Speaker
Description
Samuel, B.
Sikiru Adetona College of Education, Science and Technology, Omu-Ajose, Ogun State, Nigeria
princefm@live.com
Track: AI, Emerging Technologies and Future Learning
Generative AI tools, led by ChatGPT, have moved from novelty to everyday study companion for students across African universities and colleges of education in barely three years, yet institutional policy, pedagogy, and lecturer practice have struggled to keep pace. This paper presents an observational, practice-based discussion of how generative AI is already reshaping student learning behaviour in African higher education classrooms — from assignment drafting and exam preparation to concept explanation and language support — drawing on direct classroom experience as a computer science educator. Rather than treating generative AI purely as an academic-integrity threat, the paper examines the tension lecturers now face between policing AI use and harnessing it as a legitimate learning aid, and argues that the more urgent task is redesigning assessment and pedagogy rather than banning the tool. Three practical directions are proposed for educators and institutions: redesigning assessments to reward reasoning and process over easily-generated final answers; explicitly teaching AI literacy so students use these tools critically rather than passively; and developing clear, realistic institutional guidelines that reflect how students are actually using AI rather than how policy assumes they should. The discussion closes with reflections on what this shift means for teacher training, curriculum design, and the broader goal of building future-ready, digitally-literate higher education ecosystems in Africa.