#981: “It Wasn’t So Outside of the Box, But It Wasn’t Something I Would Have Thought About”: AI as a Creative Collaborator in Student Problem Solving

This study examines how students experience collaboration with generative AI during creative problem-solving. Using post-interview data, we analyze students’ perceptions of creativity and agency across three human–AI writing modes. Findings show that students treated AI as a responsive collaborator that expanded ideas and supported refinement, but was most valued for structuring and improving efficiency. The richest collaborations occurred when students remained active in both generating and refining ideas. These results highlight how generative AI differentially supports divergent and convergent thinking and suggest that balanced, iterative interaction is key to preserving agency in human–AI co-creation.