This project aims to conduct a large-scale study on how students in the College of Engineering use and perceive GenAI technology. GenAI has already significantly changed higher education, challenging traditional ideas of how literacy supports expertise. Despite GenAI’s prevalence, much is unknown about its impact on student learning. This project seeks to understand how U-M undergraduate students use GenAI to develop expertise in engineering curricula and their attitudes towards GenAI as a mediating tool.
The project addresses two research questions:
- How are engineering students using GenAI to develop academic expertise in engineering curricula?
- How do students perceive the benefits and limitations of using GenAI in their coursework?
The study will explore how students use GenAI with the goal to better meet students where they are in a new landscape where Generative AI is embedded in academic literacies. The study findings will be utilized to assist faculty in refining course policies and assignments in the future.
Project Team
Clay Walker
Technical Communication
Mariel Krupansky
Technical Communication
Robin Fowler
Technical Communication, Engineering Education Research
Kenneth Alfano
Technical Communication, Engineering Undergraduate Education
Funding
This team was awarded $50,000 in funding in Summer 2024.