So you’ve started using generative AI, decided to move forward with incorporating generative AI into your classroom, and you have some ideas for assignment designs. But you’re still wondering about how to get started. Try a low stakes in-class activity to get started getting feedback from your students.
Again, the research from Stanford on generative AI shows that the primary way to avoid academic misconduct is to be transparent about how you would like your students to use generative AI in your course. A great way to do that is to design an activity that you can do with your students in class. For example, you might ask students to google a term from your discipline, then ask a generative AI chatbot (such as Copilot) to define the same term. Are the results similar or different? You might also instruct students to ask Copilot to generate a list of examples, summaries of articles, or discussion questions.
I saw this video on cavitation and thought it was very interesting, but I still had questions. How do bubbles make shockwaves? I went to the wiki page, but it (as of April 2024) has a header that reads, “This article needs attention from an expert in Physics,” and I found the explanation there more confusing than clarifying. So I turned to AI: the vacuum created by inertia vaporizes the liquid creating bubbles, which when they collapse produce heat and pressure that transfers through the liquid as a shockwave, breaking the bottom of the glass bottle.
Similarly, I teach Afropessimism in my courses. A fairly complex theoretical lens, it can be difficult to understand, and I use several tools, such as Hypothesis, to convey its meaning to students. But here, students can google a definition or a defining web page, read the wiki page, and then ask generative AI questions: how does an understanding of Afropessimism help us interpret the representational issues presented in a television show such as The Wire or a film such as Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018)? What are some questions we could use to generate a discussion around this kind of analysis?
By exploring the uses of generative AI in the classroom we can begin to see how its use can promote comprehension, understanding, and give students opportunities to practice what they are learning, facilitating an active learning environment that promotes belonging through engaged discussion.
To learn more about using generative AI in your classroom read our previous blog posts, watch our Faculty Showcase on AI assignments, or contact the CITL with questions or for a personal teaching consultation.
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