with students receiving ChatGPT tutoring exhibiting steeper acquisition gains and greater performance stability across the retention interval. Nonparametric robustness analyses using the ANOVA-Type Statistic reproduced the same inferential pattern. Survey findings indicated high engagement and instructional clarity across both conditions. Within the constraints of a proof-of-concept design, the magnitude of gains observed in the ChatGPT condition approached levels historically associated with individualized tutoring, suggesting that principled instructional structure may narrow the gap between personalized and scalable academic support.

Keywords

AI Tutoring Systems; Bloom’s Two-Sigma Problem; Cognitive Load Theory; Learning Transfer and Retention; Procedural Learning

Disciplines

Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Psychology

File Format

PDF

File Size

1111 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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