How teacher presence affects student engagement with a generative artificial intelligence chatbot in learning designed with first principles of instruction

Teacher presence influences student engagement in a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)-based learning environment. This study investigates how teacher presence affects student engagement with a GenAI chatbot such as ChatGPT in language learning environments designed with using First Principles of Instruction (FPI). It adopted a sequential explanatory mixed method design and involved 60 students, with 30 in a teacher absence group and 30 in a teacher presence group. The three key findings are: First, students learning with teacher presence reported a statistically significant higher level of emotional and agentic engagement than those without in GenAI chatbot language learning. Second, students learning with teacher presence indicated levels of behavioral and cognitive engagement similar to those of students without. Third, six features of teacher presence (roles) in GenAI chatbot language learning were identified.