Academic lead in the Department of Psychology: Dr Trevor James
Lead from DCAD: Candace Nolan-Grant
Collaborators: Dr Yan Birch, Dr Carla Chivers, Dr Nazire Duran, Dr Sophie Hodgetts, Psychology Education, Teaching and Scholarship Group (PETS), Department of Psychology, Durham University
About the study
The project aimed to explore how students use AI as well as its pedagogical implications, especially for underrepresented groups. The work was funded by a Collaborative Innovation Grant (CIG) from DCAD.
Background: The initiative stemmed from early discussions around AI in Higher Education, particularly its potential benefits rather than just concerns about academic integrity.
Design: As part of the study, a large-scale survey with ~700 psychology students across multiple universities was conducted. In addition, qualitative interviews were carried out along with and undergraduate projects focused on AI and neurodiversity.
Findings: AI usage varies significantly across student groups. Amongst the many findings from the study were that international students are using AI to improve writing fluency and neurodivergent students (especially autistic students) have found benefits from AI as a non-judgmental communication tool. More generally, students have been using AI as helpful in translating and understanding feedback from staff. Staff saw AI as a tool that could potentially help to close attainment gaps, and did not see it as simply a threat to integrity. However, there was a strong demand for guidance on ethical and effective AI use from both staff and students.
Click on the image below, or hyperlink in the caption beneath the video to watch a presentation by the team about their study.
Benefits of the Collaborative Innovation Grant
The CIG had already had impact in multiple ways
- Teaching Practice: AI has been integrated into undergraduate skills modules, encouraging critical engagement with AI-generated content.
- Departmental Culture: There has been a shift toward a more nuanced understanding of AI, influencing discussions in Board of Studies and committees.
- External impact: The team have presented and discussed the findings at national conferences.
- Student Development: Students have developed their skills through being involved in the study throughout the process from the design through to conducting the research. The students have also presented at national conferences.
- Scholarship: Two academic papers are in progress, supporting early career researchers.
The CIG has also had a tangible impact on staff development and career progression. For several members of the team on education-focused contracts, the project provided a concrete example of innovation, leadership, and collaboration in learning and teaching: key criteria in promotion applications. The ability to evidence funded pedagogical work, cross-institutional engagement, and demonstrable impact significantly strengthened individual promotion cases.
The collaborative team working on the project considered that the DCAD Collaborative Innovation Grant “provided the education track staff in the Department of Psychology at Durham University with the crucial support needed to bring to life an idea that would have otherwise been parked in the ‘someday’ pile due to limited time and resources available to us as Education track staff to conduct research”.
Securing the CIG marked a significant milestone for the developing Psychology Education and Teaching Scholarship (PETS) group. As a newly formed team of education-focused staff within the Department of Psychology, this project represented the group’s first major collaborative pedagogical initiative. The team considered that it “fostered a genuine sense of teamwork, shared purpose, and innovation, laying the groundwork for a stronger identity and clearer direction for PETS. More than just a project, it served as a catalyst for defining our group’s identity and ambitions, helping to establish PETS as a recognised and purposeful voice in both departmental strategy and the wider educational landscape”.
The project also opened the door to external collaboration, giving the team the opportunity to engage with colleagues at other universities. These partnerships enabled exchange of ideas as well as the opportunity to disseminate the work more widely, elevating the visibility of Durham’s educational leadership within the broader Psychology academic community. The team considered that “by placing PETS at the centre of this initiative, we have begun to position Durham at the forefront of innovative teaching practice in Psychology”.
Dissemination of the findings
- 2 presentations (4 colleagues from Durham) at DART-P (Division of Academic Research and Teaching – Psychology). Received praise from the conference hosts and the Director of Teaching at Nottingham Trent University on how relevant and engaging the talks were.
- Dr Sophie Hodgetts co-presented at Royal Holloway, University of London with a Durham UG with ADHD. The student (Henry) was praised by the conference organizers (received an email from Prof Danijela Serbic).
- Dr Carla Chivers and Dr Trevor James presented at a joint colloquium with Queen’s University Belfast on AI for Prof Sam Nolen.
- Dr Yan Birch and Dr Nazire Duran presented at the Durham Learning and Teaching Conference
- Dr Yan Birch took part in the Arkus collaboration and attended a weeklong workshop in Portugal on AI and teaching. This would not have been possible without the research conducted due to the CIG award.
- Dr Trevor James took part in an expert panel discussion on AI for the joint Senate/Council meeting – the event received glowing praise by several members including Tony Fawcett and the VC.
- 2 manuscripts currently in write-up for T&L journals
- A further project was inspired by the CIG award where Dr Sophie Hodgetts and Dr Trevor James invited a PDRA (Dr Chloe Fielding) to conduct further research on AI and AuDHD beginning in August.