How do Educators Use Generative AI for Teaching & Learning (Higher Ed.)?

Framework

The use of generative ai in education is transforming learning and instruction. Since the release of the large language model (LLM) ChatGPT in November of 2022, educators as early adopters have been experimenting with ai-enabled digital tools. It is important that these experiences are articulated and disseminated so that others may appropriately leverage ai. This study has been designed to capture the experiences of educators to understand how they are using the technology, the kinds of challenges incurred and supports needed, culminating in design principles aligned with evidence-based practice.
The theoretical framework of the inquiry focuses on the characteristics of professional learning communities, such as collective inquiry, collaboration, and results orientation. In addition, ideas and methods related to digital ethnography - the study of online cultures - and social network analysis are leveraged.
The research questions for the research project are:

1. How are faculty in higher education using generative artificial intelligence for instruction? For administrative and other educational tasks?

2 What are the perspectives and experiential insights of educators concerning the adoption and use of AI digital tools?

3. In what ways do educators’ network to share information about ai digital tools?

4. To what extent are the instructional uses of ai aligned with evidence-based practices for teaching and learning?

The Facebook group content analysis is primarily aligned with RQs 1 and 3.

Methods

The research design is a sequential explanatory mixed methods design. Data sources consist of quantitative data from a survey as well as qualitative data from focus groups (optional) and content analysis of social media.

The first phase of the study, proposed to occur primarily in Fall 2023, entails a content analysis of Facebook posts and selected responses from a group discussing the use of generative ai ChatGPT for Teachers. These data were downloaded using a chrome extension, Esuit PostsExporter, and saved to a csv file for analysis. Due to the volume of posts and responses, a sample of 6-8 weeks will be analyzed. It's anticipated that the data will be coded thematically by type (general question, sharing a resource, technical questions) and other characteristics such as frequency. The second phase of the study entails collecting data from a survey about educators’ practices and follow-up focus group. The study will result in draft principles of use of ai for designing and implementing instruction in higher education contexts as well as inform the development of educator professional development. This presentation will discuss the results from the first phase of the study.

Results

I anticipate the results of the content analysis to give insight into the kinds of questions, topics and interactions discussed by early adopters actively using ChatGPT or interested in giving it a try. I plan on analyzing the qualitative data using a tool such as nVivo to create visual representations of major themes. The results of the first phase of the study will be available by November. Analysis has begun, and will inform final planning of phase two.

Importance

Designing impactful professional learning experiences requires intentional planning of the learning outcomes, determining the rationale and sequence of activities and importantly, insight into educators' needs. This exploratory study will give insight into the instructional experiments, questions and curiosities of educators using ai-based tools such as ChatGPT. This information will be highly impactful to understand and plan meaningful professional learning experiences, and to envision the possibilities of these emerging technologies for faculty in higher education settings.

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