How to Train Your Dragon: Shaping AI for UDL and Socratic Dialogue in Higher Education

Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation

Description

This interdisciplinary project builds on AI applications in higher education (Zawacki-Richter et al., 2019) by investigating how the GenAI chatbot Socrates enables AI-driven Socratic dialogue to enhance critical thinking, personalized learning, and accessibility. Grounded in UDL (CAST, 2024), the study integrates AI-powered questioning into face-to-face and online learning, aligning with curriculum and assessment design. UDL promotes accessibility and engagement through varied representation, engagement, and expression, while AI supports scaffolding within Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The project evaluates AI integration across four modules using a student-centred approach and focus groups. Early findings suggest AI improves engagement, progression, and assessment through structured dialogue and feedback. However, bias in AI models risks reinforcing inequities, and concerns about plagiarism and over-reliance highlight the need for robust regulation.
Period20 Jun 2025
Held atUniversity Of The West Of Scotland
Degree of RecognitionLocal

Keywords

  • AI in Higher Education, Socratic Method, Dialogic Teaching, ZPD, Universal Design for Learning

UN SDGs

This activity contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  • SDG 4 - Quality Education
  • SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities