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Faculty AI Guide: Pedagogy

This guide is meant to serve as a non-exhaustive resource for faculty regarding artificial intelligence (AI), most notably generative AI.

This section contains resources and examples of pedagogical approaches to generative AI.

It includes:

  • guides created by educators for educators;
  • assignment ideas to minimize or maximize AI use;
  • syllabus statement examples. 

This section will be updated regularly with input from CF faculty. 

Pedagogical Resources

Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom

Generative AI and Chatbots can be used outside or within your classroom. 

Consider using AI to: 

  • Assist in developing course materials such as discussion prompts, assignments, and quizzes. 
  • Explain a topic you understand well in terms that are more accessible to new learners.
  • Illustrate downsides or pitfalls of AI use for your students.
  • Provide examples of assignments, with or without the need for revision. 
  • Discuss the importance of critical thinking with artificial intelligence. 

These are just suggestions for implementing AI in your classroom and assignments. Below are examples and resources from other educators. 

Note: read this information from Butler University Libraries regarding issues with privacy and other concerns with chatbots before asking students to use AI tools for assignments. 

Examples and Resources

University of Kentucky presents Humanities-specific uses of AI in the classroom at the Teaching with AI 2023 conference.

They suggest using AI chatbots for: 

  • study help & skills practice;
  • generating an interpretive essay that students then critique; and
  • getting feedback on a research plan. 

Full presentation slides here.

University of North Florida educator Rob Rose used ChatGPT to develop an entire course including: 

  • course objectives;
  • modules;
  • discussion prompts;
  • assignments and rubrics 

Full presentation slides here.

Florida Gulf Coast University held faculty-led discussions for integrating AI into instruction. Their presentation here highlights two exercises: Ethical Dilemma Scenarios and Conflict Management Role-plays. 

You can view their handout "A New Educational Journey: Navigating the Future of AI in Education" at this link.

 

It can be difficult to avoid student use of AI despite conversations about academic integrity and explicitly banning AI use in your classroom. While there are numerous AI detectors, they most likely won't reliably detect AI writing (Ars Technica, Sept. 2023) 

To say you can develop an "AI proof assignment" is over-promising. AI is continuously evolving; strategies that might have worked three months ago could be defunct next week. However, here are some approaches you can take with designing assignments in order to limit the use of AI when prohibited. 

  • Assignments that draw specifically from course content and/or students' experiences will limit AI's ability to generate useful responses, due to the need to be self-referential. AI will struggle to generate feelings towards content. 
     
  • Because AI does not search databases or academic journals, it cannot provide reliable sources. If asked to generate citations, they will often have an incorrect component or not exist altogether. Adding a requirement to show citations will limit AI use. However, be prepared to check that the citations exist. 
  • Writing assignments that must show iterative thinking might combat AI use. Even if the initial assignment is generated by AI, requiring students to make revisions and track changes will prevent them from turning in an entirely AI-generated work. 
     
  • Ultimately, moving away from the five-paragraph essay is the best way to avoid generative AI use. Consider alternative forms of assessment: oral submissions, audio/video projects, or even handwritten answers. 
     
  • Consider a flipped classroom approach. 

List adapted from Tulsa Community College Library. 

Including a syllabus statement regarding the use of AI in your course is a vital step in today's education landscape. Whether you forbid your students from using generative AI tools in any capacity, or encourage the use of these tools for certain assignments, a clear policy that you can direct your class too is best practice. 

Visit this link for a list of example syllabus statements curated by Brandeis University: Syllabus Statements

 

Tips and Guidelines for Citing Generative AI in MLA style (MLA Style Guide)

  • Best practices for citing generative AI are the same as for other works: whenever you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate any content created by AI into your own work.
  • Using the AI tool as an author is not recommended. 
  • The version of the AI tool should be as specific as possible. 
  • You can use an outside tool like the Chrome Extension ShareGPT to generate a unique outside link to the chat conversation. 

MLA 9th Edition 

In Text Citation

"ChatGPT provided five ways in which Kurt Vonnegut's signature writing style and narrative structure are used in Slaughterhouse-Five to highlight the absurdity of human existence: nonlinear structure, Tralfamadorian philosophy, dark humor, antiwar message, and the characterization of Billy Pilgrim ("In bulleted form"). 

Works Cited 

"In bulleted form, describe how Kurt Vonnegut's unique narrative style and dark humor are used to highlight and dissect the absurdity of human existence in Slaughterhouse-Five" prompt. ChatGPT, 3 Aug.version, OpenAI, 27 Nov. 2023. https://chat.openai.com/c/2adf9ac2-3025-41e5-b1af-7c1dc235b996. 

Tips and Guidelines for Citing Generative AI in APA Style (APA Style Guide)

  • Unlike MLA Style, APA Style does not require the inclusion of the exact prompt used within the citation. 
  • OpenAI is the author, rather than ChatGPT (follow precedent for other generative AI apps). 
  • APA requires the definition of the generative AI tool to be included in brackets (see Reference example). 

APA 7th Edition 

In-Text Citation 

"ChatGPT provided five ways in which Kurt Vonnegut's signature writing style and narrative structure are used in Slaughterhouse-Five to highlight the absurdity of human existence: nonlinear structure, Tralfamadorian philosophy, dark humor, antiwar message, and the characterization of Billy Pilgrim (OpenAI, 2023). 

Reference 

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Aug 3 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/c/2adf9ac2-3025-41e5-b1af-7c1dc235b996