The impact of a virtual teaching assistant (chatbot) on students' learning in Ghanaian higher education

Abstract

Chatbot usage is evolving rapidly in various fields, including higher education. The present study’s purpose is to discuss the effect of a virtual teaching assistant (chatbot) that automatically responds to a student’s question. A pretest–posttest design was implemented, with the 68 participating undergraduate students being randomly allocated to scenarios representing a 2 × 2 design (experimental and control cohorts). Data was garnered utilizing an academic achievement test and focus groups, which allowed more in depth analysis of the students’ experience with the chatbot. The results of the study demonstrated that the students who interacted with the chatbot performed better academically comparing to those who interacted with the course instructor. Besides, the focus group data garnered from the experimental cohort illustrated that they were confident about the chatbot’s integration into the course. The present study essentially focused on the learning of the experimental cohort and their view regarding interaction with the chatbot. This study contributes the emerging artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot literature to improve student academic performance. To our knowledge, this is the first study in Ghana to integrate a chatbot to engage undergraduate students. This study provides critical information on the use and development of virtual teaching assistants using a zero-coding technique, which is the most suitable approach for organizations with limited financial and human resources.

From the consumers’ side: Determining students’ perception and intention to use ChatGPT in Ghanaian higher education

“…Furthermore, the ndings of the research serve as a platform to provide a benchmark for other educators and researchers to explore the future directions of education using ChatGPT as a conditioning variable. Moreover, we support the recommendation by Essel et al (2022) that universities should endeavor to establish Educational Technology Centers to manage such innovations permeating higher education. While the bene ts were acknowledged, educational stakeholders should strategize measures to control the ChatGPT's use which challenges the creativity and critical thinking skills of students.…”

“…The plethora of reviewed studies and reports on ChaptGPT and other AI language learning models focused on evaluating the model directly (Bang et al, 2023; Hosseini et al, 2023; Yeo-The & Tang, 2023), using it to generate content to test its effective (Aydin & Karaarslan, 2023; Khalil & Er, 2023), expressing concerns about the impending threats it poses (Hu, 2023;Lametti, 2022). The studies (Anson & Straune, 2022;Essel et al, 2022;Pavlik, 2023;Tlili et al, 2023) within the educational context evidence the criticality of ChatGPT in education. While we acknowledge the relevance of these studies in providing a basis for the present research, none of the studies has evaluated the perceptions of students and their intention to use ChatGPT in education.…”

Chatbots and Flipped Learning: Enhancing Student Engagement and Learning Outcomes through Personalised Support and Collaboration

“…This can help to increase student autonomy and ownership of their learning. Furthermore, chatbots can enhance student engagement and motivation (Abbas et al, 2022;Essel et al, 2022). Chatbots can be designed to be engaging and interactive, which can help to increase student motivation and engagement in the learning process.…”

Perceived satisfaction of university students with the use of chatbots as a tool for self-regulated learning

“…However, in order to achieve effective learning outcomes for students, implementation of technological resources must be based on effective pedagogical designs [ 6 – 8 ]. Some authors even advocate the creation of specific learning scenarios [ 2 , 9 ].…”