Clarke, Sam ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9297-3835 and Whiting, Chris ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9237-2443 (2026) Blackboard's AI Conversations and the Potential of Socratic AI Chatbots in Higher Education. In: Lampropoulos, Georgios and Papadakis, Stamatios, (eds.) Innovations and Challenges of Agentic AI and Intelligent Agents in Education. IGI Global (In Press)

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Abstract

Socrates might view a contemporary Socratic GenAI as a useful but limited companion to inquiry, capable of stimulating reflection through questioning yet unable to embody the moral intent that underpinned his dialogues. This chapter examines Blackboard’s “AI Conversations” tool, used with 79 Primary Education students to explore social justice issues, and shows that sustained AI questioning nudged learners from surface-level answers toward more reflective, contextualised reasoning. Using a rigorous coding framework and thematic analysis, the study found that ethically framed, educator-guided AI prompts can support deeper engagement while never replacing the ethical labour of teaching. The chapter therefore proposes a hybrid human–AI dialogic model, culminating in the Ethically Informed Socratic AI framework, which positions GenAI as a catalyst for thought rather than a substitute for human judgement, virtue, or responsibility.

Item Type:	Book Section
Status:	In Press
School/Department:	School of Education, Language and Psychology
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/14834

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