Factors affecting Chinese undergraduate medical students’ behavioural intention and actual use of intelligent tutoring systems

Abstract

This study examined Chinese undergraduate medical students’ acceptance and adoption of intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) using the general extended technology acceptance model for e-learning via a Likert-scale questionnaire. Specifically, it examined the relations between the five antecedents and the four core components in the model (i.e., perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), behavioural intention and actual use of ITSs). The results of PLS-SEM showed that perceived enjoyment was the most influential antecedent as it significantly impacted both PU and PEOU. Both self-efficacy and prior experience only significantly contributed to PEOU but not PU. Both PU and PEOU significantly and positively predicted behavioural intention, which in turn had a significant and positive path to actual use. The results provide some practical implications to teachers as to how to encourage Chinese undergraduate medical students’ adoption of ITSs: by integrating some gamification elements into the learning activities in ITSs to foster students’ enjoyable feelings or familiarising students with using ITSs so that they can quickly adapt to learning through them. This could be achieved by providing guidance in using ITSs via videos, websites or booklets, or at the beginning of the course, inviting senior students to share their perceived advantages and usefulness of using ITSs.

Implications for practice or policy:

• Because of the importance of perceived enjoyment, teachers may integrate some gamification into the learning activities in ITSs to nurture students’ enjoyable feelings.
• To enable students to quickly accommodate learning via ITSs, institutions may provide students with information on common features of ITSs or how to navigate a specific ITS.
• Teachers may explicitly explain how learning objectives can be better achieved through using an ITSs so that students will appreciate its usefulness.