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Context Matters: Understanding Student Usage, Skills, and Attitudes Toward AI to Inform Classroom Policies
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 May 2024
Abstract
With the growing prevalence of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, political science instructors are navigating how to manage the use and misuse of AI in the classroom. This study underscores the prevalence of AI in academic settings and suggests pedagogical practices to integrate AI in the classroom in ways that are informed by students’ current interactions with and attitudes toward AI. Using a survey of undergraduate students in political science courses, the study finds that ChatGPT usage is widespread at the university level and that students are not confident in their skills for using AI appropriately to improve their writing or prepare for exams. These findings point to key areas where instructors can intervene and integrate AI in ways that enhance student learning, reduce potential achievement gaps that may emerge due to differences in AI usage across student backgrounds, and help students develop critical AI literacy skills to prepare for careers that increasingly are affected by AI.
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- © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of American Political Science Association
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Cahill and McCabe supplementary material
Cahill and McCabe supplementary material
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