Indian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Studies

AI vs. Traditional Study Methods: A Review of Student Performance and Knowledge Retention

The accelerated pace of development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies has had a major impact on the global higher education system, leading to a paradigm shift in the way students access, process, and retain knowledge. AI-powered learning platforms are developed to offer personalized feedback, adaptive content delivery, real-time engagement, and improved accessibility, thus enabling the creation of dynamic and student-centric learning environments. On the other hand, conventional learning processes like classroom teaching, hardcopy textbooks, manual note-taking, and offline learning tools remain the cornerstone of organized and disciplined academic learning. This review paper, AI vs. Traditional Study Methods: A Review of Student Performance and Knowledge Retention, critically evaluates the relative efficacy of AI-powered learning platforms and traditional learning processes in enhancing student performance in examinations and long-term retention of knowledge. The paper is grounded on the assessment of secondary data generated from the scholarly literature published between 2010 and 2025, concentrating on digital education technology and traditional learning environments in higher education settings. Research shows that AI-based educational platforms improve students’ performance for a short while, while traditional teaching methods at universities are more effective in developing necessary knowledge for students’ success. Results of the study show that the combination of both educational methods helps students attain maximum success.