# Promoting teaching innovation among university teachers through AI literacy from the perspective of planned behavior: the moderating effects of three perceived supports

## TL;DR

This study explores how AI literacy helps university teachers innovate in teaching, using psychological mechanisms and support factors.

## Contribution

It introduces the moderating effects of perceived support factors on AI literacy's impact on teaching innovation.

## Key findings

- AI literacy improves behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, promoting teaching innovation.
- Perceived behavioral control is the most significant driver of teaching innovation.
- Teaching resources and autonomy enhance the impact of AI literacy on innovation.

## Abstract

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming higher education, yet the mechanisms through which AI literacy influences teaching innovation among university teachers remain insufficiently explored.

This study, grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), investigates how AI literacy promotes teaching innovation via three psychological mechanisms: behavioral attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. Additionally, the moderating effects of perceived support factors—teaching resources, peer support, and teaching autonomy—on the relationship between AI literacy and teaching innovation are considered. Empirical survey data from Chinese university teachers were used for analysis.

The findings reveal that AI literacy significantly enhances teachers’ behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, which in turn foster teaching innovation. Among these, perceived behavioral control plays the most significant role in driving innovative behavior. Moreover, teaching resources and teaching autonomy positively moderate the relationship between AI literacy and teaching innovation, while peer support only significantly influences behavioral attitudes.

These results extend the application of the Theory of Planned Behavior by uncovering the psychological mechanisms through which AI literacy fosters teaching innovation. The study provides empirical evidence supporting AI literacy training and teacher support in higher education, with implications for fostering innovation in teaching practices.