Learning With Generative AI Through Custom Chatbots
Keywords:
Generative AI, inquiry-based learning, Active Learning, custom GPT, Marketing Education, chatbot pedagogyAbstract
This design-based study chronicles a four-semester process of developing, refining, and evaluating custom AI chatbots built with OpenAI for marketing education. Across fall 2024–fall 2025, iterative classroom pilots revealed how to address ethical and equity issues (usage limits, hallucinations), reduce cross-domain confusion, and build scalable multi-persona chatbots for guided inquiry. Quantitative results showed significant learning gains from traditional lecture-based instruction to one supplemented by personalized AI-supported tutoring, while POGIL and tutor chatbots produced comparable learning outcomes. The study offers a step-by-step guide for building, deploying, and analyzing AI chatbots to support equitable, responsible, and theory-informed active learning.
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References
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