Artificial Intelligence – Driven Innovation Mechanisms for Developing Digital Literacy in Higher Education Teachers

This study explores artificial intelligence-driven innovation mechanisms for developing digital literacy among higher education teachers. By constructing personalized learning pathways and an intelligent intervention model, a 12-week experimental study is conducted to compare digital literacy changes between an experimental group and a control group. The model evaluates teachers’ digital literacy through multiple dimensions, including digital cognition, technical application, human-AI collaboration, and digital ethics, and uses AI-supported diagnosis, recommendation, task training, and feedback iteration to support differentiated development. The results show that teachers in the experimental group significantly outperform those in the control group in overall digital literacy, multidimensional improvement, and learning-pathway alignment. Gains in digital cognition and human-AI collaboration are particularly pronounced. The experimental group achieves a 20.2-point increase in digital literacy, while the control group increases by 6.0 points, confirming the advantages of the AI-empowered approach. This study provides a theoretical framework and practical pathway for cultivating teachers’ digital literacy in higher education under educational digital transformation.