AI Resources and Support

Preparing for the New Quarter with GenAI 

An AI in Education Overview

Consider your AI Stance

While there are more nuanced considerations, generally these three categories can help as you draft your syllabus statement.

Image from https://ai.northwestern.edu/education/use-of-generative-artificial-intelligence-in-courses.html. Retrieved 10 July 2024.

Syllabi Starters to Share your AI Stance

Consider your Syllabus Statement

We have provided some sample syllabus statements for you to consider depending on the role AI may play in your course, please feel free to adopt and modify these examples.  If you would like to create your own, the guiding questions drawn from Educause below will help you as you draft your syllabus statement.

Regardless of what you choose regarding AI, share with students your expectations in class and also on your syllabus.  This can help mitigate concerns such as academic dishonesty, appropriate use of information sources, and is also an opportunity to clarify your learning outcomes for the course.

As always, these best practices will go a long way: use student-centered language, be transparent-how does your approach to AI in your course affect your students learning and, with this in mind, the syllabus can be a tool to launch important conversations you would like to have with students about their learning, critical thinking, responsibilities and general strategies on how to be a successful student.

Guiding questions as you draft your syllabus:

1. The first section of your AI statement should answer the question for your students- "Why does this course have a generative AI Policy?"
2. "Is use of generative AI in this course required? Is use of generative AI in the course allowed?" "If it is required and/or allowed, how specifically will/can students use generative AI?"
3.  If Using AI: "Every platform has its own terms of use and will approach data privacy and security differently. Please be mindful of these platforms’ terms. If you have any questions or concerns about data privacy & security, please contact me as soon as possible."
4. Be clear about academic honesty, consider specifying: 
   1. How should students disclose the use of generative AI on their assignments?
   2. What happens if a student is suspected of using AI inappropriately? 
5.  GenAI is an information tool.  Information gathering is increasingly complex.  Share with your students that GenAI has a propensity for bias and errors and shifting truth. Depending on how you are using AI in your course (or not) remind students they should review, fact-check, and audit information sources and certainly all generative AI outputs.

If generative AI is required and/or allowed, feel free to pull from the following ideas to craft this portion of your policy:

1. Use it as a brainstorming tool. Generative AI can help spark ideas and provide examples that can help you get started on writing assignments. You share the paper topic & thesis with AI, and you ask AI for a few ideas for a paper title You should not use AI to generate any content for your paper, YOU should be the author of your paper’s content If you use generative AI to write a title for your paper, please disclose this in your AI-disclosure statement

2. Build outlines for a paper: with a short description and a thesis statement, ask AI to provide an outline for the paper Make sure to thoroughly review the outline and make modifications as necessary. Generative AI is known for lack of accuracies If you use generative AI to create an outline, please disclose this in your AI-disclosure statement

3. Ask for explanations. You can ask generative AI to explain concepts or summarize background information on a topic you are studying. This can help their understanding, especially in regards to difficult text or concepts, but you still need to do the learning yourself! “Explain Beowulf Chapter 13 to me like I’m 5” “I’m having a hard time understanding [x], can you share a few analogies that can help me better understand this concept?”

4. Get writing suggestions. You can get writing feedback from AI. Ask for grammar review, readability feedback, and the strength of your thesis/arguments. But the actual writing should be done by you, the student. “Read my paper and let me know if you read any grammatical errors” “I’m writing a paper with the thesis statement [x], can you give me feedback on my thesis statement?” “I’m writing a paper with the thesis statement [x], and here are my arguments. Please give me feedback on my arguments, and let me know if there are any logical fallacies present?” If you use generative AI for writing feedback, please disclose this in your AI-disclosure statement 5. Get writing feedback using your rubric. You can upload the assignment rubric, the writing prompt, and your paper and ask the AI to highlight any missing rubric categories or any rubric category that needs further development. You can also come to office hours for this same review, from me, your Instructor :) If you do use AI as a “grader/reviewer”, please disclose this in your AI-disclosure statement

Source: Packback.com. (2024) How to create a generative AI policy that is right for you. https://www.packback.co/resources/ai-training-for-educators/

References

Darby, F. (2023). 4 Steps to Help You Plan for ChatGPT in Your Classroom. Chronicle of Higher Education.
        https://www.chronicle.com/article/4-steps-to-help-you-plan-for-chatgpt-in-your-classroom

McMurtie, B. (2023). ChatGPT is everywhere: Love it or hate it, academics can’t ignore the already pervasive            technology. Chronicle of Higher Education.
        https://www.chronicle.com/article/chatgpt-is-already-upending-campus-practices-colleges-are-rushing-to          respond

Mollick, E. & Mollick, L. (2023)  "Assigning AI: Seven Approaches for Students, with Prompts," The Wharton 
        School Research Paper, June 21, 2023; 

Sarofian-Butin, D. (17 July 2024). At the Crossroads of Innovation: Embracing AI to Foster Deep Learning in
         the College Classroom.  Educause Review.