Cited by 264Artificial Intelligence in EducationArtificial Intelligence in Healthcare and EducationIntelligent Tutoring Systems and Adaptive Learning

Students' perceptions of using ChatGPT in a physics class as a virtual tutor

Open access
Ding, Lu, Li, Tong, Jiang, Shiyan, Gapud, Albert·2023·International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education

Abstract

The latest development of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), particularly ChatGPT, has drawn the attention of educational researchers and practitioners. We have witnessed many innovative uses of ChatGPT in STEM classrooms. However, studies regarding students’ perceptions of ChatGPT as a virtual tutoring tool in STEM education are rare. The current study investigated undergraduate students’ perceptions of using ChatGPT in a physics class as an assistant tool for addressing physics questions. Specifically, the study examined the accuracy of ChatGPT in answering physics questions, the relationship between students’ ChatGPT trust levels and answer accuracy, and the influence of trust on students’ perceptions of ChatGPT. Our finding indicates that despite the inaccuracy of GenAI in question answering, most students trust its ability to provide correct answers. Trust in GenAI is also associated with students’ perceptions of GenAI. In addition, this study sheds light on students’ misconceptions toward GenAI and provides suggestions for future considerations in AI literacy teaching and research.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.1186/s41239-023-00434-1

Cites

62 of 62 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • This underscores the impact of teaching prompt engineering, providing empirical support for calls for this type of instruction in the literature.

    “This underscores the impact of teaching prompt engineering, providing empirical support for calls for this type of instruction in the literature (Ding et al., 2023; Walter, 2024).”

    From Artificial Intelligence for Academic Purposes (AIAP): Integrating AI literacy into an EAP module (2025) · cites this paper as Ding et al., 2023

    The Implications section (page unavailable) recommends teaching prompt engineering, drawing on the finding that ChatGPT changed answers after students asked additional questions. But the Procedure and Materials sections describe students using ChatGPT, not receiving prompt-engineering instruction; the paper therefore does not demonstrate the impact of teaching it. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Trust in generative AI tools can lead to overreliance, discouraging users from exploring alternative perspectives and reducing variability of ideas, resulting in more homogeneous outputs.

    “Trust in these tools can lead to overreliance, discouraging users from exploring alternative perspectives and reducing the variability of ideas, which results in more homogeneous outputs (Ding et al., 2023;Doshi & Hauser, 2024).”

    From “ <scp>ChatGPT</scp> can make mistakes. Check important info.” Epistemic beliefs and metacognitive accuracy in students' integration of <scp>ChatGPT</scp> content into academic writing (2025) · cites this paper as Ding et al., 2023

    The Implications section reports that many students blindly trusted ChatGPT’s answers and heavily relied on them, supporting the overreliance part of the claim. The Accuracy and accountability of AI section discusses algorithms excluding alternative perspectives, but does not link that to users’ trust. The paper does not report reduced variability of ideas or more homogeneous outputs. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The pre-workshop survey results that students used ChatGPT for various purposes are consistent with findings of numerous studies that investigated student use and perceptions of ChatGPT.

    “This is consistent with the findings of numerous studies that investigated student use and perceptions of ChatGPT, which found that students appreciated the technology's ability to provide personalized guidance, facilitate understanding of difficult concepts, and assist with writing tasks (Budhiraja et al. 2024;Ding et al. 2023;Li 2023;Mahapatra 2024;Malik et al. 2023;Yan 2023).”

    From Fostering AI Literacy in Undergraduates: A ChatGPT Workshop Case Study (2025) · cites this paper as Ding et al. 2023

    The Conclusion (page unavailable) reports a study of undergraduates using ChatGPT as a virtual tutor for physics questions and describes students' trust and perceptions, supporting the citation as an example of research on student use and perceptions. It does not report that these students appreciated personalized guidance, better understanding of difficult concepts, or help with writing tasks; the AI in education section discusses writing assistance in other studies, not as this study's finding. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Students appreciated ChatGPT's ability to provide personalized guidance, facilitate understanding of difficult concepts, or assist with writing tasks.

    “Students appreciated Chat-GPT's ability to provide personalized guidance, facilitate understanding of difficult concepts, or assist with writing tasks (Budhiraja et al. 2024;Ding et al. 2023;Li 2023;Mahapatra 2024;Malik et al. 2023;Yan 2023).”

    From Fostering AI Literacy in Undergraduates: A ChatGPT Workshop Case Study (2025) · cites this paper as Ding et al. 2023

    The Conclusion and survey tables (page unavailable) report that students used ChatGPT as a virtual tutor for physics questions and rated its usefulness for learning, which supports the general point that they valued its learning assistance. The paper does not report that these students appreciated personalized guidance or help with writing tasks; its Introduction and AI in education section discuss those uses as possibilities or findings from other work. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Many students worried about the reliability and accuracy of ChatGPT's outputs, citing issues such as inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and the inability to handle complex subjects.

    “Many worried about the reliability and accuracy of ChatGPT's outputs, citing issues such as inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and the inability to handle complex subjects (Amoozadeh et al. 2024;Ding et al. 2023;Malik et al. 2023;Zhao et al. 2024).”

    From Fostering AI Literacy in Undergraduates: A ChatGPT Workshop Case Study (2025) · cites this paper as Ding et al. 2023

    The Analyses and results section reports inaccurate answers and instances in which ChatGPT changed an answer after further questioning. But it does not establish that many students worried about reliability or cited an inability to handle complex subjects; its Conclusion says almost half trusted ChatGPT's answers regardless of accuracy. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Bingham, A. J., & Witkowsky, P. (2022). Deductive and inductive approaches to qualitative data analysis. In C. Vanover, P. Mihas, & J. Saldaña (Eds.), Analyzing and interpreting qualitative data: After the interview (pp. 133-146). SAGE Publications.
  2. In S. A. Friedler & C. Wilson (Eds.), Conference on fairness, accountability and transparency (pp. 77-91). PMLR.

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Authors
Ding, L., Li, T., Jiang, S., & Gapud, A.
Affiliations
  • University of South Alabama (US)
  • Ball State University (US)
  • North Carolina State University (US)
Corresponding author
Ding, Lu
Venue
International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education
Published
2023-12-22
Volume
20
Issue
1
ISSN
2365-9440 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4390082902
Cited by
208
References
59
Citations by year
2026: 67 · 2025: 97 · 2024: 44
FWCI
48.82
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Artificial Intelligence in Education
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Health Informatics › Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Intelligent Tutoring Systems and Adaptive Learning
Keywords
ChatGPT, generative AI, online tutoring, physics education, student perceptions, trust in AI, answer accuracy, AI literacy, misconceptions about AI, undergraduate students

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