Influence of ChatGPT Affordances on Adaptive Learning Experiences among Undergraduate Religious Education Teacher Trainees at the University of Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

There is a dearth of documented evidence on ChatGPT affordances' influence on students' adaptive learning experiences. This study sought to examine the influence of ChatGPT affordances on adaptive learning experiences among undergraduate religious education teacher trainees at the University of Nairobi. The study's objective was to investigate how learner engagement on ChatGPT influences adaptive learning experiences among undergraduate Religious Education teacher trainees. The study was guided by Vygotsky's theory of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The study adopted a descriptive research design. A purposive sampling technique was employed to obtain 234 respondents from a target population of 628 undergraduate religious education teacher trainees at the University of Nairobi. A student questionnaire and an interview schedule were used to collect data. Data collected was analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistical analysis with the aid of the SPSS version 24 package. The study's findings revealed that learner engagement on ChatGPT positively influenced adaptive learning experiences among undergraduate Religious Education teacher trainees. The study concluded that ChatGPT technology has educational affordances that enable students to generate and obtain several search results in summarized chunks virtually in every concept searched, making them emotionally, cognitively, and behaviorally engaged, thus enhancing their adaptive learning experiences. The study recommended that higher education institutions should embrace the use of ChatGPT as a complementary instructional resource to support teaching and learning processes instead of focusing on the adversities associated with the technology.