Exploring the effect of ChatGPT-3 on biology students' lateral thinking skills: a mixed-methods study and impacts for ai-enhanced education

The aim of this research is to analyze the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the lateral thinking skills of biology students and to provide guidance to teachers on how to effectively incorporate AI to foster lateral thinking in the classroom. This study involved 110 undergraduate students and utilized a mixed-methods approach, integrating both qualitative and quantitative methods to provide a comprehensive understanding. The Guilford Creative Thinking Test (GCT) was employed for data collection, evaluating four key dimensions: flexibility, fluency, elaboration, and originality. These dimensions were essential for assessing the impact of ChatGPT-3 on students' lateral thinking skills. In the course of this research, students were tasked with listing as many innovative biological energy sources as possible within a limited timeframe. Four weeks later, the same task was repeated, this time with the assistance of ChatGPT-3, allowing for a comparative analysis of both sets of responses. These results emphasize the necessity of strategically integrating AI into educational contexts using evidence-based frameworks. The study's findings indicate that Artificial Intelligence has a dual impact on lateral thinking. On one hand, it can foster creativity by introducing novel tools and perspectives. On the other hand, it may constrain original thought by reducing human interaction and imposing pre-defined cognitive frameworks, thereby limiting the exploration of diverse ideas. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that lateral thinking plays a critical role in learning process, as it encourages the development of students' skills and motivates them to explore creative and unconventional solutions to problems. The research findings are applicable to similar contexts with comparable conditions, where the adoption of AI influences idea generation. Additionally, the study provides recommendations for educators, instructional designers, and researchers in the field of educational technology.