A Systematic Rapid Review of Empirical Research on Students’ Use of ChatGPT in Higher Education

Abstract

Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT), introduced in November 2022, has evolved into a widely used open-access tool across various domains including higher education. While providing students with opportunities to independently create and access educational content, concerns have emerged regarding the potential for ChatGPT to cast students as passive recipients of prepackaged knowledge, potentially impeding critical thinking and creativity in their learning process. As higher education institutions increasingly incorporate ChatGPT, there is a growing need for a thorough examination of its impact on student learning through empirical research. The aim of this systematic rapid review is to synthesize empirical research evidence on students’ use of ChatGPT in higher education, emphasizing pedagogical possibilities and addressing emerging threats and challenges. A comprehensive literature search of relevant peer-reviewed articles in three databases was carried out in October 2023. A total of eight studies were identified, revealing a distribution of quantitative and qualitative research designs which included questionnaires, case studies, interviews, and tests as the primary research methods. Four overarching themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Promoting students’ learning and skills development; (2) Providing content and immediate feedback; (3) Activating motivation and engagement; and (4) Dealing with ethical aspects of ChatGPT’s use. While our findings suggest that ChatGPT can, on the one hand, enhance the learning process, it can also inhibit it in various ways. Therefore, it is important to guide students in learning to use it responsibly and ethically as well as reflecting on the long-term effects of its use on their identity and the overall quality of their learning. The implications of this systematic rapid review are also discussed.