Putri Kumala Dewi, Ahmad Rofi’uddin, Imam Agus Basuki
In the contemporary digital landscape, university students increasingly gravitate toward Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a primary authoritative source, often prioritized for its efficiency and perceived reliability. This reliance, however, frequently results in the circumvention of rigorous information verification processes, which subsequently risks narrowing critical reasoning pathways and diminishing opportunities for deep cognitive reflection. This research addresses these challenges by exploring the construction of an integrated AI-Manual pedagogical model designed for critical reading instruction. Utilizing a qualitative approach within an intrinsic case study design, the study involved participant observation, in-depth semi-structured interviews, and comprehensive document analysis of student work. The findings reveal that the model establishes a sophisticated "manual-AI-manual" learning trajectory. This process begins with foundational manual text analysis, followed by the strategic use of AI tools—such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Scite AI—to explore implicit ideas and stimulate diverse perspectives through the RACE (Role, Action, Context, Expectation) prompting technique. The cycle concludes with a return to manual verification and collaborative synthesis. Results indicate significant enhancements across students' cognitive, metacognitive, and collaborative domains. Specifically, the integration of technology as an intellectual partner, rather than a mere information retrieval tool, fosters a critical stance that demands multi-source verification and reflective clarification of meaning. This study underscores the necessity of systematic AI-Manual integration and advocates for instructional designs and institutional policies that balance technological advancements with the purposeful reinforcement of critical literacy in higher education. Copyright (c) 2026 The Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Department of Indonesian Literature, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia
