Manuscript received April 17, 2024; revised May 13, 2024; accepted May 21, 2024; published September 12, 2024
Abstract—Continuous improvement strategies, informed by research-based decisions, play a pivotal role in advancing education. Nowadays, the use of artificial intelligence for data analysis offers profound insights into the perspectives of a studied population. These insights serve as critical decision support for refining improvement strategies. This study proposes employing AI such as Microsoft Azure Learning, a Microsoft Excel Add-In, and Voyant Tools 2.2, to analyze survey data from an interdisciplinary undergraduate students enrolled in a “Circular Economy” course. The analysis focuses on evaluating text answer of students to open-ended questions focused to collect students’ opinions regarding course content, its relevance to their field of study, and the performance of professors. Textual responses were subjected to sentiment analysis to classify overall sentiment (positive, negative, or neutral), and complemented by generating word clouds and word linking diagrams to create a context, this analysis was eperformed by using Microsoft Excel Add-In, and Voyant Tools 2.2, for sentiment analysis and word clouds and linking diagrams respectively. Obtained results revelated a general positive perception about the course, and field of applicability. Nevertheless, a negative connotation was found for the question related to course content and professor performance, closer analysis revealed negative sentiments was focused on course organization and interdisciplinary work, rather than professor performance. In addition, these tools identified crucial concepts of Circular Economy for students and its relevance to their careers. This multi-tool approach facilitates pinpointing areas for course enhancement and provides actionable recommendations to decision-makers, aiming to improve course effectiveness and enhance student satisfaction.
Keywords—artificial intelligence, continuous improvement, professional education, natural language processing systems, interdisciplinary course, educational innovation
Cite: Karina G. Coronado-Apodaca, Maria M. González Pérez, Ernesto Reyes Villegas, and Luis Virgen Navarro, "Application of Artificial Intelligence as a Tool for the Continuous Improvement of Higher Education Courses," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 14, no. 9, pp. 1192-1198, 2024.