TLHE project presentation 2025 by Árni Már Einarsson, Department of
Communication
ABSTRACT
This TLHEP-project
concerns students use of generative AI – more specifically ChatGPT – for
educational purposes. In the presentation, I ask: “How do conversation between
students and chatbots unfold, and to what extend can learning can be assumed to
emerge in the dialogue?”. Complimenting existing knowledge that largely relies
on self-reported measures (ie interviews and questionnaires), the project
contributes by examining 503 naturally occurring conversations donated by eight
students across academic domains. In the presentation, I will account for how
ChatGPT is used to automate tasks, distill knowledge, explore ideas, and guide
student-led processes. With reference to pedagogical theories on dialogue and
learning, I problematize the idea of a chatbot as learning partner or
collaborator. Instead, I suggest that educators must promote AI as a critical
object of study and as resource to unlock new questions while better
explicating institutionalized values associated with the academic craft.