Board 40: Work in Progress: Generative AI to Support Critical Thinking in Water Resources Students

In the realm of water resources education, harnessing the power of artificial intelligence offers a promising avenue to enhance classroom instruction and practical learning experiences. So artificial intelligence tools can contextualize students. Artificial intelligence (AI) as a field has been developing over the course of these last decades, but in the past few years has taken more importance in the field of higher education, specifically in careers such as Civil Engineering. As a result, the purpose of this study is to explore the development of critical thinking in Water Resources students by using artificial intelligence programs. Platforms such as ChatGPT can assist students in interpreting given information, such as waterway sizing, water supply and environmental laws to facilitate the learning process. Civil engineering students from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ who are focused on Water Resources studies were surveyed. They were asked to use AI programs as a tool to be prepared and have background information before class, and data was collected to identify whether their performance had improved after using these programs.