Proceedings of The 7th World Conference on Teaching and Education
Year: 2024
DOI:
[PDF]
Integration of ChatGPT in Undergraduate Social Science Programs in the United Arab Emirates
Chenyu Yi
ABSTRACT:
The emergence of generative AI tools marks a pivotal point in higher education. Its generative capability to write essays and pass exams challenges traditional assessments and academic integrity norms. However, generative AI tools also present an unprecedented opportunity for improving teaching and student learning. From enabling individualized learning to allowing for innovative teaching practices across disciplines, generative AI tools demonstrate promising potential to transform existing teaching and learning approaches. Focusing on Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT) applications in social science education, this case study analysis explores ChatGPT integration in the social science programs at a global liberal arts university in the Gulf. Drawing insights from surveys, interviews, and teaching materials, the findings suggest diverse practices of ChatGPT integration and the associated challenges among the social science faculty. Insights from this study demonstrate opportunities and barriers to ChatGPT integration in social science education in a country where AI is being fully integrated into work and education. Given the rapidly changing landscape, this study also timestamps the current state of ChatGPT integration to track the evolution of change and establish a baseline for future studies.
keywords: Generative AI; Higher Education; Social Science Education; Teaching and Learning; Technology Integration