Exploring the Role of Generative AI in Cultivating Critical Thinking in Higher Education
1. Background
The Importance of Critical Thinking
l Critical thinking plays a crucial role in higher education, especially as we increasingly rely on generative AI (GenAI) for content production.
l AI literacy is essential to ensure users remain aware of and critically evaluate AI-generated content.
Generative AI and Critical Thinking
l Existing research has explored the implementation of GenAI in education, but its role in fostering or hindering critical thinking remains underexplored.
l The concern of GenAI being a “stochastic parrot” raises questions about whether it supports or inhibits critical thinking skills.
2. Literature Review
Does Generative AI Hinder Critical Thinking?
l Previous studies (e.g., Pereira et al., 2023) suggest that little is known about how non-experts design prompts and evaluate AI-generated responses.
Metacognition and Generative AI
l Metacognition is both measurable and teachable (Tankelevitch & Kewenig et al., 2024). Research has addressed the metacognitive demands of using GenAI, but more work is needed to understand how users' cognitive processes are affected.
Formulating One’s Own Narrative
l Giannini (2023) argues that teaching writing is one of the most effective ways to cultivate and demonstrate analytical and critical thinking skills.
Designing AI to Foster Critical Thinking
l AI should challenge rather than merely agree with the user (Sarkar, 2023). Instead of simply providing an answer, AI should encourage users to question and critique.
3. Research Questions
Does current GenAI hinder critical thinking?
How does metacognition manifest when users interact with GenAI?
How can we design GenAI systems that encourage users to critically reflect on their questions and answers?
4. Methodology
Surveys and Interviews: Assess users' critical thinking and metacognitive awareness when using GenAI.
Designing systems: xxx
User study: Participants interact with different types of GenAI tools, and their critical thinking ability is evaluated.
Data Analysis: Employ both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the impact of GenAI on critical thinking.
5. Expected Outcomes
Gain insights into whether and how GenAI influences users' critical thinking.
Identify the role of metacognition in AI-assisted thought processes.
Develop design recommendations to enhance GenAI’s role in fostering critical thinking.
6. Significance
Improve the design of GenAI tools to function as more than passive text generators but as facilitators of critical thinking.
Provide theoretical and practical contributions to AI applications in higher education.
7. Timeline
|
Phase
|
Duration
|
Tasks
|
|
|
1-3 months
|
|
|
|
4-6 months
|
|
|
|
7-9 months
|
|
|
|
10-12 months
|
|
8. References
[1] Tankelevitch, Lev, et al. "The metacognitive demands and opportunities of generative AI." Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 2024.