Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

5-2023

Abstract

In this paper, we empirically examine and assess the effectiveness of a chatbot workshop as experiential teaching and learning tool to engage undergraduate students enrolled in an elective course “Doing Business with A.I.” in the Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) at Singapore Management University. The chatbot workshop provides non-STEM students with an opportunity to acquire basic skills to build a chatbot prototype using the ‘Dialogflow’ program. The workshop and the experiential learning activity are designed to impart conversation and user-centric design know how and know why to students. A key didactical aspect which informs the design and flow of the chatbot workshop is that novice learners with no or very little knowledge about A.I. recognize and create the important linkage between knowledge inputs and outputs of conversational agents powered by natural language processing (NLP) so that user queries can be effectively addressed. According to the study results, 90.7% of all surveyed students (n = 43) were satisfied with the experiential learning chatbot workshop; 81.4% of the respondents felt engaged while 81.3% of the participants reported moderate to high levels of competencies (81.3%) as result of the hands-on workshop. Almost all students surveyed (97.7%) felt that the experiential chatbot workshop had met the expected learning outcomes. Besides presenting empirical data that underscore the pedagogical usefulness of conducting an experiential Chatbot workshop in basic A.I. classes with special reference to NLP, we are trying to corroborate a conceptual model developed from learning theories and technology mediated learning (TML) models aimed at measuring the effects of a chatbot practicum on students’ engagement and motivation as potential drivers of successfully acquiring basic NLP skills and learner satisfaction. The paper provides useful practical information for instructors interested in deploying a practical chatbot workshop as effective TML tool in a tertiary educational context aimed at making learners ‘future-ready’.

Keywords

Chatbots, Natural language processing, experiential learning, student engagement, learning effectiveness

Discipline

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Asian Studies | Business | Computer Sciences | Higher Education

Research Areas

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources; Information Systems and Management

Publication

Education and Information Technologies

First Page

1

Last Page

24

ISSN

1360-2357

Identifier

10.1007/s10639-023-11795-5

Publisher

Springer

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-11795-5

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