Evolving Understanding
The Ineffectiveness of Instructor-level GenAI-Use Policies: Investigating Digital Tool Academic Misconduct in a Japanese University English Lecture Course
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Brian Rubrecht
Late 2022 saw the release of ChatGPT, the first of many powerful generative artificial intelligence (genAI) tools that quickly began transforming the way people work and study. As Japanese universities were cognizant of genAI’s increasing societal impact and its potential application in educational endeavors, they overwhelmingly left responsibility for genAI and other digital tool (DT) usage policy establishment and enforcement for individual courses to the instructors. Allowing instructors this free hand in determining genAI’s role in their courses seems both sound and appropriate, as (a) students’ point of contact with instructor aims and pedagogies as well as course material and objectives lie first and foremost with the instructors themselves, and (b) instructors are in the best position to monitor and discourage student genAI misuse. However, it is argued here that, given genAI’s unprecedented power and allure, simply leaving genAI policy monitoring solely to instructors is not only ineffectual as a student cheating deterrent but also burdensome, as it imposes numerous additional instructor labor costs. This paper supports this argument by providing analyses spanning a ten-year period of course failures resulting directly from the genAI and other DT misuse in English-only research reports submitted by Japanese university students enrolled in an English language lecture course. Analyses reveal a dramatic increase in course failure rates post-ChatGPT launch, specifically indicating instructor-level genAI policy monitoring ineffectiveness. GenAI misuse mitigation suggestions are proffered. Additionally, as other factors (e.g., pandemic influences) may exacerbate student genAI misuse, a call for further research is made.
AI and Critical Thinking in Higher Education
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Jose Boigues Lopez
This paper exemplifies the possibilities of using AI tools to foster the development of critical thinking skills in college students. The study is divided into two different parts. The first one displays a general theoretical frame on the pedagogical applications of AI in higher education. The second part analyzes one specific case of the use of ChatGPT in a linguistics course in which students evaluated a text generated by the AI chatbot. The goals behind this task were, on the one hand, to promote students’ development of critical thinking skills, and on the other one, to raise their awareness about the ethical issues regarding the use of AI tools to generate texts. The paper concludes by commenting on the prospects and the limitations of using AI writing tools for educational purposes.
Chat GPT in the EFL Classroom: Guidelines and Insights for Argumentative Writing Instruction
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Neil Barrett
This research explores the use of ChatGPT to enhance argumentative essay writing skills for undergraduate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners and develop pedagogical guidelines for instructors. Argumentative writing is especially difficult for novice undergraduate EFL learners as they must deal with grammar, vocabulary, and stylistic problems while developing a good argument structure. A one-year Design-Based Research (DBR) study was designed to develop an EFL argumentative chatbot assistant within ChatGPT. The process began with a comprehensive literature review followed by expert input and student feedback to embed an argumentative writing GPT assistant in a writing course guided by Bloom’s taxonomy and seamless language learning. A key feature of the study was the use of ChatGPT prompts for smart questioning and clarification, followed by constructive feedback. This process enabled students to develop their ideas and deepen their understanding of the writing process. The study consisted of two main phases with 24 students and included pre-post writing tests, and chat analysis to understand improvements in writing. Surveys, interviews, and observations were also used to help understand student perceptions and problems. The results demonstrated improvements in students' grammatical accuracy, organization, argument development, and counterargument skills. Overall, the students found the learning experience to be valuable and helpful, resulting in perceived motivation, and changes in writing behavior. However, students feared they would become over-reliant on AI for writing and struggled to assess the quality of the AI feedback. The research led to pedagogical guidelines for integrating ChatGPT into undergraduate EFL writing instruction.
