Roles of AI-Powered Assessments in Enhancing the Professional Development of Academic Staff in Public Universities in Rivers State

Abstract

The study examined the roles of ai-powered assessments in enhancing the professional development of academic staff in public universities in Rivers State. Three objectives and three research questions guided the study. The study adopted the descriptive research design. The population of this study was drawn 2,849 male and female lecturers in the three public universities in Rivers State. The sample size of the study was 360 respondents. The sample size was determined using Taro Yamane formula. However, the proportionate stratified sampling technique was adopted in selecting a total of 180 male lecturers and 180 female lecturers from the three universities under study. The instrument used for data collection was a self- structured questionnaire titled” Roles of AI-Powered Assessments in Enhancing the Professional Development of Academic Staff Questionnaire”. This instrument was validated by two experts. The reliability co-efficient index obtained through the Cronbach Alpha method was 0.76, 0.78 and 0.83 which was considered reliable. Research questions were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. The findings of the study revealed among others that AI-powered assessments provide timely and actionable feedback that improves teachers’ teaching practices, the use of AI-powered assessments has significantly enhanced teachers’ ability to identify areas for professional growth, it offers personalized recommendations that are relevant to teachers’ professional development needs and their confidence in adapting to new teaching strategies has improved. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that Public universities in Rivers State should prioritize the adoption of AI-powered assessment tools as part of their professional development programmes. Institutions should invest in integrating these tools into their teaching evaluation processes to enable academic staff to access personalized, data-driven feedback that enhances their teaching practices and facilitates continuous professional growth.