Motivation
The use of AI software while studying is becoming increasingly popular among students, but they are often insufficiently prepared for its effective use. At the same time, teachers and universities are struggling to integrate AI technologies into education.
Tim Riswick hears from his colleagues that students of the Bachelor's programme in History spend a lot of time on the basic steps of research, such as selecting a topic and formulating a research question, instead of doing the actual research. Can artificial intelligence support students in doing historical research?
Hypothesis
Tim strives for both students and teachers to learn to make responsible and effective use of AI software when conducting (historical) research. As a result, they will spend less time on the basic steps of the research process and there will be more time left for more attentive historical research. This innovation is not only relevant for the History programme but is also important for what other university programmes are doing concerning research.
Desired solution
In this innovation project, Tim is developing a new set-up of a theme lecture within the History programme, with a focus on teaching about the use of AI software during the research process. The structure of this theme lecture can also serve as an example for similar courses in other programmes.
Plan of action
Tim wants to start by revising the set-up of the theme lectures, so that AI software will play a role in this. Subsequently, the revamped lectures will be given to the students, covering various AI software. In the lectures, students and lecturers reflect on the ways in which AI software can and cannot be used in the scientific research process.
In addition, he develops student and lecturer manuals that describe how AI software can help in the various phases of (historical) research. It also contains an overview of which AI software is available for conducting research, with a reflection of the advantages and disadvantages of the various software.
Results
The project has resulted in a revised thematic course (‘Themacollege’) within the History program. In this course, students learn to apply AI software during the research process. At the same time, they develop a critical approach by continuously reflecting on the input and output of AI tools.
By allowing students to work with various AI tools and reflect on the skills these programs utilize, they discover that AI can be a valuable tool. At the same time, they realize that historical expertise remains essential and cannot be replaced by AI. AI programs can be useful for brainstorming, structuring, and rephrasing, but a critical attitude and good input are crucial for generating meaningful output. Most students were initially skeptical about using AI but gradually discovered that it can meaningfully contribute to historical research.
Reactions of Lecturers
The reflection with teachers shows that AI can be a useful tool, but its effectiveness depends on the student’s preparation. “The more you put in it, the more you get out”.
“AI is like a fellow student. Even students who are skilled in using AI cannot fully rely on this technology to carry out the research process for them. This encourages students to critically evaluate the output generated by AI”.
Reactions of students
Students indicate that AI is particularly helpful for structuring research, such as reading articles, defining a research topic, and formulating main and sub-questions. “However, it is crucial to ask the right questions to an AI tool in order to make effective use of it”.
We have found that AI can be helpful in various ways. This mainly involves reading articles, defining a topic and coming up with main and subsidiary questions for a study. This makes it possible to complete many assignments more easily and quickly with the help of AI. However, it is very important to ask the right questions of an AI in order to be able to use this tool, as this appears to be a pitfall for students. Our experience as student assistants and feedback from fellow students show that AI does not automatically generate relevant output or provide answers that meet the requirements for the work of a history student. As a user of an AI programme, it is therefore important to be patient and to guide the AI carefully to obtain answers that are valuable for your research or assignment.
