Cognitive Processes and Critical Thinking in Educational Environments Mediated by Adaptive Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

The increasing incorporation of adaptive artificial intelligence into educational environments has substantially reshaped teaching and learning processes by enabling the personalisation of content, instructional sequences, and learning pace according to students’ cognitive characteristics. These technologies have gained relevance in complex educational contexts as they promote meaningful learning, address cognitive diversity, and optimise pedagogical interaction, particularly with regard to the development of higher-order cognitive skills. Among these, critical thinking has emerged as a key transversal competence, integrating processes such as analysis, reflective evaluation, inference, and self-regulation of thinking, all of which are essential for informed decision-making in the knowledge society. However, the specialised scientific literature presents a fragmented body of research approached from heterogeneous theoretical and methodological perspectives, which constrains a coherent understanding of the relationship between adaptive artificial intelligence, cognitive processes, and critical thinking. Within this framework, the aim of the study is to critically examine and synthesise the available scientific evidence on this relationship through a systematic review of the literature. The research adopts a qualitative, exploratory, and documentary approach, without direct intervention or variable measurement, and is conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, ensuring rigour and transparency in the selection and analysis of studies. The findings indicate that educational environments mediated by adaptive artificial intelligence exert a significant influence on cognitive processes and critical thinking when their pedagogical design is grounded in robust theoretical principles and oriented towards deep learning.