Research Article
Carmen Köhler, Johannes Hartig
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 16, Issue 4, Article No: ep528
ABSTRACT
Since ChatGPT-3.5 has been available to the public, the potentials and challenges regarding chatbot usage in education have been widely discussed. However, little evidence exists whether and for which purposes students even apply generative AI tools. The first main purpose of the present study was to develop and test scales that assess students’ (1) knowledge about ChatGPT, (2) actual ChatGPT usage and perceived value of use, and (3) attitude towards ChatGPT. Our second aim was to examine the intercorrelations between these scales, and to investigate differences (a) across five academic fields (i.e., human sciences, social sciences, teaching profession, health sciences, and law and economics) and (b) between stages of education (i.e., number of semesters). N = 693 students from various German universities participated in our online survey. Quality checks (Cronbach’s alpha, MacDonald’s omega, and confirmatory factor analyses) show satisfactory results for all scales. The scales all positively relate to each other, except for the knowledge and attitude scales. This means that more knowledge about ChatGPT is connected to a less favorable attitude regarding the generative AI tool. Lastly, MANOVA and subsequent Bonferroni corrected ANOVA tests show that ChatGPT is mostly used by law and economics students, and most frequently by students in the third year of higher education.
Keywords: ChatGPT in higher education, student knowledge, student use, student attitude, scale development, assessment, large language models (LLMs)
Research Article
Philipp Bitzenbauer
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 3, Article No: ep430
ABSTRACT
Large language models, such as ChatGPT, have great potential to enhance learning and support teachers, but they must be used with care to tackle limitations and biases. This paper presents two easy-to-implement examples of how ChatGPT can be used in physics classrooms to foster critical thinking skills at the secondary school level. A pilot study (n=53) examining the implementation of these examples found that the intervention had a positive impact on students’ perceptions of ChatGPT, with an increase in agreement with statements related to its benefits and incorporation into their daily lives.
Keywords: ChatGPT, large language model, physics teaching, critical thinking