Abstract:

The rapid emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming higher education, offering both opportunities and challenges for teaching and learning. While AI tools can support students in researching and organizing information, their indiscriminate use may compromise academic rigor and critical thinking. Universities face the challenge of guiding students to use AI responsibly. In our context, we observed low quality in both the writing and the content of students’ assessed work, as well as limited critical thinking and indiscriminate use of generative AI. This highlights the relevance and priority of the proposed project, whose main objective was to critically analyse students’ use of different information sources, such as books, web pages, scientific articles, and generative AI to create theoretical content, and to evaluate their impact on the learning process and outcomes. The proposal addressed several identified challenges, including use of a single information source, difficulties in collaborative work, superficial use of digital tools, and limited reflection on the learning process. To address these issues, the Aronson jigsaw classroom technique was implemented, promoting cooperative learning, critical analysis, and the joint construction of knowledge.

The project team consisted of four professors and one postgraduate student from the Departmental Section of Food Science at the Faculty of Science, Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain). The target groups were undergraduate students from the Degree in Food Science and Technology, and the Double Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics and Food Science and Technology, attending the module Wine and Alcoholic Beverage Technology.

Students worked in groups to research course-related topics using an assigned information source (books, web pages, scientific articles, and generative IA) and submitted a report, an oral presentation, and a critical reflection. After project completion, a group discussion was held in class, and students completed an opinion survey. The group discussion and survey results highlighted that the students strongly noticed that using generative AI as the sole source of information has shortcomings when it comes to writing a scientific-technical report. The project also allowed them to become aware of the advantages and disadvantages of each source of information used. Thus, they valued scientific databases as the most rigorous source of information, while books and websites had limitations on the most novel topics. The use of generative AI, on the other hand, allowed them to adapt the report to established writing standards, but not its use as primary information source. Most of the students also felt that this activity enabled them to learn and/or understand new concepts within the scope of the subject, helping to spark and maintain their interest in the subject throughout the course. Most students felt that the activity encouraged their critical thinking when faced with inaccurate information. In summary, the initial objectives were achieved: to foster interest and knowledge of the subject, and to establish the most appropriate combination of information sources to write scientific and technical reports.

Acknowledgement:
This work is part of the UAM INNOVA Project: “Desde las fuentes de información tradicionales a la IA generativa: aprender a aprender en Tecnología del Vino y Bebidas Alcohólicas” (Project reference UAM: C_012.25_INN).

Keywords:

Food Science, generative AI, traditional information, educational innovation.