Interaction Between Students and Generative Artificial Intelligence in Critical Mineral Inquiry Using Chatbots

This study used a Chatbot, a generative artificial intelligence (AI), to analyze the interaction between the Chatbot and students when exploring critical minerals from an epistemological aspect. The results, issues to be kept in mind in the teaching and learning process using AI were discussed in terms of the role of the teacher, the goals of education, and the characteristics of knowledge. For this study, we conducted a three-session science education program using a Chatbot for 19 high school students and analyzed the reports written by the students. As a result, in terms of form, the students' questions included search-type questions and non-search-type questions, and in terms of content, in addition to various questions asking about the characteristics of the target, there were also questions requiring a judgment by combining various data. In general, students had a questioning strategy that distinguished what they should aim for and what they should avoid. The Chatbot's answer had a certain form and consisted of three parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. In particular, the conclusion included commentary or opinions with opinions on the content, and in this, value judgments and the nature of science were revealed. The interaction between the Chatbot and the student was clearly evident in the process in which the student organized questions in response to the Chatbot's answers. Depending on whether they were based on the answer, independent or derived questions appeared, and depending on the direction of comprehensiveness and specificity, superordinate, subordinate, or parallel questions appeared. Students also responded to the chatbot's answers with questions that included critical thinking skills. Based on these results, we discovered that there are inherent limitations between Chatbots and students, unlike general classes where teachers and students interact. In other words, there is 'limited interaction' and the teacher's role to complement this was discussed, and the goals of learning using AI and the characteristics of the knowledge they provide were also discussed.