Center for Teaching and Learning Blog

Author: Catharine Gruver

Crafting Your AI Course Policy

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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.

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Online Course Design: Getting Started

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Are you interested in creating an online course? Do you have colleagues who enjoy teaching online, but you’re not sure how to get started? Below are some tips for developing an online course. (If you are already teaching online, consider joining our Fall 2024 book club where we’ll read Flower Darby’s Small Teaching Online.)

Develop a Vision for Your Course

When you begin developing an online course, start by thinking about what you want to teach students and why an online course would be a good way to teach what you want to teach.

Many times, online courses are developed as an additional section of an in-person course that is already being taught at the university. In these cases, the purpose for teaching the course and the learning outcomes that you want students to achieve by taking the course may already be clear.

Sometimes, an online course is developed to meet a specific need before a similar in-person course has been developed. For example, your department may be launching a new online program, and a new course needs to be developed to support students in achieving the program learning outcomes. In these cases, it’s important to clarify how the course will fit into the program and what learning outcomes students should achieve by taking the course.

Determine How to Assess Student Achievement

After you have decided on the purpose for your course and what students should learn from taking the course, it’s important to think about how you will assess student achievement using assessments that have been tailored for an online environment. In addition to or instead of multiple choice tests and writing assignments, authentic assessments can be useful for assessing student achievement in online courses. Authentic assessments “are tightly aligned with the learning objectives of a course or learning experience and have learners working on ‘real world’ problems” (Niemer, 2024). These types of assessments can be more engaging for learners and can better prepare them to use what they are learning in a course in their professional and personal lives.

For more information about authentic assessments, see Rachel Neimer’s (2024) discussion of Creating Authentic Assessments.

For more information about assessing students in online courses, see Creating and Adapting Assignments for Online Courses.

Collaborate with Instructional Designers

Once you have a vision for your course and ideas about how you would like to assess student achievement, consider working with an instructional designer as you continue designing and organizing your online course. The instructional designers at the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning can help you:

  • Gain access to the MTU online course Canvas template
  • Brainstorm effective online assessment and learning activities
  • Consider how to make your course accessible to as many students as possible
  • Prepare to meet the Michigan Tech online quality course standards

To contact the CTL’s Instructional Design team, email Dan Ye at dany@mtu.edu or Catharine Gruver at cgruver@mtu.edu.

References

Niemer, R. (2024, January, 15). Creating authentic assessments. M Online Teaching. https://onlineteaching.umich.edu/articles/creating-authentic-assessments/

The Ohio State University Teaching and Learning Resource Center. (n.d.). Creating and adapting assignments for online courses. https://teaching.resources.osu.edu/teaching-topics/creating-adapting-assignments

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Refreshing Your Course Syllabus

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Are you ready for Fall semester? A new school year brings students back to campus and the chance to review and refresh our courses. Consider taking this opportunity to refresh your course syllabus.

Tone

Take a moment to read over the first paragraph of your syllabus. What is the tone? Does it sound like you are encouraging your students and looking forward to the course? According to Zakrajsek and Nilson (2023), “studies show that students prefer a learning-focused syllabus that states strong student learning outcomes and [has] a positive, motivating-tone over a traditional content- and policy-focused syllabus (p. 66). There is no need to reduce course rigor to create a warmer or more positive syllabus. Instead, focus on introducing course requirements using positive and supportive language.

The President and Fellows of Harvard College (2023) share several suggestions for creating a syllabus with a positive tone. These include:

  • Using friendly language
  • Providing a rationale for assignments
  • Sharing a little bit about who you are
  • Showing your enthusiasm
  • Expressing compassion

For more information about each of these, take a look at the full article Syllabus Language Sets the Tone for Your Course.

What to Include

There are a variety of opinions about what to include in a syllabus and how long it should be. However, Michigan Tech’s Senate Policy 312.1 provides a list of content required in MTU course syllabi. This list includes:

  • Instructor information
  • Course information
  • Grading information
  • A schedule of course assignments
  • References to three university policies
    • Academic integrity
    • Disability
    • Equal opportunity
  • Course policies

To help you create a syllabus that includes this required content, the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning provides a syllabus template that you can use as a starting point for your own syllabus.

Taking time now to review and revise your syllabus can help you set your students up for success by effectively providing them with important information and motivating them to actively engage in your course.

Resources

For additional information about what to include in a syllabus and how to do so, consider reviewing:

If you have questions about creating or refreshing your syllabus, contact a member of the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning team at 487-3000 or ctl@mtu.edu.

References

Michigan Tech University Senate Policy 312.1 (2015). https://www.mtu.edu/senate/policies-procedures/list-policies/312.1/

The President and Fellows of Harvard College. (2023). Syllabus language sets the tone for your course. Retrieved from https://teachingandlearning.knowledgeowl.com/docs/syllabus-language-sets-the-tone-for-your-course

Zakrajsek, T. D. & Nilson, L. B. (2023). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors (5th ed.). Jossey-Bass.

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