Talking to Students about GENAI | 👨🏻💻 |
Transparency goes both ways As teachers, we expect our students to be transparent about their GenAI usage. Yet, we rarely disclose how we use GenAI.
To foster an open environment, consider starting the conversation by sharing how you use (and don’t use) GenAI, both formally for the course and informally in your daily life.
For example:- Do you use GenAI to brainstorm ideas for lectures?
- Are you generating images for your slides?
- Should students expect exam questions written by AI?
- Did you plan summer trips using GenAI?
- What are your favourite GenAI tools at the moment?
This open dialogue will break the ice and encourage students to be more forthcoming about their own experiences with GenAI. |
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Discussing your course policy on GenAI Students often experience anxiety about using GenAI in their coursework, which is amplified by a lack of clear guidelines. To address this,
we should be crystal clear from the very start about how students can and cannot use GenAI throughout the course. Consider
the following points:- Explicit Policy: Provide a written policy in your syllabus detailing acceptable and unacceptable uses of GenAI. (note:
LUSEM AI group has created a template for Canvas, more about that soon)
- Specific Examples: Offer concrete examples of when GenAI use is permitted, encouraged, or prohibited. For instance:
— Permitted: Using GenAI for brainstorming ideas
— Encouraged: Utilizing GenAI to check grammar and enhance prose
— Prohibited: Submitting AI-generated essays as original work - Disclosure Requirements: Clearly state if and how students should disclose their use of GenAI in assignments.
- Consequences: Outline the consequences of misusing GenAI or failing to disclose its use when required.
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The need for critical thinking and fact checking| Our students are constantly bombarded with misinformation from untrustworthy websites and fake social media accounts.
Adding to this challenge is the variable output of Generative AI, which is subject to hallucinations
– instances where AI produces false or nonsensical information. Recent studies indicate that many students are unaware of these AI hallucinations and mistakenly assume GenAI output is always accurate.We must remind students
to always fact-check GenAI output as failing to do so, for example submitting a fictitious reference, will have disciplinary
consequences. |
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It is a machine not a human| Another misconception among students is that GenAI tools can think or comprehend like humans.
It is crucial to dispel this myth. We should remind them these are just machines spitting out words based on
sophisticated statistical models. They do not think or comprehend like humans, it is our job
to supervise it to get the results we want. Reminding them the fact that they are working with a machine
will help students develop a more realistic understanding of GenAI’s potential and limitations. |
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Some prompts for the semester start Here are some back-to-classroom prompts you can try:- “Suggest creative ways to explain the importance and real-world applications of [your subject] to new students.”
- “Create a list of thought-provoking questions about [your subject] to spark class discussion on the first day.”
- “Generate a list of common misconceptions about [your subject] and brief explanations to debunk them.”
- “List interdisciplinary connections between [your subject] and other fields that could be explored in the course.”
- “Create a set of prompts that students can use with GenAI tools to explore [specific topic in your subject].”
- “Generate a list of potential virtual tours related to [your subject] that could enhance student learning.”
- “Create a timeline of major developments in the field of [your subject] over the past decade.”
- “Suggest ways to incorporate social media platforms into [your subject] course for increased student engagement.”
- “Generate a series of ‘what if’ scenarios related to [your subject] to encourage speculative thinking.”
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