Event Information
My research is grounded in a sociocultural and expansive learning perspective (Engeström & Sannino, 2010), which emphasizes how individuals and groups learn by navigating contradictions and opportunities within complex systems.
This study employs a qualitative, design-based research approach with four former students from my special education classroom. Participants were selected based on their interest in engaging in research discussions about technology, daily life after graduation, and exploring GenAI. Data were collected through a series of 60–90 minute semi-structured individual interviews, in which participants shared experiences related to their daily life, technology use, and reflections on special education. Interviews also included discussions of GenAI practices, and participants engaged in collaborative design activities with GenAI, allowing them to explore AI tools in authentic contexts while practicing critical digital literacy.
This study reframes how young adults with special education experiences use GenAI, showing that tools like ChatGPT function not as threats to academic integrity but as supports that expand agency and scaffold access where formal schooling falls short. Participants engaged with GenAI in ways aligned with their established learner identities. These practices revealed systemic contradictions, including inequities in access to support, restrictive definitions of legitimate participation, and gaps in transitional planning for life after graduation. For example, some participants used ChatGPT to overcome emotional labor tied to writing, make ideas more visible despite narrow institutional expectations, and navigate job readiness. From these findings, two principles emerge: (1) GenAI can meaningfully support user agency, and (2) patterns of GenAI use surface systemic gaps that can guide institutional change. Together, these insights highlight how GenAI engagement exposes both learner potential and structural inequities, offering guidance for more inclusive, justice-centered practices.
This study highlights the need to rethink GenAI policy and practice in education by centering equity, student agency, and reflective use rather than punishment. Students receiving special education services are already engaging with these tools independently to navigate systems that have not met their needs.
Educators should recognize GenAI as a source of empowerment and guide students in responsible, productive use. School leaders should avoid blanket restrictions and instead observe student practices to inform policies that support ethical and equitable use.
Further study of marginalized students’ GenAI use can reveal systemic gaps and inform justice-centered practices. Technology alone cannot fix inequities, but when designed inclusively, it can support transformative learning.
These are the references listed in this proposal:
Engeström, Y. & Sannino, A. (2010). Studies of expansive learning: Foundations, findings and
future challenges. Educational Research Review. 5. 1-24. 10.1016/j.edurev.2009.12.002.
Rice, M. F., & Dunn, S. (2023). The Use of Artificial Intelligence with Students with Identified Disabilities: A Systematic Review with Critique. Computers in the Schools, 40(4), 370–390. https://doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2023.2244935
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