Measuring How Students Rely on Generative AI in Academic Writing: Development and Multi-Source Validation of the Generative AI Reliance Types Scale (GenAI-RTS)

Explain Like I'm Normal

Researchers have developed the GenAI-RTS scale to categorize how students actually use AI in their coursework rather than just tracking if they use it. The framework identifies four specific archetypes ranging from using AI as a critical thinking partner to relying on it as a total replacement for original work. This formalizes the study of how LLMs are fundamentally altering the cognitive process of academic writing.