Scholarship as Conversation

“Learners who are developing their information literate abilities see themselves as contributors to scholarship rather than only consumers of it.”12 This disposition from the Scholarship as Conversation frame, which shows up similarly in Information has Value, means that students are able to see themselves as a part of the scholarly conversation through the ways they critically examine, interact, and synthesize course and research materials, along with how they can contribute their own ideas and research through writing, presenting, and publishing. Whether students are intending to pursue further academic study or not, their voices are valuable in the conversation. This is where we urge caution in the use of ChatGPT, which may undermine the development of their academic voice. On the extreme end, there will be students who use ChatGPT to generate an essay to turn in, and on the other end, there will be students who use it with great skill to enhance or refine their writing, to find a starting place for scattered thoughts, or to break out of creative blocks. As we teach about how students can join the scholarly conversation with their own voice, we need to emphasize the use of ChatGPT as a supportive resource, along with librarians, and other academic mentors.