CivicXChange
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- According to a NBC News poll conducted in January 2022, 70% of Americans believe the country has become so polarized that it can no longer solve the major issues facing the country; in a society with significant barriers to fostering humanizing dialogue across differences including fear of cancel culture, it is important to create environments and communities that possess protective factors for engaging with diverse perspectives. CivicXChange is a platform that leverages AI-driven chatbot interactions to better equip college students for constructive dialogue. By practicing dialogue in a safe and controlled environment with a chatbot avatar, students can improve their skills without the fear of making mistakes. This learner study delves into affective changes post-intervention by assessing shifts in participant attitudes and willingness to engage in discussions across diverse perspectives. Participants, from universities in Ontario, Canada, and Stanford University in California, United States, engaged with chatbots simulating contrasting stances on the social issues of race, class, and immigration. Pre and post-surveys, inspired by established scales like the Comprehensive Intellectual Humility Scale and the Transformative Learning Theory Conceptual Validation, gauged self-reported changes. Preliminary findings suggest a heightened willingness to engage with opposing views, increased self-awareness, and greater confidence in articulating perspectives post-intervention. These findings, backed by both quantitative data and qualitative feedback, emphasize the platform's potential to stimulate interest in social issues and cultivate a more tolerant, empathetic, and intellectually humble society. Future endeavors will further evaluate the long-term impacts of such interventions and explore potential refinements to optimize learning outcomes.
Description
| Type of resource | mixed material, text, moving image |
|---|---|
| Publication date | January 8, 2024 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Mahenthirarajan, Jathusha |
|---|
Subjects
| Subject | civic education |
|---|---|
| Subject | civic dialogue |
| Subject | intergroup dialogue |
| Genre | Mixed materials |
| Genre | Report |
| Genre | Video recording |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-SA).
Preferred citation
- Preferred citation
- Mahenthirarajan, J. (2023). CivicXChange. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/jn662br2479. https://doi.org/10.25740/jn662br2479.
Collection
Learning Design & Technology 2023
View other items in this collection in SearchWorksContact information
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...