The School of Communications faculty member’s project could provide valuable insights into how artificial intelligence is shaping student learning and classroom instruction.
Amanda Sturgill, associate professor of journalism, has received an $850 grant from Kappa Tau Alpha, the national honor society for journalism and mass communication, to investigate why college students use generative artificial intelligence in their communication work and whether they disclose that use.
The grant will support a project titled “Is it apathy or anxiety? A pilot study of student motivations to use GenAI for communication work,” which will examine students’ motivations for using AI tools and their perceptions of how the technology influences their development of communication skills.
“As professors grapple with how to help students learn to use AI in appropriate ways, understanding why and how they use the tools is an important first step,” Sturgill said.
As part of the study, 15 to 20 students will complete a survey and maintain a daily diary documenting their AI use over five days. Follow-up interviews will explore their experiences with the technology and how they view its role in developing communication skills.
The grant will fund gift cards to assist with participant recruitment. Sturgill anticipates presenting the findings at a communication conference in fall 2027, with the pilot study potentially laying the groundwork for a larger research project.
Sturgill has served as faculty adviser to Elon’s Kappa Tau Alpha chapter since it was first chartered in 2022. She also served as a chapter adviser at Baylor University when she taught there.
Since 2003, Kappa Tau Alpha has awarded more than $44,000 in grants to chapter advisers to support scholarly research in journalism and mass communication. Sturgill is one of three recipients this year, joining faculty members at Louisiana State University and San Diego State University whose projects examine stress reduction through animal videos and how communities access local news and civic information, respectively.
Founded in 1910 at the University of Missouri, Kappa Tau Alpha recognizes academic excellence in journalism and mass communication and maintains 100 chapters across the United States.