Cautiously positive: A scoping review on how generative artificial intelligence impacts teaching

• In Event: Roundtable Session 6
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: AI Revolution in Education: Redefining Teaching and Teacher Identity

Proposal

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has garnered prevalent attention in recent years, with scholars researching how AI can be integrated into teaching and learning to better empower teachers and students (Celik et al., 2022). Generative AI technology (GenAI), a big step in the field of AI featured by its conversational ability to create new content in various modes (e.g., text, image, music, and video) has sparked intense debate across different fields (Ahmed, 2023). Its influence is increasingly surpassing that of traditional AI with fast-spreading academic discussions and practical applications in education, particularly in the use of ChatGPT, a human-like chatbot based on the GenAI (Al-khresheh, 2024). However, like other technologies-based education, using GenAI in education also incorporates two sides of view: unprecedented opportunities and inherent difficulties, which warrant critical interrogation (Trust, 2023). Nevertheless, a review on this topic is still lacking.

This study is a scoping review, which, unlike a systematic review, is often used in newly-emerging research fields on the given topics to determine the scope of the research and clarify the conceptual boundaries of the topic (Munn et al., 2018). This review focuses on GenAI and teaching aiming to address the following questions:
RQ1: What were the roles of GenAI in teaching?
RQ2: What advantages did GenAI offer teachers?
RQ3: What were the concerns of GenAI in teaching?

This study encompasses teachers from kindergarten to university levels. Both empirical and theoretical studies from journal and conference articles are included in this review. Following the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (Tricco et al., 2018), finally, 30 articles were retained for analysis.
The results suggested that, generally speaking, GenAI played as a collaborator for teachers, not merely a tool in teaching (Amin, 2023). It can be the substitute teacher, instead of replacing teachers, in the classroom as its powerful capabilities in providing personalized and timely support and responses to students. The advantages of using GenAI in teaching mainly exist in supporting teachers’ lesson planning, critical thinking, student assessment and feedback generation, thereby alleviating teacher workload and freeing up more time for teacher professional development (Hojeij et al., 2024; Karakose & Tulubas, 2023).

Regarding concerns, it concerns with teachers’ ethical awareness and worries about decreased connection with students (Bhaskar et al., 2024; Cucuiat & Waite, 2024). Besides, there are concerns about student learning. Notably, the view on whether using GenAI in teaching is beneficial for student engagement remains contradictory (Ghazali et al., 2024; Kostka & Toncelli, 2023). This inconsistency may be explained by the different subjects in which GenAI was applied, highlighting the need for further research.

To summarize, the attitude towards using GenAI in teaching is cautiously positive, underscoring the importance of continuous teacher education about GenAI. Meanwhile, the techno-deterministic values and the hidden unequal power-relations wrapped in this AI-bracing era should also be approached with caution (Vartianien et al., 2024).

Author

• YINGYING HUANG, The Chinese University of Hong Kong