Alexander LIN*, Anqi SHI, and Stephen En Rong TAY
Department of the Built Environment, College of Design and Engineering (CDE), NUS
Lin, A., Shi, A., & Tay, S. E. R. (2024). Enhancing educational outcomes in quality and productivity management through ChatGPT integration [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Conference in Singapore (HECS) 2024, 3 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecs/hecs2024-alin-et-al/
SUB-THEME
Opportunities from Generative AI
KEYWORDS
Artificial Intelligence, Educational Technology, Interactive Learning, Management Education, Student Engagement
CATEGORY
Paper Presentation
INTRODUCTION
This study examines the impact of integrating Generative AI tools, specifically ChatGPT, into the course PF2203 “Quality and Productivity Management (QPM)”. It focuses on fostering Collaborative Constructivism and Authentic Application of QPM concepts. Collaborative Constructivism enhances understanding and retention (Brooks & Brooks, 1999; Piaget, 2013), while Authentic Application translates theoretical knowledge into practical scenarios (Rahmawati et al., 2021; Weeks et al., 2019). These methodologies significantly boost critical thinking, as evidenced by studies like Sandu et al. (2024) and Rahman and Watanobe (2023), which suggest that student interactions with ChatGPT promote such outcomes. By integrating ChatGPT, the study anticipates improved student engagement and critical thinking in practical QPM applications. The research questions are:
- Does ChatGPT integration enhance learning, as shown by student work?
- What are student perceptions of ChatGPT integration?
METHODOLOGY
This study employs methods similar to those used by Sandu et al. (2024) and Rahman and Watanobe (2023), enhancing student engagement and critical thinking through interactions with ChatGPT in PF2203. Groups of 2 to 3 students utilised ChatGPT to prepare their group projects, which included gathering information, synthesising content, and discussing a QPM-related topic through oral presentations. The presentations also had a segment on students’ sharing of their ChatGPT usage, followed by a class discussion. The effectiveness of ChatGPT was assessed through both qualitative and quantitative student feedback, as well as students’ presentation scores, which were evaluated based on the marking criteria in Table 1. The study received ethical approval from the Learning and Analytics Committee in April 2024.
Table 1
Marking scheme for project presentation
DISCUSSION AND RESULTS
Through tutorial discussions, the lecturer promoted creative use of ChatGPT, including integrating theoretical knowledge with practical cases. As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, which depict examples from students’ Q&A with ChatGPT and presentation slides, respectively, students learned this approach and applied lean principles at different phases of a construction project in their presentation. Concurrently, the students were aware of the potential errors in the output generated by ChatGPT. For instance, Table 2 reveals their capability to discern when the output does not align closely with the required information or context. Consequently, they could exclude irrelevant data, showcasing their critical thinking skills in assessing and utilising the information from ChatGPT effectively. Overall, student presentation scores, which were evaluated based on criteria emphasising concept integration and practical understanding (see Table 1), show significant improvement in the Academic Year 2023/24 Semester 2 with the use of ChatGPT, compared to the previous year without ChatGPT (see Table 3). Averaged scores rose from 13.25 to 14.75 for the 1st Presentation and from 14.25 to 15 for the 2nd Presentation, showing improved capability of integration of QPM knowledge, aligning with the course’s learning objectives. However, as there were only four groups, statistical analysis was not feasible due to the small sample size.
As indicated in Table 4, feedback collected using a 5-point Likert scale demonstrates a consensus that ChatGPT enhances knowledge integration (Question 1) and motivates learning (Question 2). Responses to Questions 3 and 4 generally confirm improvements in scenario-based learning and critical thinking through ChatGPT. The qualitative feedback from students, presented in Table 5, shows that integrating ChatGPT bolsters students’ critical thinking in applying managerial concepts in real-world contexts—effectively bridging the identified research gap.
Figure 1. Student’s prompt for ChatGPT
Figure 2. Student’s work for second presentation
Table 2
Students’ remark on ChatGPT’s output. The first column records the prompts used and the responses from ChatGPT, and the second column contains their remarks on how they utilised ChatGPT’s output, as stipulated by a template provided by the lecturer, along with their evaluations of the output’s relevance and accuracy.
Table 3
Averaged presentation scores (For each semester, number of student groups = 4)
Table 4
End-of-course survey results indicating the average response based on a five-point Likert scale with 1 (Strongly Disagree) and 5 (Strongly Agree) (n= 10).
Table 5
Qualitative student feedback
CONCLUSION
Integrating ChatGPT into the QPM course has led to measurable improvements in both student engagement and academic performance. This suggests a scalable model that is sufficiently applicable for broader adoption across various educational disciplines. Future research will focus on optimizing AI tool integration within these contexts.
REFERENCES
Brooks, J. G., & Brooks, M. G. (1999). In search of understanding: The case for constructivist classrooms. Ascd.
Piaget, J. (2013). The construction of reality in the child. Routledge.
Rahman, M. M., & Watanobe, Y. (2023). ChatGPT for education and research: Opportunities, threats, and strategies. Applied Sciences, 13(9), 5783. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13095783
Rahmawati, Y., Taylor, E., Taylor, P. C., & Koul, R. (2021). Student empowerment in a constructivist values learning environment for a healthy and sustainable world. Learning Environments Research, 24, 451-468. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-020-09336-9
Sandu, R., Gide, E., & Elkhodr, M. (2024). The role and impact of ChatGPT in educational practices: insights from an Australian higher education case study. Discover Education, 3(1), 71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-024-00126-6
Weeks, K. W., Coben, D., O’neill, D., Jones, A., Weeks, A., Brown, M., & Pontin, D. (2019). Developing and integrating nursing competence through authentic technology-enhanced clinical simulation education: Pedagogies for reconceptualising the theory-practice gap. Nurse Education in Practice, 37, 29-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2019.04.010