Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) can help students learn in new and innovative ways and as a result, has come to play a critical role in higher education today. Because of AI, we are working to offer new forms of pedagogy– heutagogy, for example, is a student-centered strategy that emphasizes self-determined learning (Powerschool.com, 2022). Our role as teachers shifts from codifying and providing knowledge to supporting the lifelong goals of learners to direct their own learning (Schroeder, 2022).
In the past, technologies like calculators, personal computers, and smartphones posed threats to students learning math skills. Today AI undermines the use of writing assignments to assess student learning. Worrying about how students might use AI to cheat is not the most productive question to focus on for us as educators– instead, we should ask ourselves how we can best teach our students. (Prochaska, 2023)
Below is a discussion of the challenges of AI and ways for instructors to adapt to its existence.
Provost Office Guidelines
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Instructional Settings at UCR
Join the UCR Faculty Conversation on Slack
Professor Rich Yueh, from School of Business, has created a Slack workspace for UCR faculty to share and engage on all things related to AI and higher education. We encourage faculty members to join this group and add your thoughts. To join UCR AI Forum Slack workspace
Get Familiar with Generative AI!
Log into your UCR Google Gemini (previously Bard) account and experiment with different prompts. UCR has contractual guarantees with Google and the AI tools they offer in Generative AI Studio but not with companies offering other AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Anthropic, etc). This allows more freedom to explore and utilize Google’s AI tools while minimizing security and privacy concerns.
More information can be found in this ITS knowledge article or contact michael.kennedy@ucr.edu (Deputy CIO at ITS) for further details on Generative AI Studio within the Google Cloud Platform.
Relevant Definitions
For an overview of relevant definitions and links to further information on AI in higher education, please consult the webpage “Generative AI (GPT) in Higher Ed” moderated by Ray Schroeder, a Senior Fellow with UPCEA: https://sites.google.com/view/upcea-gpt/home?pli=1
Teaching in the Era of AI
The strategies can be applicable to all academic majors and course modalities.
For instructors who want to adopt AI in their classroom, the technology can support the writing process, such as by writing a first draft of an essay that students can use as a launching point for a more in-depth analysis of a topic. The latest AI, such as ChatGPT or UCR Google Gemini (previously Bard), can write essays and even code, but AI is fairly error-prone and should not be relied upon to create a final product.
Below are strategies for addressing AI use that can be applicable to all academic majors and course modalities.
Approach 1: Embrace AI
In this approach, instructors embrace the reality of AI-written content and work with their students to analyze and criticize the textual artifacts AI produces.
- Use AI as your teaching assistant
- Provide multiple modes of representation
- Teach AI input strategies as a discrete subject related to your field
- Create sample test questions
- Use AI to generate flawed text
- Analyze or Critique a good AI text
- Use AI as a Socratic Questioner
- Have students Revise an AI generated text or have AI Revise their text
- Turing Test the AI
- Fact check the AI
- Predict the Predictive Text
- Have students do a Rhetorical Analysis
- Peer Reviewing AI created content
- Compare/Contrast AI versus human writing
- Refine AI Writing
Approach 2: Understand the Possibilities of AI
AI is here to stay and improvements and innovations will allow it to do more over time. So instead of focusing solely on detection, instructors can work to circumvent the submission of AI text in the first place (Prochaska, 2023). In this approach, instructors design classwork (with specific course strategies and assessments) that AI cannot perform.
- Use in-class writing prompts
- Writing alternatives- Assign visual organizers or other assignments instead of papers
- Design writing prompts that require students to incorporate cited sources
- Create topics that avoid AI’s wheelhouse or assign highly specific prompts
- Assign writing based on human experience
- Integrate Project-Based Learning in your course design
Approach 3: Limit the Use of AI
This approach is for instructors who want to limit the use of AI for their classes.
Sample Syllabus Language for Course Policies on the Use of AI
AI and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)
AI can help everyone in the world with internet access learn (Kasneci, 2023). It can support DEI and may help with equity in education (Kasneci, 2023). AI-based tools can recognize and produce various forms of text. Students can get suggestions for alternative wordings or better text compositions, which can help them improve their ability to express themselves (Kasneci, 2023). Overall, these tools can help in creating effective learning experiences for our students.
Further Resources
For access to any specialized AI tools below, please contact Mike Kennedy, Deputy CIO of ITS, at michael.kennedy@ucr.edu