AI ‘for inspo’: A mixed methods study examining Australian undergraduate health science students’ attitude change and experiences of using AI for assessment

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> University curricula need to prepare graduates for the future where artificial intelligence (AI) literacy and ethical decision-making skills are increasingly valued. Higher education providers are quickly moving from prohibition of AI such as large language models to permitting their responsible use. This mixed-methods pilot study examined the attitudes of second year health sciences students to AI, before and after completing a summative assessment task for an online unit of study, for which they were instructed to use a large language model. This was the student cohort’s first time being instructed to using large language models in an assessment task at university. Students reported significant growth in several aspects of their attitudes to AI, including: how helpful it is in problem solving and how enjoyable it is to use. Students widely valued AI as important for future jobs and wanted more time devoted to AI in university. Those who used AI for the assessment rated their ability to “handle AI well” more highly post assessment. Qualitative themes based on the post intervention survey found students were AI-curious and valued AI assistance as an efficient tool in initiating assessment tasks. Students perceived themselves as having more awareness of their responsibility to use AI critically and ethically post assessment. Students provided several examples of how they plan to use AI in the future. Results suggest students need more opportunities to develop their AI literacy at university to become efficient and ethical AI users both at university and in the workplace.

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