Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice

Introduction to the AI Special Edition Themed Issue

James Dunnigan, Michael Kozak, Nicole Pearce, Harriette Thurber Rasmussen — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This special AI-themed issue of the Impacting Education Journal examines the integration of generative artificial intelligence into EdD programs following the release of ChatGPT in 2022. This collection of articles explores three main themes: student use of AI in dissertation writing and research, faculty perspectives on AI integration, and institutional perspectives on AI's future impact on EdD programs. The articles investigate how students utilize generative AI tools for research assistance, how faculty develop frameworks for responsible AI implementation, and how institutions navigate the broader implications of generative AI use, including academic integrity and epistemic shifts. This very relevant and timely set of articles provides practitioners with guidance on current issues related to adapting to the use of generative AI in doctoral education.

Can AI Facilitate a Human-Centric Approach to Writing a Problem of Practice Dissertation?

Carrie Kell, Brian Kraeer, William Cain — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This essay explores the evolving role of generative AI within EdD programs, highlighting its transformative potential to support students throughout their dissertation journey. Through narrative inquiry, it shares the experiences of two doctoral students writing dissertations in practice about AI, while simultaneously negotiating the use of it in their research and writing. The essay centers around AI and the CPED framework, in particular, concepts of the problem of practice, inquiry as practice, and mentoring. By documenting these experiences, this essay offers valuable insights for students, faculty, and program directors navigating the integration of AI in doctoral education.

An Examination of the Use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) Technology as Experienced by Scholarly Practitioners in an Educational Doctorate Program

Michelle Harris, Nicole Soriano, Nicole Ralston — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This study examined the applications and perceptions of AI tools in doctoral studies, focusing on their efficacy in enhancing research effectiveness. A survey found that most participants used AI tools in their doctoral studies (63%), with the majority of those users reporting some positive impact from their usage. The most indicated uses of AI were proofreading, researching scholarly articles for literature reviews, and the organization and structure of research. Future research may include a larger sample size and examine instruments for alignment with the program practices and curriculum to best capture responses that indicate participants' program-specific use of AI tools. The study concluded that AI tools have not yet been integrated into research within doctoral studies, and 47% of participants did not find them conducive to effectively communicating research findings in their doctoral work.

Empowering Educational Leadership Research with Generative AI

Corrie Wilder, Shannon Calderone — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This study explores the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into qualitative research within a higher education context. Through a collaborative self-study, a doctoral candidate and their dissertation supervisor examined the application of Google’s Gemini 1.5 to analyze interview data from a dissertation of practice (DiP) focused on interinstitutional partnerships. The findings demonstrate that AI can enhance the depth and efficiency of qualitative analysis, revealing hidden complexities and patterns while augmenting the researcher's analytical skills and fostering reflexivity. However, challenges related to data integrity, potential biases, and the need for careful human oversight are also discussed. This research offers insights into the transformative potential of AI in qualitative research, particularly within doctoral education, while raising important ethical considerations and prompting a re-evaluation of traditional dissertation practices in the context of emerging technologies.

Navigating New Frontier

Mubina Khan Schroeder , Joanna Alcruz — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

The landscape of generative AI in Education Doctorate (EdD) programs is multifaceted and rapidly evolving, demonstrating a significant impact on educational methodologies and student engagement. In the Molloy University EdD program, AI is leveraged extensively for a range of purposes, from assessment tools like Perusall to advanced platforms like Roshi.ai. These technologies not only streamline the assessment process but also offer a personalized learning experience. Furthermore, AI's role in assisting student research is pivotal, providing sophisticated data analysis, trend prediction, and comprehensive literature review capabilities. The use of AI for writing assistance further exemplifies its utility in enhancing academic rigor and student productivity. This integration of AI tools within the EdD curriculum represents a forward-thinking approach, preparing educators and leaders to harness the power of AI in their future professional practices.

Dissertation 2.0

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Universal guidelines for AI’s use in the context of higher education remains unestablished. Despite this, doctoral students utilized AI to help in forming research ideas and with editing manuscripts. Thereby, the socialization of doctoral students into ethical AI use became imperative. This action research study had faculty and EdD students test AI tools to then make recommendations for guidelines on AI use for dissertation writing. Results showed AI use needed to be made clear and transparent alongside adopting a flexible approach to AI incorporation, given factors such as differing journal requirements. Furthermore, as doctoral students constituted novice researchers, they needed to realize that they would be responsible for AI’s output. Keeping the doctoral identity at the forefront was core to advising doctoral students into the new era of responsible research.

Generative AI Use in an EdD Program

Ray Buss, Amy Markos, Josephine Marsh — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Generative AI has emerged as a tool to assist doctoral students as they conduct academic research and writing. In this study, we explored two ways AI has been used by students in our EdD program—informally and independently and in a more formalized, guided manner. First, we found students have been engaged in self-directed, informal, independent use of AI tools like Grammarly and Wordtune to aid them with writing. Other students used AI to summarize information from research studies and locate research articles. To be competitive, they believed that they needed to learn more about AI and its use. Second, we obtained data for students’ use of AI as they searched for theories to inform their research efforts. They were more confident to try out and utilize AI when instructors introduced it. Results indicated students found this use to be extremely helpful and a necessary tool for students in EdD programs.

Unlocking the Future

Ellana Black, Kristen Betts — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This convergent mixed methods research study investigated how a small, non-representative sample of Educational Doctorate (EdD) faculty perceive and use generative AI and how they have leveraged the technology to support EdD students. A cross-sectional survey was used to gather data from 27 EdD faculty members to assess their generative AI perceptions and use as of April 2024. Findings revealed widespread generative AI use among participants, with 89% utilizing the technology for a variety of tasks related to supporting EdD students, including brainstorming, lesson planning, building students’ generative AI knowledge, and supporting dissertation research and writing. Generative AI use did not differ significantly based on demographic or background factors, but perceptions varied between users and nonusers, with users holding much more favorable attitudes about the technology. Both groups perceived it to pose a relatively low threat to their career, but nonusers perceived an even lower threat. This study illustrates diverse generative AI use among participants, underscores the need for ongoing exploration into how perceptions about generative AI shape faculty’s adoption and use of the technology, and calls for future research into generative AI integration and its impact on faculty and student learning and satisfaction.

Framework for Integrating Generative AI Into Statistical Training in Doctor of Education Programs

Christine Eith, Denise Zawada — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This paper proposes a framework for integrating generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools into statistical training for Doctor of Education (EdD) students. The rigorous demands of doctoral education, coupled with the challenges of learning complex statistical software and coding language, often lead to anxiety and frustration among students, particularly those in part-time or online programs. This article explores how generative AI can serve as a scaffold for learning, potentially mitigating statistics anxiety and enhancing students’ abilities to focus on core statistical concepts rather than software intricacies. The proposed framework, grounded in constructivist learning theory, outlines a process for faculty to facilitate dialogues using generative AI tools that support students in developing research questions, selecting appropriate statistical tests, checking assumptions, and conducting statistical analyses. By leveraging AI as a dialogic partner, students can engage in self-regulated learning and enhance critical thinking skills essential for practitioner-scholars. This approach has the potential to improve statistical training in EdD programs, producing more competent translators of research who can effectively apply and interpret statistical methods in their professional practice. The article concludes by discussing implications for EdD programs and suggestions for improving the curriculum that includes statistical training.

REPAC

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This essay presents a framework of critical questions designed to guide EdD program leaders and faculty in integrating generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into their curricula and policies. The REPAC framework aids in reflecting, reenvisioning, and redesigning educational practices to better incorporate GenAI, focusing on how candidates learn with and about AI tools. These questions ensure that program transformations are evaluated through equity, ethics, and justice lenses. Moreover, they provide a foundation for revising policies and practices, developing new guidelines, and promoting innovative AI use while upholding academic integrity. Authored by faculty from three institutions, this framework includes scenarios that illustrate the educational potential and impact of GenAI, scaffolding the decision-making process and fostering an understanding of AI tools in EdD programs.

The Education Doctorate in the Context of Generative Artificial Intelligence

Danah Henriksen, Punya Mishra, Lauren Woo, Nicole Oster — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) fundamentally shifts how educational knowledge is created, shared, and validated. Through the lens of epistemic technologies—tools that transform knowledge creation and dissemination—we analyze how GenAI challenges traditional notions of practical wisdom in education doctorate (EdD) programs. Drawing on parallels with previous epistemic shifts like written language, print, and digital media, we explore how GenAI, as a generative, dialogic, multimodal, and sometimes unpredictable technology, transforms practitioner knowledge and decision-making. We discuss implications for EdD programs, emphasizing the need to balance AI integration with the preservation of human judgment and ethical decision-making to maintain practical wisdom for scholarly practice.

If Ferris Bueller Had a Bot

Paula Cristina R. Azevedo, Christine B. Valadez — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has seen a significant rise in public use since the release of ChatGPT in November of 2022. Higher education institutions (HEI) have struggled to negotiate how best to manage AI technologies within their academic communities, acknowledging both positive and negative impacts of AI on education. Focused primarily on large language model (LLM) technologies, such as ChatGPT, HEIs are working to build policies and guidelines to regulate their use. However, within these policies, few HEIs have considered AI meeting assistants, even though these applications bring their own set of benefits and risks. This article examines the public websites of 135 CPED universities, eight of which mention AI meeting assistants in their policies. The article analyzes the risks, benefits, and use guidance provided by these policies and suggests next steps for HEIs to address the ethical, legal, and pedagogical implications of AI meeting assistants.

Nothing New Under the Sun

Nicholas R. Werse, Joshua Caleb Smith — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

In this article, the authors explore the concerns surrounding academic dishonesty related to generative artificial intelligence (GAI). The authors argue that while there are valid worries about students using GAI in ways the displace student work, these anxieties are not new and have been observed with previous disruptive technologies such as the Internet. By recontextualizing this anxiety within a broader historical perspective, educators can develop strategies to mitigate academic dishonesty while leveraging the benefits of GAI integration in education. Drawing upon lessons learned from addressing plagiarism caused by paper mill usage, the authors suggest incorporating multimodal assessments as an effective strategy for ensuring authentic representation of student learning outcomes at all levels of academia but particularly at doctoral level dissertations where oral defenses play a crucial role in evaluating expertise.

GPT and Me, An Honest Reevaluation

Bryan P. Sanders — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This essay explores the transformative concept of co-active emergence in education, where human and machine intelligence synergize to enhance learning experiences. It discusses the integration of AI in doctoral research, emphasizing collaborative efforts between humans and AI to push academic boundaries. It also addresses the challenges and ethical considerations of AI, advocating for a balanced approach that leverages AI's capabilities without compromising educational integrity, ultimately proposing a dynamic, interactive academic environment enriched by technology.