This semester the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning provided a workshop on crafting an AI course policy. This post provides some key takeaways from the workshop.
AI Tools Have Pros and Cons
AI tools, just like any tools, have specific capabilities and limitations. Some AI tools are able to generate executable code as well as meaningful text, images, music, and video. Different AI tools have different capabilities in these areas.
AI tools also have limitations. Many of them:
- Do not evaluate the quality of the data they were trained on
- Sound authoritative even when they present incorrect information
- Makeup sources when complying with requests
- Do not correct for biases in their data
When instructors ask students to use AI tools, it can be helpful to present both the capabilities and the limitations of the tools. Students have different levels of experience using AI tools. Students also have different levels of understanding of how these tools work and what their capabilities and limitations are. Providing a brief overview of AI tools in class helps ensure that all students become knowledgeable about how to effectively use these tools.
AI-Use in Courses
Effective use of AI to support learning will look different in different courses. It’s important to consider the desired course learning outcomes when determining whether AI tools can be used effectively to support student learning in a specific course. For example, some courses may require students to build foundational knowledge. Overuse of AI tools in these courses could make it more difficult for students to build this foundation. Other courses may require students to perform certain tasks quickly. If AI tools can help students create higher quality outputs, more efficiently, using AI tools to their full extent may support student learning in these courses.
When instructors decide what level of AI use to allow or encourage in their courses, they should consider four levels of AI use:
- No AI-use: In these courses, the instructor has determined that using AI tools will make it more difficult for students to achieve the course learning outcomes, so AI-use is not allowed.
- Use AI only as directed: In these courses, the instructor determines when and how AI tools can support students in achieving the course learning outcomes. The instructor indicates throughout the course when students should and should not use AI tools and explains how the tools should be used.
- Use AI with no restrictions when directed: In these courses, the instructor determines when AI tools can support students in achieving the course learning outcomes. The instructor indicates throughout the course when students can use AI tools, and students are able to use AI tools however they would like to complete the AI-use permitted learning activities.
- No restrictions on AI-use: In these courses, the instructor has determined that students can use AI tools however and whenever they would like. The students determine when using AI tools will help them achieve the course learning outcomes and how to use the tools.
These categories of AI use are not comprehensive, and instructors may find that a different strategy for AI use is most effective for the courses they teach.
Disclosing AI-Use
When students are allowed or encouraged to use AI tools as part of a learning activity, it is recommended that they document their AI-use. This can be done using citations for written work according to a discipline’s style guide. This can also be done by asking students to provide a brief description of how they used AI tools when completing a specific learning activity. It can also be useful to ask students to reflect on their experience using AI tools. For examples of how some instructors have asked students to disclose their AI-use, see Lance Eaton’s collection of Syllabi Policies for AI Generative Tools, which he collected from faculty willing to share their AI syllabus policies.
Michigan Tech Resources
The Michigan Tech AI Working Group has provided AI Resources for Faculty and Staff. These resources include Policy Guidance, Syllabus Guidance, and Pedagogical Tools and Educator Resources. These resources can be a starting point for you as you consider how to communicate your AI policy to your students.
If you would like to request an additional session of the Crafting Your AI Course Policy workshop, email Catharine Gruver at cgruver@mtu.edu.