Scoping Review Protocol: Cognitive Skills, Pedagogical Barriers, and Usage Guidelines of Artificial Intelligence in Education.

Abstract

Objective: To establish a standardized methodological protocol for systematically mapping and characterizing the available scientific evidence on changes in cognitive abilities, pedagogical barriers, and guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in formal education. Introduction: The emergence of generative AI models creates a dialectical tension between cognitive offloading and critical thinking, confronting teachers with a profound crisis in authentic assessment and curricular mismatches. Inclusion criteria: Studies in formal education (Population: higher education and secondary education) focused on AI (Concept) that address cognitive skills, pedagogical barriers, or usage guidelines (disjunctive logic), in face-to-face, hybrid, or virtual settings (Context). Time period: 2021–2026; Spanish and English. Methods: The review will be conducted in accordance with the JBI 2024 Manual for systematic reviews and will be reported using the PRISMA-ScR extension. Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, ERIC, IEEE Xplore, and Google Scholar will be consulted. The process will include a two-phase screening (title/abstract and full text) and data extraction using a standardized form with 12 variables. Keywords: Artificial intelligence; higher education; cognitive skills; teacher barriers; ethical guidelines; scoping review.