Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2025

Journal / Book Title

Online Learning Journal

Abstract

This article highlights the foundational challenge of rapid interprofessional student team formation and the potential challenges that groupthink poses for newly-formed teams participating in collaborative problem-based learning activities. This article describes a mixed-methods study that addresses groupthink by introducing a generative artificial intelligence-based agent (genAI agent) into the small group processes of student teams engaging in a session of a well-established virtual interprofessional education methodology. The integration of this novel genAI tool into each student team was an intentional pedagogical technique, introduced in response to the challenges that newly-formed student teams may encounter as they rapidly come together and potentially contend with the many factors that may contribute to a state of groupthink. This study’s findings regarding: student perceptions of the GenAI agent; its integration into their team processes; its influence on team discussion and outcomes; the influence of faculty facilitators on acceptance of the genAI agent; and findings regarding the introduction of controversial viewpoints by a genAI agent as a mechanism to counter groupthink, are reported and discussed alongside recommendations for further research and utilization of this instructional approach.

DOI

10.24059/olj.v29i3.5096

Rights

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Published Citation

Wiss, Andrew, et al. “Utilizing Generative AI to Counter Learner Groupthink by Introducing Controversy in Collaborative Problem-Based Learning Settings.” Online Learning, vol. 29, no. 3, Sep. 2025. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v29i3.5096.

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