Human, AI, or Co-Creation? Exploring Conventional, AI-Based, and Human-AI Collaborative Learning

Given the increasing incorporation of artificial intelligence tools in hospitality education and industry, the role of AI in student experiential learning becomes more important than ever. However, limited research has explored the effective integration of AI into student learning. Adopting experiential learning theory, this research identifies the types of learning outcomes students demonstrate and their perceptions of conventional teacher-directed, AI-based, and human-AI collaborative teaching approaches in hospitality education. Using qualitative approach, our findings show distinctive learning outcomes for each approach: teacher-directed learning enhances critical thinking and real-world application, AI-based learning improves data literacy and efficiency, and human-AI collaboration strengthens reflective learning and the integration of objective and subjective insights. Moreover, students’ perceptions highlight the importance of sequence-based teaching approaches to balance human creativity with AI-driven analysis. Our findings provide significant insights on how AI can be effectively integrated to enhance experiential learning for future hospitality leaders.