ChatGPT is enrolled as a student in a course in the College of Education and Human Development

As the academic landscape continues to evolve, faculty in the College of Education and Human Development are pushing the boundaries of traditional online learning. Rod Case, Ph.D., associate professor of Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL), has pioneered an innovative approach to online learning in which ChatGPT, a language model developed by OpenAI, becomes a full-fledged student in his classroom.

Case's course explores the theories and research on second language acquisition that informed this new approach. Case and Leping Liu, Ph.D., professor of quantitative methods and learning sciences, designed and adapted an immersive gaming experience with artificial intelligence capabilities to make it suitable for online teaching.

In this non-traditional online class, students compete with ChatGPT in an attempt to outperform him on weekly assignments related to second language acquisition. ChatGPT, like his human counterparts, receives grades for his work, creating an environment in which students can critically evaluate his language essays and reflect on ethical considerations regarding the use of AI in teaching and their own scholarly work. The course is of particular importance to beginning English teachers, allowing them to explore the possibility of responsibly integrating AI such as ChatGPT into their future classrooms.

The idea emerged from months of collaboration between Case and Liu. Their goal was to combine Liu's expertise in course gamification, or creating game content for online courses, with Case's passion for studying language and literature.

"I felt that our two fields really complement each other," Liu said. "Learning sciences and research on the use of artificial intelligence combine in unexpected ways with literature, language and culture as a means to improve online teaching."

To create a sense of familiarity and cultural relevance, Case incorporated the classroom game into the universe of Frank Herbert's novel and popular film adaptation of Dune. As students progress through the course and the associated game, they deepen their understanding of the second language acquisition process and analyze the transformative cultural and intellectual impact of artificial intelligence on learning and their own coursework. Case emphasizes that the inclusion of contemporary gaming culture and science fiction narratives is not simply a distraction, but a strategic move to engage students and encourage them to think critically about the evolving role of artificial intelligence in their lives as teachers of English.

"I hoped to bring contemporary gaming culture and stories that arise from powerful science fiction novels and movies like Dune into my online courses, as well as encourage students to think about how they could use ChatGPT as a partner to create academic work," Case says. "At the broadest level, I wanted to overlay their interests with the powerful storylines of science fiction literature, games, and movies in my online courses, creating a place that aligns with those interests."

Both Case and Liu are actively exploring new roles for ChatGPT in online teaching. They are busy presenting at conferences and preparing publications on the results of their work together. They look forward to learning as much from their students, including ChatGPT, as their students are learning from them. This course is a testament to the changing landscape of education and the innovative integration of AI in preparing future educators as thinkers and innovators ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow.