Activities to Get Students Using Generative AI

Why Get your students using Generative AI?

One of the biggest concerns we have heard from faculty since the mainstreaming of Generative AI programs is around Academic Integrity and the misuse of Generative AI to complete student work. However, rather than try to prevent our students from using Generative AI in their course work, it has quickly become apparent that a better approach may be to embrace its capabilities and guide students in its use.

We’ve been here before in terms of technologies that change the skills that are important to study and work. Calculators, Spellcheck, grammar checkers, not to mention industry specific technologies that have brought huge changes to how work is done:  many of these technologies went through phases when educators questioned if they were appropriate for us in a learning environment or if they meant students were no longer learning foundational skills. Over time our concept of foundational skills tends to shift to include those new technologies, and it is likely that Generative AI will be no different.

As instructors our role is to ensure that students can demonstrate that they have achieved learning outcomes.  In many cases, there are legitimate concerns around how to have students demonstrate their own understanding of an outcome rather than having Generative AI show it for them.

Even with authentically designed courses, the concern around Academic Integrity violations is real.  But this is where expectations setting and establishing clarity on what is and isn’t acceptable becomes important. By having conversations about Generative AI, when its use might be appropriate and then encouraging our students to practice those acceptable uses in class, we shift the conversation around Academic Integrity from punishment to possibilities and we give students the chance to practice getting it right before they are addressing evaluations or the work world.

The activities in this section are intended to help the conversation around acceptable uses for Generative AI, while also giving students practical assistance in applying Generative AI in their work. These activities can be used in class, or to help students prepare for class or for evaluations. Some may  be adapted for evaluations as well.

General Considerations for Activities

In each chapter we have tried to focus on giving concise steps and supports for the specific activity being outlined. There are some questions, however that could be applied to most of these activities. These include:

• Will you use this as a pre-class or in-class activity?
• Will you lead students through or have them work in small groups?
• What topic will you focus on and what prompts will you give students?
• What steps will you take to mitigate any errors/bias in Generative AI results?

• Could you adapt this activity to become an evaluation?