Prof. Dr. Elena Mäkiö
Representatives from Furtwangen University speak at state-wide university conference
Furtwangen University (HFU) is participating in this year's online conference “HAWAII” (HAW Artificial Intelligence Innovation), where representatives from universities of applied sciences (HAW) in the state will exchange ideas on the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) in studies and teaching next week. The conference is being organised by the office of the Study Commission for University Didactics (GHD) in cooperation with HAW BW e.V. and all universities of applied sciences (HAW) in Baden-Württemberg.
Prof. Dr. Ullrich Dittler and Prof. Dr. Elena Mäkiö from HFU will contribute their expertise in lectures. Professor Mäkiö will explore the question “How do you teach critical thinking?” “With the increasing use of AI, critical thinking is becoming more and more important,” explains the computer scientist. “The exciting question is how to teach critical thinking, for example, to critically evaluate content created by AI. In critical thinking, it is crucial to ask questions and question things. This requires knowledge and certain skills such as analysis, evaluation, conclusion, and self-regulation. We university teachers need to teach this to our students.”
Prof. Dr. Ullrich Dittler heads the Center for Teaching and Learning at HFU. Together with his team, he surveys students every semester on relevant aspects of their studies. At the conference, he will present the results of the latest survey on the topic of “AI use by students.” “A very interesting shift is emerging,” reports Dittler: “More and more students today are no longer just generating results with AI. Instead, AI is increasingly being used to explain solutions. For example, AI is used to review lectures or as a dialogical learning partner, allowing students to ask questions about exam-relevant content and then have their own answers evaluated by the AI.”
In order to be able to use the opportunities offered by AI in a data-secure and fair manner, students at HFU will have access to the data protection-compliant AI version “BWGPT” via the university's own learning platform starting this winter semester. Teachers will also discuss its use during the conference week. “Since the field of ‘teaching and learning with AI’ is developing so dynamically, it is very valuable for us that the universities share their experiences at the conference,” says Dittler.
