University of Toronto Scarborough
Measured before, measured after, same students.
A pilot study run in collaboration with Studiosity by Dr Kyle Danielson, over the 2025 winter term, across two psychology courses: first-year introductory psychology with around 2,000 students, and third-year developmental psychology with 100.
How it was run
The service was integrated into multiple assignments: a reflection or idea paper of around 1,000 words in introductory psychology, and a case study of around 2,000 words in third-year. Students wrote a reflection on their feedback at final submission, and assignments carried one or two marks tied to using the service.
By the end of term every student had turned in at least one draft, with many submitting more than one. Student feedback was collected by survey.
5,529 interactions across 1,872 registered students.
Confidence and motivation, before and after
Before: most students rated their confidence in analysis and critical thinking as average (59%) or low (11%). After: most rated it high (56%) or very high (9%).
Before: students rated their motivation very low (2%), low (12%) or average (63%). After: 41% declared high motivation and 13% very high.
82% of students accessing the service said they felt more confident afterwards.
Academic integrity
61% of students agree or strongly agree that having access to the service makes them less likely to use AI tools to generate writing. A further 7% said this was not applicable, implying they were not using AI tools at all.
71% agree or strongly agree that the service has improved their awareness of and adherence to academic integrity.
Autonomy and help-seeking
71% of students said they mostly or always feel more encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning. 62% agree or strongly agree that they are more likely to seek help when struggling, and 54% that they are now more willing to use other student services on campus.
On learning: 42% said they learned a moderate amount from their use, 33% a lot, and 9% a great deal. 70% found the feedback mostly or always relevant.
Study habits and service quality
Most students submitted close to the deadline: 31% two days before, 26% one day before, and 12% on the day it was due, which the source reads as a high need for fast turnaround. Sunday was the busiest day and 11pm the busiest time.
90% found the service easy to use, 81% were satisfied or extremely satisfied, and 87% said they got the help they needed.
What students said
“It helps give insightful feedback in my writing. One of the most tedious parts of writing papers is making sure it feels ‘perfect’ but Studiosity allows me to write freely and submit the rough draft into the system to help with the tedious revision process.”
“Having a low-stakes draft deadline specifically is helpful for getting started and oriented on an assignment, and helps curb some procrastination.”
“It helps me feel more confident when I hand in assignments, also it makes me feel like I’m getting a peer-review which is helpful.”
“Studiosity is excellent in giving feedback when I feel like my professors/instructors have not given enough information or support.”
“I think it is a good tool to get detailed feedback specific to your writing and although using it made the editing process longer, I think my final product was very much improved in the end.”