Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Students' Perceptions of Reading and Writing on Wikipedia with Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

This exploratory mixed-methods study compared undergraduate Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology students' perceptions of their Wikipedia reading and editing practices, with and without the support of a large language model (LLM). Thirty-six students, allocated into two groups, edited Wikipedia entries as part of an ongoing course in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. One group edited without LLM assistance, while the other used ChatGPT as an editing aid for Wikipedia entries related to topics covered in the course. Pre- and post-activity questionnaires were administered to assess students' perceptions of their Wikipedia reading and writing practices. Responses were organized into thematic categories and analyzed statistically to identify response patterns between groups. Participants had no prior experience with Wikipedia or artificial intelligence. Students in the group that did not use an LLM perceived their contribution mainly as adding content to the entry and connecting it to topics covered in the course. Students who used the LLM perceived their contribution as reorganizing the entries' textual structure. LLM use was associated with a shift in how students perceived their own contribution to the Wikipedia editing activity.