Dr. Gustavo Moura, Director of BU Cares at Brandon University, is part of a national research team that has received $84,600 from a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Development Grant to study how first-year university students are using tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini in their coursework, and how they make sense of often-unclear rules around academic integrity.
The two-year project, Academic Integrity Practices and Large Language Models in First-Year University Education, is led by Dr. Ronnie Edson de Souza Santos, Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary's Schulich School of Engineering. The research team includes co-applicants and collaborators from the University of Calgary's Werklund School of Education, and Department of Communication, Media and Film, along with Dr. Moura, who serves as a collaborator through BU's Centre for Applied Research and Education in Indigenous, Rural, and Remote Settings.
The first year of university is a period of major adjustment, with students navigating new academic expectations, greater independence, and guidance about acceptable learning practices that can vary widely from course to course. The research team notes that this uncertainty, combined with the rapid rise of generative AI tools, has made it harder for students to know where legitimate learning support ends and inappropriate use begins.
The project unfolds in two parts. The first study will survey several hundred first-year students to understand how they are using large language models in their studies, and how they interpret the guidance they receive from instructors, departments, and their institutions. The second study will examine course materials and hold focus groups with students and instructors to see how expectations around AI use are communicated, and where gaps or contradictions show up.
Rather than focusing on catching misconduct, the researchers say the goal is to help universities build clearer, fairer guidance that supports learning, particularly during that critical first-year transition.
"Academic integrity has always been about trust between students and their instructors, and AI tools are testing that trust in new ways. This project gives us real evidence, straight from students themselves, about how they're actually using these tools, so we can build guidance that's clear instead of guessing at what students need."
- Dr. Gustavo Moura, Director, BU Cares, Brandon University
"First-year students are navigating new expectations around technology. Research like this helps us meet students where they are, with guidance that supports their learning instead of policing it."
- Dr. Alysha Farell, Dean of Education, Brandon University
"This project is a great example of how BU researchers contribute meaningfully to national collaborations. Dr. Moura's involvement reflects the kind of applied, community-connected research we want to see more of at Brandon University."
- Dr. Bernadette Ardelli, Vice-President (Research & Graduate Studies), Brandon University
About Dr. Gustavo Moura
Dr. Gustavo Moura was named Director of BU CARES (the Centre for Applied Research and Education in Indigenous, Rural, and Remote Settings) in August 2025. Originally from Brazil, he earned his Bachelor of Education from Dom Bosco Catholic University and a Master's in Language Studies and Literature from the State University of Mato Grosso do Sul, before completing his PhD in Education at the University of Manitoba in 2022. He went on to a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Calgary's Werklund School of Education, where he continues to be affiliated.
Dr. Moura's connection to BU CARES goes back several years; he served as a Research Assistant with the Centre in 2021 and a Research Coordinator from 2022 to 2024, contributing to projects on community-based research methods and polarization in western Manitoba. In summer 2024, he became the first sessional instructor in BU's Faculty of Education to teach a course on queer challenges in education. His broader research focuses on community-based and inclusive education, working with newcomers, rural educators, and 2SLGBTQ+ communities across Canada and internationally.
