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Main Authors: Her, Pachi, Hamerski, Patti
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.12154
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author Her, Pachi
Hamerski, Patti
author_facet Her, Pachi
Hamerski, Patti
contents Generative Artificial Intelligence (gen-AI) is rapidly becoming more integrated into today's classrooms in all ranges of education. In higher education, Gen-AI is often seen as a resource for students, aiding them in drafting outlines, solving simple mathematical problems, or even decoding or constructing code. In this paper, we analyze essay-based interviews (N=6) from an upper-division computational physics course, in which physics majors addressed their views and attitudes towards Gen-AI and how it affects their learning. We analyzed the concepts of creativity and gen-AI using the Four C Model, a framework encompassing four types of creativity. Our analysis of the data involved coding and characterizing students' definitions of creativity and generative AI. Our findings revealed two main observations: first, students conceptualized their creativity primarily within mini-c and little-c; second, students perceived gen-AI as a resource and learning tool but expressed skepticism regarding its accuracy and creativity.
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Investigating student perceptions of creativity and generative ai in computational physics
Her, Pachi
Hamerski, Patti
Physics Education
Generative Artificial Intelligence (gen-AI) is rapidly becoming more integrated into today's classrooms in all ranges of education. In higher education, Gen-AI is often seen as a resource for students, aiding them in drafting outlines, solving simple mathematical problems, or even decoding or constructing code. In this paper, we analyze essay-based interviews (N=6) from an upper-division computational physics course, in which physics majors addressed their views and attitudes towards Gen-AI and how it affects their learning. We analyzed the concepts of creativity and gen-AI using the Four C Model, a framework encompassing four types of creativity. Our analysis of the data involved coding and characterizing students' definitions of creativity and generative AI. Our findings revealed two main observations: first, students conceptualized their creativity primarily within mini-c and little-c; second, students perceived gen-AI as a resource and learning tool but expressed skepticism regarding its accuracy and creativity.
title Investigating student perceptions of creativity and generative ai in computational physics
topic Physics Education
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.12154