In business higher education, developing critical thinking skills has been a longstanding objective, yet many educators find it difficult to achieve. With the recent public availability of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, this challenge has taken on new dimensions. How should we approach the concept of critical thinking in the age of generative AI tools, and can these tools be effectively used to develop students' critical thinking skills?
The purpose of this paper is to present an innovative instructional practice, specifically a workshop, aimed at developing students' critical thinking skills through the utilization of ChatGPT. Furthermore, the paper aims to reflect on the outcomes of this practice and provide inspiration and practical recommendations for other higher education instructors.
The workshop, conducted within the Business Studies Master programme at Dalarna University, Sweden, sought to enhance students' understanding of generative AI tools while fostering critical thinking and analysis. Through collaborative group work, students, ranging from complete beginners to proficient users of generative AI, engaged in writing seminar papers using ChatGPT. This experiential learning facilitated constructive discussions on the potential and limitations of ChatGPT in academic settings, resulting in the acquisition of fundamental knowledge about generative AI tools. Interestingly, even experienced users reported gaining new insights, particularly concerning ethical considerations in ChatGPT usage.
The workshop's impact transcended immediate outcomes, as students exhibited greater responsibility in utilizing ChatGPT for academic purposes in following programme courses. The paper provides practice-based recommendations for implementing similar workshops and highlight key insights gathered from student experiences.
2024.
27th Nordic Academy of Management Conference, Reykjavik, 15th to 17th August 2024