Interrogating Assessment in the Age of Generative AI

Generative AI (GenAI) has foregrounded important educational issues. In this conceptual paper we build on Blackie’s work on knowledge-building and assessment practices to argue that responding to GenAI in educationally sound and sustainable ways requires engagement with the purpose of a higher educ...

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Main Authors: Margaret Blackie, Sioux McKenna, Neil Kramm, Nicola Pallitt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Research and Postgraduate Support Directorate 2024-12-01
Series:African Journal of Inter-Multidisciplinary Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.dut.ac.za/index.php/ajims/article/view/1528
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author Margaret Blackie
Sioux McKenna
Neil Kramm
Nicola Pallitt
author_facet Margaret Blackie
Sioux McKenna
Neil Kramm
Nicola Pallitt
author_sort Margaret Blackie
collection DOAJ
description Generative AI (GenAI) has foregrounded important educational issues. In this conceptual paper we build on Blackie’s work on knowledge-building and assessment practices to argue that responding to GenAI in educationally sound and sustainable ways requires engagement with the purpose of a higher education. A university education should transform students’ understanding of the world, themselves, and their relationship to the world in discipline-specific ways. We need to understand what it means to be gain expertise in a field before we can consider what it means to assess competence in that field. In this article, we draw on the discipline of Chemistry to reflect on the nature of the target knowledge and knowing and how this then aligns to the approach to assessment. It is only then that we can consider how GenAI might positively or negatively affect the development and demonstration of competence. In addition, because education is inherently relational, we also have to endeavour to nurture and assess such competence on a consciously created foundation of trust.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2663-4597
2663-4589
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Research and Postgraduate Support Directorate
record_format Article
series African Journal of Inter-Multidisciplinary Studies
spelling doaj-art-fb762abd2e9145eb9a237c7b72eab7612024-12-05T20:12:08ZengResearch and Postgraduate Support DirectorateAfrican Journal of Inter-Multidisciplinary Studies2663-45972663-45892024-12-016110.51415/ajims.v6i1.1528Interrogating Assessment in the Age of Generative AIMargaret Blackie0Sioux McKenna1Neil Kramm2Nicola Pallitt3Rhodes University, South AfricaRhodes University, South AfricaRhodes University, South AfricaRhodes University, South Africa Generative AI (GenAI) has foregrounded important educational issues. In this conceptual paper we build on Blackie’s work on knowledge-building and assessment practices to argue that responding to GenAI in educationally sound and sustainable ways requires engagement with the purpose of a higher education. A university education should transform students’ understanding of the world, themselves, and their relationship to the world in discipline-specific ways. We need to understand what it means to be gain expertise in a field before we can consider what it means to assess competence in that field. In this article, we draw on the discipline of Chemistry to reflect on the nature of the target knowledge and knowing and how this then aligns to the approach to assessment. It is only then that we can consider how GenAI might positively or negatively affect the development and demonstration of competence. In addition, because education is inherently relational, we also have to endeavour to nurture and assess such competence on a consciously created foundation of trust. https://journals.dut.ac.za/index.php/ajims/article/view/1528generative AIassessmenttrustknowledge-buildingcritical AI literacy
spellingShingle Margaret Blackie
Sioux McKenna
Neil Kramm
Nicola Pallitt
Interrogating Assessment in the Age of Generative AI
African Journal of Inter-Multidisciplinary Studies
generative AI
assessment
trust
knowledge-building
critical AI literacy
title Interrogating Assessment in the Age of Generative AI
title_full Interrogating Assessment in the Age of Generative AI
title_fullStr Interrogating Assessment in the Age of Generative AI
title_full_unstemmed Interrogating Assessment in the Age of Generative AI
title_short Interrogating Assessment in the Age of Generative AI
title_sort interrogating assessment in the age of generative ai
topic generative AI
assessment
trust
knowledge-building
critical AI literacy
url https://journals.dut.ac.za/index.php/ajims/article/view/1528
work_keys_str_mv AT margaretblackie interrogatingassessmentintheageofgenerativeai
AT siouxmckenna interrogatingassessmentintheageofgenerativeai
AT neilkramm interrogatingassessmentintheageofgenerativeai
AT nicolapallitt interrogatingassessmentintheageofgenerativeai