Over the past two years, I have dedicated my master’s degree to exploring the impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the cognitive development of higher education students. There was a plethora of research explored, which this article only highlights a portion of that research. One takeaway was that we, as professionals, are catching up with technology. It was never determined whether AI was inherently good or bad, because the answer was both. Between the rapid advancement of AI, and the eager use by students, we are often finding ourselves responding to AI misuse since it feels as though there isn’t a place in time to establish preventative guidelines. The issue is not chapter leaders or members using AI, it’s whether the modality of their use is enhancing their development or hindering their growth.
Growing research regarding the inclusion of AI in education has showcased the complex nature of the impact on college students’ cognitive skills. The overall purpose of AI education should not be to neglect AI’s relevance and enhancing properties, but to view AI as a supportive agent, seeking methods to intertwine its existence into cognitive-promoting community cultivation strategies that avoid over-reliance. Fraternity and sorority life professionals have an opportunity to shape guidelines, develop expectations, and model responsible boundaries of AI use within organizations. The intention is to balance both organizational innovation and preservation to resist the urge for technologically promoted ease.
To begin the conversation about AI in fraternity and sorority life, we should start with research that provides a holistic foundation of the presence of AI in higher education. The concept of AI can appear daunting, as its capabilities feel unfamiliar to generations who spent their developmental years without this technology, but artificial intelligence integration in learning settings has been found to provide various cognitive benefits. Researchers have found that AI support can be a predictor of positive means of cognitive development, including areas of problem-solving, and critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication in collegiate students (Hasan et al., 2024). The application of artificial intelligence in problem-solving and critical thinking processes guided students through complex tasks, leading them to not only successfully reach their goal, but gain new techniques along the way (Barana et al., 2023; Lee et al., 2024).
To reap the developmental and organizational benefits of AI, the use of platforms such as ChatGPT as an organizational practice should be prefaced with proper instruction before students engage (Michalon et al., 2023). Without the guidance needed to safely use the software in sorority and fraternity settings, misuse can lead to over-reliance and leave little room for the development of cognitive and leadership skills (Essien et al., 2024; Szmyd & Mitera, 2024). When used intentionally, AI can support chapter leaders by assessing their chapter operations and creating an innovative experience where they navigate difficult conversations or reflect on their leadership experience. In these examples, AI is a thought partner rather than a replacement.
At the same time, AI has significant cognitive and ethical implications. The technology is a risk that has various complexities, specifically a decrease in resilience and an increase of over-reliance (Hasanein & Sobaih, 2023). Over-reliance in fraternity and sorority life settings can look like generating organizational documents without review or revision, depending on the tool to conduct all outreach messaging, or defaulting to “let’s just ask ChatGPT” instead of reaching for board collaboration. AI integration that lacks appropriate and intentional placement can disrupt developmental opportunities and reduce agency in students’ decision-making processes. Over-reliance on AI, such as ChatGPT, can also shape a weak and unethical foundation for leadership tasks (Essien et al., 2024). By not checking AI responses or sources, it increases the possibility of bias or inaccurate data, leading to unethical or even misinformed leadership practices. Despite the positive developmental benefits, AI’s presence in the fraternity and sorority field is multi-faceted due to its potential for negative leadership, community, and cognitive development.
So, why should this matter to you and your role? As a fraternity and sorority professional, AI can provide elaborate feedback on program planning, officer transition documents, and play a role in operationalizing practices. Objective tasks for AI can prove impactful results. For example, AI can assess membership retention patterns to focus program initiatives on retaining various types of members. Consider the bylaws of a chapter. Integrating AI tools can expose weak and insufficient areas of policy to enact preventative measures of risk. There are additional tools powered by AI that can annotate meetings, documenting not only decisions, but the decision-making process for future references. Utilizing AI can aid in constructing a growth-plan for underperforming chapter leaders by inputting your knowledge of their strengths, weaknesses, and goals. In contrast, if you are advising a high achieving leader and become stumped on how to continue their growth through their council or chapter leadership experience, AI can give consultation on additional areas to strengthen the student and expand on their leadership role.
What is discussed above are mere examples;when put to intentional and purposeful use, AI can contribute to efficient and operationalized processes that are powered by your experiences and knowledge. Even if you choose not to engage AI in your advising practices or student experiences, it’s still vital to be educated on the correct practices of the platform, to model these strategies to your students who are most likely in the proximity of the tool and be prepared for conversations about guidelines. To make sense of your next step on AI readiness, there’s a three-part framework you can follow based on literature explored:
- Take the initiative to educate yourself on AI, even if you choose not to actively use it in your professional or personal life. You can’t regulate something you don’t know.
- Working with co-staff and chapter leaders on where AI use is acceptable and relevant in chapter operations. Student perspective is important in a multitude of aspects, but especially in this scenario of providing autonomy and agency in their relationship with AI and its presence in their organizational experience.
- Maintain AI self-regulation by asking questions that grow self-awareness.
- Is AI enhancing this task, or overtaking it?
- Do I feel that I have learned something from this digital interaction, or am I handing over full agency in my decision making?
- Have I verified the information that AI is providing, and am I rightfully questioning the relevance of its output?
Collectively, the research reviewed combined with its implications paves a way for fraternity and sorority professionals to kickstart their professional development in understanding the capacity of Artificial Intelligence. There’s no expectation to be an AI expert overnight — rather, educating yourself on the various tools not only empowers your knowledge in conversations revolving around AI, but it also begins the process of teaching your students how to safely engage with the platforms. AI can challenge a student’s and professional’s critical thinking, problem-solving, organizational structure and operations, and community experience, but only with purposeful and educated integration. With leadership development as a central purpose of our work, the future of AI in fraternity and sorority life is not exploring students’ general use of the tools but helping them to navigate this in ways that promote their leadership and organization’s growth, rather than ease and convenience.
References
Barana, A., Marchisio, M., & Roman, F. (2023). Fostering problem solving and critical thinking in mathematics through Generative Artificial Intelligence. Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2023). https://doi.org/10.33965/celda2023_202306l046
Essien, A., Bukoye, O. T., O’Dea, X., & Kremantzis, M. (2024). The influence of AI text generators on Critical Thinking Skills in UK business schools. Studies in Higher Education, 49(5), 865–882. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2316881
Hasan, S., Shamim-ur-Rasul, S., & Nasreen, S. (2024). AI Usage in Education and Mitigation of Abilities: Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking and Creativity among University Students. Research Journal of Social Sciences & Economics Review, 5(4). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.36902/rjsser-vol5-iss4-2024(20-28)
Hasanein, A. M., & Sobaih, A. E. E. (2023). Drivers and Consequences of ChatGPT Use in Higher Education: Key Stakeholder Perspectives. European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education, 13(11), 2599–2614. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe13110181
Lee, H.-Y., Chen, P.-H., Wang, W.-S., Huang, Y.-M., & Wu, T.-T. (2024). Empowering chatgpt with guidance mechanism in blended learning: Effect of self-regulated learning,26 higher-order thinking skills, and knowledge construction. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-024-00447-4
Michalon, B., & Camacho-Zuñiga, C. (2023). ChatGPT, a brand-new tool to strengthen timeless competencies. Frontiers in Education, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1251163
Szmyd, K., & Mitera, E. (2024). The impact of artificial intelligence on the development of critical thinking skills in students. EUROPEAN RESEARCH STUDIES JOURNAL, XXVII(Issue 2), 1022–1039. https://doi.org/10.35808/ersj/3876
About the Author
Sierra Sewell is a Coordinator in Prevention and Risk Education/Sorority and Fraternity Life at the University of Texas at Austin. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a minor in Motivation and Learning and a master’s degree in educational psychology, both from Oklahoma State University. She aims to provide organizational guidance that fosters positive culture practices, enhances leadership development, and cultivates longevity within sorority and fraternity communities.
