2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) by engineering students has become a reality in engineering education, prompting a need for engineering educators to critically examine how and why we should guide students in using these tools to accomplish course learning objectives. This study investigates the integration of GenAI tools into a sophomore-level electrical circuit analysis course to understand the GenAI tools’ utility as a learning aid for technical concepts and as an opportunity for students to critically explore implications of using AI to generate engineering solutions. The course currently has 143 students enrolled and will conclude in December 2025. Our study asks: do guided opportunities to use and critically reflect on AI tools in an engineering course build awareness of technical and ethical considerations of AI use among engineering students? We implemented guidance for using and reflecting on the use of GenAI tools in the 10-week course that introduces Kirchhoff’s voltage and current laws, and analysis techniques for resistive circuits and first order RC and RL circuits. The AI policy specifies that students are allowed to use GenAI tools for homework, laboratory reports, and recitation assignments. The policy explicitly cautions students that the tools can yield inaccurate answers and that understanding of circuit analysis techniques is essential for determining when AI-generated solutions are incorrect. An instructor-led demonstration in class showed the use of prompts with Copilot (the university supported AI-tool) and the pitfalls of blindly pasting solutions into homework submission (e.g., a solution generated by a technique not discussed in class). Homework assignments include AI-generated solutions to problems wherein the students are required to identify and correct errors, if any. Homework in Weeks 3 and 8 will require students to reflect on the usefulness of AI-tools in supporting their learning and their perception of how AI-tools are or should be used in engineering professions. We will collect and analyze interactive qualitative reflections as responses entered into two discussion board post assignments that use the prompts: "What are the advantages for you of using AI tools in this course?" and "What are the disadvantages for you of using AI tools in this course?" Quantitative data will include the percentage of students who chose to use AI tools (versus other learning resources) for each assignment. Preliminary data from the first homework assignments indicate that between 50 and 60% of students use AI tools. By examining how students are interacting (or not interacting) with GenAI as a learning aid and how they perceive its advantages and disadvantages as learners and future professionals in engineering, we aim to identify considerations for engineering educators not only in how to embed GenAI as teaching tools and learner support, but also as opportunities to foster in students critical reflection on the potential impact of AI on their learning pathways and their professional futures.