|
Article |
Alfabetización en IA: enseñar a los estudiantes sobre
la IA y sus implicaciones éticas en la redacción académica en una segunda
lengua.
Michelle Cervantes Figueroa*
Ricardo Jordán[*]
Lorena Torres*
Abstract
The following
research work focused on the examination of Artificial Intelligence use in the
academic work of students learning Language and Literature in a second language
context. In this quasi-experimental design, 59 students from the ANAN Bilingual
School of 10 and 12 grades were tested for the levels of their comprehension
and ethical application of AI tools across three phases: pre-intervention, AI
Literacy Intervention, and post-interventional reflection. The intervention
included workshops on prompt engineering, ethics of using AI, and responsible
integration of AI tools into academic writing. The data from the surveys,
discussions, and practical assignments showed that students had differentiated
opinions on the role of AI in doing academic work.
Keywords: AI Literacy, Ethics, Academic
Writing.
Resumen
Esta investigación exploró el
uso de la Inteligencia Artificial en el trabajo académico de estudiantes que
cursan Lengua y Literatura en un contexto de segunda lengua. Utilizando un
diseño cuasi-experimental, el estudio involucró a 59 estudiantes de los grados
10.º y 12.º de la Escuela Bilingüe ANAN. La investigación evaluó la comprensión
y la aplicación ética de herramientas de IA por parte de los estudiantes a lo
largo de tres fases: preintervención, intervención sobre alfabetización en IA y
reflexión posterior a la intervención. La intervención incluyó talleres sobre
ingeniería de prompts, consideraciones éticas en el uso de la IA e integración
responsable de herramientas de IA en la escritura académica. Los datos
recopilados mediante encuestas, discusiones grupales y tareas prácticas
revelaron perspectivas diversas entre los estudiantes sobre el papel de la IA
en las tareas académicas.
Palabras clave: Alfabetización en IA, Ética, Redacción académica
Introduction
It is
universally known that the teaching-learning process is a highly cognitively
demanding task in which teachers must consider different factors (Torres,
2023). Additionally, the fast development of technology and its wide
applications to education adds extra complexity to the teaching-learning
process. In this sense and considering the recent outbreak of Artificial
Intelligence (AI) applications in our day-to-day life, it is essential for
teachers and learners to become AI literate (Hollands & Breazeal, 2024).
This means that during the learning process, teachers and learners must
understand the role of AI in the classroom and evaluate its pros and cons to
use it constructively.
In this
order of ideas, Casal-Otero et al., (2023) claims that the education system
needs to prepare students to live in a society where they must interact with
AI. Therefore, AI literacy is an essential element worth incorporating into the
learning experience. Even though AI tools such as ChatGPT and other generative
AI in education, or educative AI, can provide students with an interactive
learning experience, it is crucial to approach its applications in academic
practices responsibly and ethically (Su & Yang, 2023). This last statement
is pertinent to avoid students' malpractices, plagiarism, and low cognitively
demanding tasks that result in ineffective learning experiences.
In recent
years, and after the AI outbreak in education, international organizations such
as UNESCO (2021) declared that countries are considering the relevance of
integrating AI literacy in schools. Similarly, May (2023) depicted that by
blending AI tools into the curriculum, institutions aim to empower students to
use these technologies to their benefit, focusing on how they can be harnessed
to improve the products of the assignments. For this reason, AI must be
contemplated as a digital literacy component in the curriculum, merging the AI
tools into existing competencies in subjects such as language and mathematics.
Nevertheless,
after analyzing the multiple benefits of incorporating AI across the
curriculum, it is essential to acknowledge that exposing learners to AI might
become a valuable experience. However, this exposure alone does not give
learners the necessary knowledge and skills to comprehend, employ, and
ethically assess AI technologies. In this sense, as teachers and instructors,
it is imperative to provide learners with acquaintance directed to an adequate
use of AI. Instruct them about the benefits of the ethical uses these tools
provide, the purpose of their use, the results or products learners want to
obtain, and most importantly, it is the product of their own production or
copying and pasting of someone else's ideas.
The
previous statement emphasizes the importance of integrating AI literacy into
the curriculum (Relmasira et al., 2023). Especially
when instructing critical subjects such as Language and Literature, a subject
in which learners must apply critical thinking skills to analyze literature and
produce different types of text and writing styles. Consequently, integrating
AI tools can spoil the learning process.
AI literacy
can be defined as the capacity to engage with a tool to solve problems in a
variety of contexts without trespassing its ethical applications. Even though
this does not demand extensive knowledge or foundations of AI concepts, it
should require the development of a solid foundation of AI limitations,
applications, and ethical concerns obtained with its uses (Wang & Lester,
2023). Consequently, learners do not require a vast understanding of the AI
technical basis, but a reliable and constant reminder of the purposes of their
benefits and the consequences of its misapplication.
According
to the statements previously depicted, the proposed research aims to evaluate
and enhance AI literacy in High School students aged between 15 and 18 years
old, focusing on the use of AI integration in students’ learning process of a
subject taught in a second language. This research is based
on three primary objectives:
●
To assess the
impact of AI literacy lessons on learners between 15 and 18 years and their
acknowledgment of its ethical applications in Language and Literature subjects.
For this purpose, the following specific
objectives:
●
To integrate AI
literacy lessons into the curriculum, blending them with the current subject
content and evaluating its impact on AI literacy on high school students.
●
To examine the
effectiveness of the AI literacy lessons' impact on learners and their ethical
behavior afterward through a survey.
Materials and methods
For this study a group of 59 students from 10th and
12th grade from ANAN Bilingual High School were chosen. The chosen participants
have different levels of proficiency in English, which is taught as a second
language, to ensure diversity within the sample. This approach minimizes the
possible biases that could appear in sampling methods based on proficiency
levels, as well as ensures that results have a broader applicability.
The
research employed a quasi-experimental design, consisting of 3 phases. The
first “pre-interventional” phase consisted of an initial exploration of
students’ knowledge and preconceptions on AI and its use. This was done in the
classroom through a teacher lead round table, where students discussed how they
have been using AI and with what purposes; along with the topic of the ethics
of using AI. Following this discussion, as a part of the initial phase,
students were instructed to create a product using AI; 10th graders were asked
to write a monologue and 12th
graders were asked to create a college application essay that has the same
characteristics as one produced beforehand by them.
In the second phase an “AI Literacy Intervention” was
conducted on both groups. This consisted of a workshop directed at the targeted
students for this study, lasting 4 sessions of 40 minutes each aimed at
providing the students with a comprehensive understanding of the use of AI
technology, the ethical component of AI, how to apply it when learning a second
language and critical evaluation of AI-generated content.
The
“Post-Interventional Reflection Phase” was the last part of this study, which
included a short assessment of students’ new understanding of AI use; and a
teacher lead discussion for students to reflect on the new knowledge acquired.
Through this discussion students analyzed the ethical implications of using AI
for their academic work, reflecting on their newly acquired knowledge. To
complete this phase, a survey was carried out to the students who participated.
This was designed to generate comprehensive responses comparing students’ prior
knowledge and their transformed knowledge and new perspectives on AI Literacy.
The survey
was, therefore, useful in the systematic documentation of the cognitive shifts
and attitudinal changes made possible by the treatment, which allowed for the
evaluation of that treatment's success in boosting AI 'literacy' among high
school students.
Pre- interventional, AI Literacy Intervention, and
Post-Interventional Reflection phases for 10th graders Language and Literature
Lessons.
To the following paper and the reach of its aim, three
different phases were planned and integrated into the regular curriculum of the
subject of Language and Literature taught to learners of the tenth year of High
School Education. During the first phase (pre-interventional), learners used AI
to generate a monologue according to the teacher's instructions. Afterward,
during the AI Literacy Interventions Phase, students received AI literacy
lessons, including prompts engineering and AI ethical applications and uses.
Thus, the lesson plans designed for this aim blended the curricular unit
content and AI literacy activities and exercises. Ultimately, a
Post-Interventional Reflection Phase was conducted through a survey designed to
evaluate the contrast between students’ prior knowledge and their
acknowledgment of new perspectives on AI literacy and ethical implementations.
As part of the tenth-year curriculum blending, in the
pre-interventional phase lesson, learners developed skills related to monologue
writing styles and performance. During the first two periods of class, they
reinforced basic concepts, watched informative videos, and focused on relevant
monologue elements such as mood, actions, tone, and the message to convey,
among others. After that, they watched and analyzed videos in which different
styles of monologues’ performances were shown. Finally, learners discussed the
concepts previously introduced.
Subsequently, two more periods of the class were
devoted to letting students choose an AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) to
generate a monologue on a topic of their preference. The main learning
objective of the phase is to let students evaluate how to effectively
incorporate AI tools into their monologue writing process by writing prompts
for AI based on their monologues’ style.
As it is depicted in the learning objective, even when
AI was allowed to be used, learners had to incorporate the writing process
steps into their tasks. After this assignment, students had to share evidence
of their prompt design and results generated by the chosen AI. Ultimately,
students analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the generated content. This
analysis concentrates on the distinction and discrepancy between the results
learners wanted to obtain from AI and the results received by it. To finalize
the pe-inverational phase, learners held a discussion
about what steps of the writing process learners should use AI. As part of
their active involvement in their learning process, learners evaluate their
work by creating prompts for outlining and revising their monologues. Also,
students guided themselves throughout the process employing a self-assessment
checklist delivered by the teacher.
For the most part,
the aim of the pre-intervention phase is to set a contrast in which learners
might compare their background knowledge in the technical and ethical
applications of AI versus the technical and ethical applications of AI after
receiving AI literacy lessons.
Table 1
Pre-interventional phase
lesson plan
|
Week 6 Plan Unit 1 Class hour(s): 4 |
Learning objective: Students will evaluate how to effectively incorporate AI tools into
their monologue writing process by writing prompts for AI based on their
monologues’ style. Warm-up: Class discussion: How can we use
AI for writing assignments? Main activities: ●
Monologue reinforcement https://drive.google.com/file/d/1463cXeJA6HkarcL8e_1HcTBZcCIBUlFZ/view?usp=drive_link Edward Vera. (2015, July 30). What is a monologue? [Video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfIGqK0FGMo ● Watch the videos and brainstorm
ideas about the elements a monologue should have -
Pay attention to the actions, focus, mood, and other elements of drama -
Does the monologue try to convey a message? What is
it? -
What’s the actor doing? How does he interact with the audience? Why is
he/she doing this? Budding Entertainment. (2020,
May 11). Runaway Superstar ~
Comedy/Dramatic monologue for kids & teenagers by Kirsty Budding
[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeJiEor7YsI WESTENDWENDIES. (2011, December
8). Monologues for kids by Ruth Mae
Roddy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYCmWdUjAx8 ● AI tools to write a monologue -
Choose an AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) to generate a
monologue on the same topic you want to talk about in your self-written
monologues. -
Upload to classroom: prompt, the AI-generated monologue, a short
analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the generated content -
Discussion: In what parts of the writing process should we use AI? ●
Practice activity: -
Students create prompts for outlining, and revising their monologue -
They use an AI tool to generate responses for each prompt -
Students save evidence of their prompts and the AI-generated results Assessment checklist: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iiMhZjmH-ghZ8uon2DVwev7kBlJCpo7-f7wvVmeVQc4/edit?usp=sharing Closure (formative assessment): ●
Quickwrite: How did AI help you? Would you change
something based on the AI’s responses? Explain your
answer |
Note. Content generated by the author
As depicted in the previous statement, the aim of both
phases is to set a distinction between the uses learners apply regarding AI and
the ethical and even the interference in their learning process. Hetler (2023)
explained that bots (e.g. ChatGPT) can reply to broad and specific questions.
AI can generate answers that educators consider extensive enough to receive a
good grade. Nevertheless, after additional examination, it was concluded that
the information was inaccurate. This claim illustrates how the use of
artificial intelligence, and especially the unaware use of it, might carry a
few disadvantages.
For this purpose, during the Literacy Intervention
Phase, learners are oriented to evaluate how incorporating AI tools into their
monologue writing process can help them improve their writing skills without
interfering with their learning process. For instance, the class periods are
devoted to incorporating AI tools into task performance according to ethical
purposes, applying a non-intrusive methodology that respects the learning
process.
In this sense, as part of the warm-up activity, the
class held a discussion to reflect on the future uses of the chosen AI in
learners’ assignments. Questions such as: “Is it ethical to use AI for writing
assignments? What would be the correct/ethical use of AI in writing
assignments? What wouldn’t be an ethical use of AI in writing assignments?”
were formulated to evaluate the applications required
and ethically applicable to the different stages of their work. Regardless, to
illustrate and reinforce in a specific form the acceptable and non-acceptable
applications of AI during the task assigned (writing a monologue), it was
presented with a graphic organizer that students used as a support to guide
them throughout the decision of whether they could apply or not AI (Appendix 1).
Afterward, the
main core of the AI Literacy lesson was delivered. As Shah, P. (2023), claimed:
To successfully employ AI systems, teachers and learners need to learn how to
formulate effective prompts that generate the content they desire. In this
order of ideas, an interactive presentation showed to students the main aspects
of prompt engineering (Anexo 2). In this presentation, learners reinforced
central ideas such as: “How to use AI and its ethical
considerations, Ethical Aspects of Using AI, What is a Prompt?, How Prompts
Work, and How to Craft Effective AI Prompts”.
However, it was
imperative to structure the previous content in a simplified manner. For this,
some slides described the step-by-step process for designing a prompt: Choose
one goal or task, identify audience attributes and needs, use clear and precise
language, and provide examples of desired outputs. Learners took notes and
differentiated the stages of the writing process, and other parts of their
task, in which AI tools are ethically applicable and in which ones are not.
Also, they drew a brainstorming map sketching the writing process and the steps
of it in which they will apply AI tools.
Subsequently,
after identifying the stages of the assignment in which AI was ethically
applicable, learners proceeded to write their monologues, incorporating the
writing process steps (pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, publishing).
As part of the transparency and evaluation of the use of AI, students shared
all the prompts designed to generate responses from the AI chosen. Similarly,
all the processes and tasks performed by learners were documented digitally to
record the procedures developed during the assignment.
To conclude, as a
final assessment of the process and all the lessons, a final survey was taken
to the class (Post-Interventional Reflection Phase), evaluating the knowledge
acquired and how the AI Literacy lessons change or not their vision of AI tools
and their ethical applications in Language and Literature class. Furthermore,
comparing and contrasting background knowledge and previous uses to the
abilities and distinctions recently acquired as stated in earlier learning
objectives.
Table 2 AI Literacy
Intervention lesson plan
|
Week 6
Plan Unit 1 Class
hour(s): 4 |
Learning objective: Students will evaluate how
incorporating AI tools into their monologue writing process can help them to
improve their writing skills without interfering in their learning process. Warm-up: ● Discussion: Is it ethical to use
AI for writing assignments? What would be the correct/ethical use of AI in
writing assignments? What wouldn’t be an ethical use of AI in writing
assignments? Learning activities ● Review the poster: Should I use
AI? generated by the author (Lorena Torres) Adapted from: Quick Guide Graphic for Students: Should I
Use AI? (Kosta,
2023) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ERbgivtxZsRDWtq5wjx_XDKk1PT2DkHY/view?usp=drive_link
● How to create a prompt for AI generated by the author (Ricardo Jordán) [Diapositivas]. Gamma.app. https://gamma.app/docs/How-to-useto-AI-and-its-ethical-considerations-nywrn405dqa4smj?mode=doc ● Draw a map sketching the writing process and
the steps of it in which you’ll apply AI tools, add the AI tool’s name and
the prompts on the same topic they want to talk about in their monologues ● Upload to classroom: prompt, the
AI-generated ideas, all evidences of AI use in the writing process, and the
final monologue (written by you) ● In which parts of the writing
process should we use AI? Closure (formative assessment): ● Final survey: https://forms.gle/djsx8iiDLi7ciMv49 |
Note. Content generated by the author
Pre-interventional and AI Literacy Intervention phases
for 12th graders Language and Literature Lessons
As part of this research three phases were planned and
integrated into the regular curriculum of the subject of Language and
Literature taught to students of 12th grade. This was integrated at the end of
the first unit, where students reviewed college application essays, as writing
essays exercises and strengthened communication capacities, critical thinking,
and writing skills; however, it can be one of the more arduous academic
processes. In response students may write essays triggered by AI-generated writing
prompts, examine alternative evaluations modeled by AI, and redraft their
essays based on those models (World English Journal & Aljuaid,
2024).
Therefore, students were subjects of a structured
three phase plan to delve into the effectiveness of AI tools when used for
essay writing processes. Every phase was designed to explore, implement and
evaluate the utilization of AI during academic writing tasks.
This process began in the “pre-interventional” phase,
where students present their existing knowledge about the use of AI for the
process of writing an academic essay. This class discussion was conducted with
the objective of exploring the understanding that students had regarding the
integration of AI for writing processes. The discussion delved into the
preconceptions about AI, how students use AI for their academic work and
potential misconceptions regarding the use of AI for essay writing.
During this prior knowledge exploration, students were
asked “How can we use AI for essays?”, therefore they were prompted to share
their previous experiences using AI tools for their academic work, especially
for an essay writing process. Additionally, students were prompted to share
questions and stances on the ethical side of using AI, thus conveying a deeper
analysis of the AI use. This approach allowed for a registry of students’
position regarding AI use and their knowledge on how to integrate AI to their
academic life.
The discussion showed that students find AI tools
helpful when developing academic work. However, it also showed that students
tend to make simple prompts including no detail of what they need which leads
to AI responses that can be vague or far from what they need, impacting
students’ work in a negative way. On the other hand, regarding the ethical side
of using AI, the discussion showed that some students see AI tools as a way of
doing the work without much effort, whereas others view AI as a way of corroborating
information, or aid to their processes of academic work. Consequently, the dialogue reveals that
students have a basic understanding of AI tools and their use and application.
Subsequently, students were asked to choose an AI tool
(e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) in order to generate a college application essay
that is as similar as possible as the one they wrote for their unit evaluation.
Once they provided the chosen AI tool with the prompt they created and got the
result, students were asked to compile this information on a document and write
a short analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the generated content, keeping
in mind the essay done by them.
This was done with the objective of students being
able to critically evaluate the AI tool chosen, based on the result obtained by
comparing it to the college application essay they have written; enabling them
to identify key points in their own writing that AI tools cannot generate as
easily (e.g. voice, authenticity and narrative).
Analysis done by the students showed that AI generated
essays mostly lacked the personal narrative component of a college essay, which
can only be done by each student individually. Moreover, analysis showed that
AI tools can be useful due to their practicality and capability to rapidly
produce content that can be customizable by every user. On the contrary,
analysis revealed that while the content is customizable, human creativity is
lost when using 100% of the AI generated content, therefore lacking authenticity
and unique perspectives that a college application essay must have. Lastly,
this showed that while the generated content had an impeccable structure, other
qualities of the desired result depend completely on the prompt given to the
AI.
To close the “pre-interventional” phase, students
discussed what steps of the writing process should they use Ai tools. This
discussion was done aiming at a deeper reflection from the students based on
the results obtained, while applying what was learned through the unit.
Students conclude that AI could be used at key moments
of the writing process, such as the outlining, stating that as part of their
pre-writing, before they create an outline, they need to at least have a clear
idea of what they want their essay to look like and therefore have a brainstorm
with all their ideas. Meaning that they’ll give the AI tool they choose all
their ideas just for organizational and structure purposes, in this way having
a response that suits their needs. Furthermore, students determined that AI
could also be useful in the revising part of the writing process, as the essay
has already been written by them at this point, they could use AI to check
important points such as structure, grammar and punctuation. Which can be
easily done by AI, without taking away the personal touch they have put into
their essays.
Table 3. AI Literacy Pre-Intervention lesson plan 12th grade
|
Week 5 Plan Unit: 1 Class hour(s): 4 |
Learning objective: Students will evaluate how to effectively incorporate AI tools into
their essay writing process by writing prompts for AI based on their essays. Warm-up: Class discussion: How can we use
AI for essays? Main activities: 1. Parts of an essay and their
function. 2.Choose an AI tool (e.g.,
ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) to generate an essay on the same topic they talked
about in their college essay. 2. Upload to classroom: prompt,
the AI-generated essay, a short analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of
the generated content 3. Discussion: In what parts of
the writing process should we use AI? Closure (formative assessment): Quickwrite: How did AI help you? Would you
change something based on the AI’s responses? Explain your
answer |
Note. Content generated by the author
Once students had reflected on the use of AI and in
which parts of their writing process they could use it, the “Interventional
Phase” started. This phase consisted of a comprehensive AI literacy workshop
with set objectives on practical applications of AI and its ethical
implications in an academic context. The main goal was to develop students’
capability to incorporate AI tools into their writing process and academic work
in general, emphasizing its correct and ethical use, through the creation of detailed
prompts for better results.
The
workshop began by having a class discussion to examine what the applications
and ethical implications, according to the students, when using AI to support
their academic work. This small discussion was designed to introduce the
students to the topic of the class and to have them explore their existing
perspectives on the matter. Following this discussion, students were presented
with an infographic that presented a decision-making model on using AI in the
class; this provided students with a clear guidance on determining when they
should implement AI tools into their work.
Subsequently, students were instructed with a prompt
engineering presentation, as according to Bansal (2024) “A well-crafted prompt
can significantly enhance the accuracy and relevance of the generated
responses. By providing clear and specific instructions, you can guide the
model towards the desired outcome.” Consequently, we can affirm that the
results obtained from AI tools heavily rely on the quality of the prompt it's
given, therefore in order to properly and effectively incorporate AI into their
academic work students need to have knowledge on prompt engineering. This
presentation presented key information on previously discussed topics such as: Ethical aspects of using AI, what is a
prompt? How do they work? And how to craft effective prompts. Thus, using
the student's previous reflections on the topic to deepen their knowledge.
The content presented to the students was tailored to
their level, which is why information was presented in a concise and direct
manner. This means that slides present information in a brief way that was
accompanied by the teacher’s explanation to ensure understanding, additionally
some slides present a step-by-step process for the student to have a clear
procedure to follow once they start to incorporate AI into their work. Students
were prompted to take notes on key points and processes included in the presentation
and were provided with the presentation.
Once this
step was completed, students were presented with a practical exercise where
they were instructed to select from a range of AI tools, such as but not
limited to Chat GPT, Gemini, Claude. The selection process and criteria were
deliberately left open to simulate a real world decision-making scenario in
which students are faced with the opportunity to use AI and they need to choose
the most suitable. Following the choosing of the AI tool, students were
instructed to create prompts with specific details and following the guidelines
given in class to create an outline for their essay based on their brainstorm.
And then students needed to create a prompt for the AI to revise the final
version of their essay, in this specific part students were required to have
the AI go as far as revise and point out their mistakes, but not to actually
correct their mistakes; this was done with the objective that students are made
aware of their own mistakes and reflect on how to correct them, rather than
just having the AI do it for them.
To finalize the process of AI Literacy workshop, the
“Post-Interventional Reflection Phase” was conducted, where students filled out
a survey to inquire on the comprehension of the knowledge acquired throughout
this process. Moreover, the survey also looked into the perspective shift or
lack thereof, of students about the use of AI when carrying out academic work.
This assessment tool enabled quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the
intervention's effectiveness in developing both technical competency and
ethical awareness among participants.
Table 4. AI Literacy Intervention
lesson plan 12th grade
|
Week 5 Plan Unit: 1 Class hour(s): 4 |
Learning objective: Students will analyze ethical implications and appropriate
applications of AI tools in academic work by evaluating decision-making
frameworks and creating specific prompts. Warm-up: Class discussion: How can AI be
helpful in your academic work? What ethical implications does it have? Main activities: 1. Review the poster: Should I
use AI? Torres, L. (2023.). Should I use AI? [PDF]. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ERbgivtxZsRDWtq5wjx_XDKk1PT2DkHY/view?usp=drive_link
Adapted
from: Quick Guide Graphic for Students: Should I Use AI? (Kosta, 2023) 2. How to create a prompt for AI. Content generated by the author Ricardo Jordán [Slides]. Gamma.app.
https://gamma.app/docs/How-to-useto-AI-and-its-ethical-considerations-nywrn405dqa4smj?mode=doc 5. Practice activity: ● Use AI for outlining, and
revising their essay ●
Select an AI tool ● Create a suitable prompt
applying what was reviewed in class ● Students save evidence of their
prompts and the AI-generated results and upload them to classroom Closure (formative assessment): Final survey: https://forms.gle/djsx8iiDLi7ciMv49 |
The conclusions of this research will be depicted
according to the objectives established in the introductory section of this
paper. Firstly, by illustrating the responses given by learners to each one of
the questions formulated in the final survey individually. Secondly, the
findings will be grouped into main areas to analyze and visualize the results
globally. Ultimately, unified final thoughts summarize the findings of the
paper.
As stated above, the following analysis examines the
responses of 10th and 12th-grade students (aged 15-18) regarding the impact of
AI literacy lessons on their understanding of AI applications and ethical
considerations in Language and Literature subjects. Regarding question 1:
Have you ever used AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) to
assist with writing assignments?
Figure 1. Results of the final survey
A significant majority of students reported using AI
tools for assignments, demonstrating an extended and growing integration of AI
in educational practices, in this case, in writing assignments. Which leads us
to the next question: If yes, how often do you use AI tools?
2. If yes, how often do you use AI tools?
According to the compound of responses gathered,
learners admitted to occasionally using an AI tool to perform a written task,
about 55%. For some students, 35% frequently apply AI tools when working on
written tasks. Finally, just 10% of learners rarely make use of these tools.
However, the students who use AI occasionally suggested they consider it as a
supplementary tool rather than a constant resource, consulting and
brainstorming ideas, checking their work, complementing information,
investigating some data, asking for help, and checking understanding.
Essentially, learners seek AI assistance when encountering a highly demanding
task.
Considering the previous responses and the uses that
learners have been making of AI; the following question was formulated:
3. What do you believe are the ethical concerns of
using AI to generate written content for school assignments?
To visualize and analyze learners’ responses, these
were grouped as follows:
Plagiarism: 70% of students highlighted the risk of
copying AI-generated content directly without attribution. Consider citing a
respectful way of using others’ work. Also, plagiarism might affect their
grades if detectors confirm it.
Over-reliance on AI: 30% of learners are worried
about their critical thinking and writing skills. If AI tools generate all
their writing content, the skills and abilities involved during the learning
process will be affected, limiting their learning process.
The previous views show that learners have a fine
understanding of AI’s limitations and potential misuse, emphasizing the need
for lessons on responsible use of it.
4. Do you think AI-generated content should be cited
in student assignments? Why or why not?
As shown in the previous chart, learners’ awareness
of the importance of citing others' work is significantly high. 81,4% of the
survey responses consider citing the AI-generated content as accurate practice.
On the other hand, 18.6% of students don’t consider it necessary to do it.
However, as part of the analysis of their point of view, students were asked to
justify their responses, resulting in:
Citing AI tools ensures transparency and academic
honesty (60%), inquiring that the content generated comes from existing
websites and the information given belongs to other authors. Also, recognizes
AI as a tool contributing to the work (40%), emphasizing that this content is
not their ideas, and this kind of academic honesty helps to differentiate
between original and AI-generated. In this sense, the high percentage of
students advocating for citation highlights a shift toward recognizing AI as a
valid and necessary academic resource.
5. Should teachers allow students to use AI tools
during the writing process? In which parts of the writing process should we use
AI?
Figure 3. Results of the final survey
As shown in the previous chart, 93% of learners
agreed that teachers must allow the use of AI in writing assignments. Opposite
to this majority, 6.8% disagree with this practice.
Figure 4. Results of the final survey
Justifying the percentages above, most learners
support the integration of AI into specific writing stages, such as the
prewriting stage of the writing process (86.4%), and post-writing tasks, such
as revising (83.1%). Nevertheless, students align with concerns about
preserving originality during the drafting and editing stages of the writing
process, just 20.3% and 28.8% of students agree on the use of AI in these
stages of the writing process, respectively.
In a similar sequence of ideas, responses to the
question: Do you think using AI to brainstorm or outline ideas is more ethical
than using AI to write full paragraphs? 86.4% of learners agreed with the query
stated. On the other flank, 13.6% disagree. In this sense, students were asked
to depict the guidelines they think should be included. Students emphasized the
importance of teaching ethical AI use, including honesty in disclosing where AI
was applied and avoiding over-reliance. Many responses like: “Be honest in
which parts you use AI and don’t let the AI do your work” and “Guidelines
should include rules, it is not about copying and pasting, but trying to
understand the subject in a different way”
highlighted the need to promote values like academic integrity,
transparency, and originality, showcasing their awareness of ethical concerns
in AI applications.
Figure 5. Results of the final survey
Hence, they concluded there must be guidelines for
students to learn how to ethically implement AI tools among the variety of
tasks related to writing assignments and assessments (86.4%). This percentage
maintains homogeneous responses among the data gathered, showing an unbent
concurrence throughout the survey results. Nevertheless, by asking them their
perspectives on what guidelines should be established for the ethical and
effective use of AI tools in academic contexts, the responses were clear and gather
as follow: Responsible and Ethical Use of AI (25%), correct use of prompts
(20%), specifying AI usage boundaries (18%), emphasizing originality and
critical Thinking (15%), teaching academic integrity (12%), consequences of
misuse (5%), and visual and practical examples (5%).
Previous results, resuming the alliance with
plagiarism and Over-reliance on AI results from question 3 (What do you believe
are the ethical concerns of using AI to generate written content for school
assignments?), consolidating learners' awareness and concern about ethics.
6. How can students ensure that their work remains
authentic if they use AI tools?
Responses to this query as: “They have to rewrite
with their own words and ideas the texts that the AI gives us.” and “Reading
the text and rewriting it with their own words.” suggested that paraphrasing
and rewriting AI-generated content helps to maintain the AI-generated content
authentic, demonstrating awareness in avoiding plagiarism. Others with similar
ideas stated: “Cite the page or AI as one of the most ethical practices.”
“Explain in which parts they use AI tools.” and “Citing the AI with its prompt
if it’s used in the work.” suggested the success of AI literacy lessons in
fostering transparency in the AI tools implementation. Furthermore, responses
like: “Maybe by giving it your kind of vocabulary, adding your ideas.” and
“Including in the essay something they have experienced or learned.” proposed
the addition of personal insights and examples, as well as citing AI
contributions and limiting AI use to idea generation and editing processes.
This can be taken as an understanding of the importance of blending AI tools
with individual creativity, displaying an understanding of strategies to
maintain authenticity, and reflecting the effectiveness of AI literacy lessons.
7. After receiving the AI workshop, would you
continue using AI in your written assignments? If yes, explain why and in which
cases students would use AI tools?
Finally, leaving aside AI tools and specific
implementations, learners were asked to interiorize and evaluate the future
uses of AI tools in their writing assignments and in which cases they
considered ethical and correct to apply these tools. Query requested after
receiving the information provided throughout workshops and applicable
activities. The results highlighted most learners continuing to implement AI
tools in their written assignments (78%), contrasting to the remaining 22% of
them claiming to avoid the use of such instruments.
Figure 6 Results of the final survey
Nonetheless,
students perceive AI as a supportive tool to enhance the quality and structure
of their work, especially in areas where they encounter difficulties. Evidence
of these reflections can be grouped and categorized as follows:
Selective
and Ethical Use of AI (25%): learners value AI tools as a complementary
resource for brainstorming, revising, or organizing ideas rather than relying
on them to complete assignments. Enhancing Writing and Language Skills (20%):
Results showed that typical applications included grammar checks, vocabulary
enhancement, and paragraph structuring. These responses highlight the AI’s role
in fostering text structure and coherence. Assisting the Research Process
(15%): Learners recognized AI tools as a powerful resource for research,
particularly in finding relevant information. Limiting AI Usage to Learning
Support (15%): many students prefer using AI as an assistance resource rather
than a solution, limiting their implementation to brainstorming, outlining, and
editing stages of the writing process in their writing assignments. Concerns
About Over-Reliance on AI (10%):
learners noted that excessive dependence on AI could interfere with critical
thinking and learning skills. Thus, it interferes with the learning process
itself. Multidisciplinary Applications (10%): This demonstrates learners'
awareness of AI’s adaptability to different subjects. Emphasis on Efficiency
and Accessibility (5%): Students highlighted AI’s capacity to make academic
tasks more efficient.
Discussion
Summarizing the previous results, we might conclude
that AI literacy lessons proved to be a key stage in providing students with
the skills to navigate the growing digital world. By nurturing ethical
practices and promoting critical thinking, these lessons ensure that students
can manage AI tools to enhance their learning while sustaining academic
integrity. In this sense, the learner subjects of this research obtain similar
benefits to the student subjects of study of the authors Lee et al. (2021), in which
their learners reflected on their behaviors and their impacts on others and
extended these reflections identifying how and why AI applications can be
unfair to themselves and others.
As
mentioned above, the findings were grouped into main areas to analyze and
visualize the results globally. The survey results were gathered in three main
areas, highlighting the effectiveness, impact, and acknowledgment of AI
literacy lessons on learners between 15 and 18 years and its ethical
applications in Language and Literature subjects. The key takeaways include:
To enhance
the learning process, students acknowledge AI tools as valuable resources for
brainstorming ideas, revising, grammar checks, and coherence improvements.
Processes in which their learning experience and the product of their writing
can be improved and transform the writing process into an effective and
organized task. This analysis demonstrates the significant role of AI tools in
enhancing students' learning experience instead of interrupting the learning
process.
In a similar order of ideas, learners conclude
that balancing the integration of AI tools is paramount. Most students favor
the application of AI tools to specific writing stages of the writing process
such as idea generation, editing, and proofreading (revising). This insight
provides a concern about how AI tools can affect their learning process. Thus,
learners focus on the enhancement of their skills rather than their
replacement. They highlighted the importance of personal effort and creativity,
ensuring that AI tools complement their learning instead of replacing critical
thinking and originality.
Finally, to
empower ethical behaviors. Learners recognized the importance of transparency
when using AI, supporting proper citation of the AI tool used, originality in
their work by adding examples and paraphrasing, and responsible usage as
specified above. This reflects the success of AI literacy lessons in fostering
responsible and ethical practices.
To conclude, the AI literacy lessons significantly
impacted students' understanding of AI applications and ethical considerations
in Language and Literature subjects. They fostered a balanced perspective,
emphasizing AI as a tool to enhance learning while promoting intellectual and
ethical responsibility. “The incorporation of AI technologies such as ChatGPT
into the educational milieu introduces a nuanced spectrum of challenges,
notably the potential for student overreliance and the specter of addiction to
these digital tools.” (Yu, 2024). However, further refinement of ethical
guidelines and continuous teacher support will be crucial to ensure endurable
and effective AI use in educational contexts.
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Universidad
de los Hemisferios michellec@uhemisferios.edu.ec.
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1503-4464
Universidad
de los Hemisferios ricardoj@uhemisferios.edu.ec.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0895-9294
Universidad
de los Hemisferios lorenat@uhemisferios.edu.ec.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0760-9324