The use of GenAI as a learning resource: an explorative study on university mathematics students’ agency

The concept of student agency generally refers to students' ability to influence their learning processes and trajectories. In the context of university mathematics, this paper explores how the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools as learning resources redefines student agency, making it observable through the practices by which students select, use, and integrate GenAI into their learning processes. In an explorative study involving 11 master's students, we adopt the lens proposed by Pepin et al. (2024), according to which the selection and use of resources are shaped by four factors: resource availability, course structure and pedagogical approaches, institutional framework, and students' beliefs and goals. The findings show how agency emerges in the ways students integrate GenAI into their study practices, highlighting the distributed nature of agency across students, resources, and the educational context.