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Generative AI is changing the landscape of teaching and learning
New tools such as Microsoft Copilot offer many exciting possibilities when used thoughtfully in teaching and learning. And higher education institutions have a unique opportunity to help students navigate through this new landscape and learn to think critically about these new tools. “AI can be a useful tool in advancing teaching and learning practices when implemented cautiously and thoughtfully in the classroom” (Mollick & Mollick, 2023).
Some instructors have reacted to the disruptive nature of generative AI by trying to restrict students from using it. The rapid spread of these tools suggests that ultimately, “colleges and universities must adapt and prepare students, faculty, and staff for their AI-infused futures.” (Hodges & Ocak, Educause Review, 2023).
Instructors have a range of choices with regards to AI in their courses. If you are thinking about using it in your teaching, you may be asking yourself: How do I thoughtfully incorporate AI into my course in a way that supports my learning objectives and uses effective pedagogical principles?
Here are six steps that you might use to answer that question.
Step 1: Consider Your Discipline
Step 2: Review Evidence-Based Strategies
Step 5: Outline a Concrete Idea
Above all, don’t be intimidated. CTLM and other campus resources (including DoIT, Writing Across the Curriculum, the L&S Instructional Design Collaborative, and the Libraries) are here to help. Your peers and your students can also provide useful feedback and ideas about how generative AI is being used on campus.
As you think about how to approach AI in your teaching, consider this tip: “Integrate with the existing curriculum… and start small,” (Speicher, ACUE).
Make your own copy of this information as a handout
Step 1: Consider Your Discipline
From the humanities to the sciences, generative AI is having an impact and it will continue to do so in the future. Every discipline is or will be grappling with what tasks AI can assist with, what tasks should still be performed by humans, and the ethical and practical implications involved. In addition, some academic departments, schools, or colleges have developed their own approaches to generative AI in teaching and learning that are specific to their needs.
Answer the following questions as you work through this step:
How is AI impacting your discipline? (Consider both the pros and cons.)
What types of AI literacy or AI skills will your students need in their future studies or career?
What conversations are happening within your department, school, or college about approaches to AI in teaching?
Step 2: Review Evidence-Based Strategies
While generative AI is relatively new and still evolving, evidence-based strategies have begun to emerge about best practices for using these tools in higher education. Here are some to consider (click the links for more detail):
AI in Assignment Design (Cornell University Center for Teaching Innovation)
- Affirm What You Actually Want to Assess
- Explore When & How Generative AI Can Facilitate Student Learning
- Identify When Generative AI Cannot Facilitate Student Learning
- Create Transparent Assignment Materials
- Communicate Your Expectations for Generative AI Use
- Confer with Colleagues
Using AI to Implement Effective Teaching Strategies in Classrooms: Five Strategies, Including Prompts (Dr. Ethan Mollick and Dr. Lilach Mollick, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania & Wharton Interactive)
- Produce Many Varied Examples
- Provide Multiple Explanations
- Develop Low-Stakes Tests
- Assess Student Learning
- Distribute Practice of Important Ideas
After reviewing the strategies above, answer the following reflection questions:
Which of these strategies resonate most with you? Which would you like to learn more about?
What questions do you still have after exploring these strategies?
Step 3: Review Examples
Examples can both serve as inspiration and help you envision ways to put the evidence-based strategies into practice. Here are some examples of how UW–Madison instructors have begun to integrate generative AI into their courses, as well as examples from other sources:
- Revise Assignments Relative to Generative AI by the L&S Instructional Design Collaborative
“Two examples … from L&S instructors highlight different ways they have incorporated Gen AI tools within assignments. In both examples, students are asked to incorporate Gen AI into an assignment in a specific way and evaluate its effectiveness within a disciplinary practice. Both examples also retain space for students to demonstrate creativity, develop research skills, and accomplish other goals central to the learning outcomes.”
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- Shanan Peters, professor, Geoscience
- Anna Andrzejewski, professor, Art History
- Teaching Academy 2024 Winter Retreat Recap | AI: Teaching & Tools
At this event, 17 speakers from a wide range of disciplines shared anecdotes, stories and experiences of diverse ways in which AI is already being used in education to support teaching and student learning. For example:
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- Lauren Rosen, director of the Collaborative Language Program, shared how she harnesses AI for personalized learning. Rosen emphasizes AI’s role in providing alternative explanations, fostering student agency, and promoting reflective learning through seeking corrections and self-reflection. She advocates for personalized learning to unlock each learner’s potential and cultivate a love for inquiry and learning.
- Generative AI Opportunities and Challenges
At this November 2023 event hosted by the Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring and Writing Across the Curriculum, four speakers shared examples of integrating generative AI into the classroom.
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- Emily Hall, director, Writing Across the Curriculum
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- Cynthia Poe, teaching faculty II, College of Engineering
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- Chris Kirchgasler, assistant professor, Curriculum & Instruction
- Nathan Jung, teaching faculty, College of Engineering
- Consider assigning a chatbot the roles of:
- Socratic tutor for personalized learning
- Characters in experiential learning (e.g. a cultural/historical informant to critique student’s work from the perspective of a specific persona)
- Facilitator for skill practices (e.g. retrieval practices like quizzing and flashcards, learning practice partners)
- Fellow Learner (e.g. “Peer Review” – have chatbot to create a version of the same assignment deliverable, and ask students to compare and critique AI’s output)
- Pretend Assistant (e.g. Ask students to train a bot to assist them with a task related to the assignment, and evaluate their AI assistant’s output)
For even more examples, see Instructors as Innovators: a Future-focused Approach to New AI Learning Opportunities, With Prompts (Mollick and Mollick, 2024). This paper presents a range of AI-based exercises that enable novel forms of practice and application including simulations, mentoring, coaching, and co-creation.
After reviewing the examples above, answer the following reflection questions:
Which of these examples seem most relevant to your teaching?
Which examples do you find particularly inspiring? Why?
Step 4: Consider Your Course
Now that you have considered your discipline and reviewed evidence-based strategies and examples, it’s time to think about your course. Complete the following reflection questions as you work through this step. This is a brainstorming step, so feel free to consider all ideas. You’ll choose one idea to focus on in the next step.
For what purposes would you like to use AI in your course?
What assignment types or ways of using AI might work in your course?
How might you ask students to think critically about AI as it relates to your course content and learning objectives?
How might you use AI to help promote engagement in your course?
What other uses of AI might be appropriate in your course?
Step 5: Outline a Concrete Idea
Now choose just one idea from above to pursue. Make notes below about how to put this idea into practice.
Think of an assignment you’re currently using or one you’d like to use in your course.
What are the learning objectives of your assignment?
Given those objectives, how might incorporating AI enhance what students learn?
How will you clearly communicate to students your expectations for the assignment with respect to the use of AI?
Step 6: Reflect and Evaluate
After you’ve tried an assignment in your course, reflect and evaluate. Complete the following reflection questions as you work through this step:
What went well?
What were some challenges you encountered?
What changes might you make if using this assignment in the future?
References
Cornell University Center for Teaching Innovation (website), accessed April 19, 2024. AI in Assignment Design.
Hodges, C. and Ocak, C. (2023) Integrating Generative AI into Higher Education: Considerations. Educause Review.
Mollick, E. and Mollick, L. (2024) Instructors as Innovators: A future-focused approach to new AI learning opportunities, with prompts. Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4802463
Mollick, E. and Mollick, L. (2023) Using AI to Implement Effective Teaching Strategies in Classrooms: Five Strategies, Including Prompts. The Wharton School Research Paper. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4391243 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4391243
Revise Assignments Relative to Generative AI (website, accessed April 19, 2024) by the L&S Instructional Design Collaborative, licensed under the BY-NC 4.0 license.
Speicher, S. Unlocking Human-AI Potential: 10 Best Practices for AI Assignments in Higher Ed. Association of College and University Educators (blog), accessed April 19, 2024.