Learning Environments

• Create opportunities for students to discuss their work (instructor, teaching assistants, peers) as part of your course expectations.
• Ask students to form groups and collaborate to build a case against using AI in the course with reasoned arguments, evidence, and reflection. Students engage in course activities (without AI). Near the end of the course, students evaluate their “non-AI” educational experience, reflect on the positives and negatives, and make recommendations for future classes.

AIM: Use Generative AI to provide students with writing feedback.

SUMMARY: Students often need feedback as they develop their writing projects, but getting peer feedback is not always possible or efficient, so a student can use Generative AI for some feedback with something like the following prompt: “Can I show you [piece], so you can provide feedback?” Please note: Instructors and students need to be comfortable with students sharing their work with Generative AI.

COURSE CONTEXT: This type of prompt can be used for assignments that require students to work in stages, develop clarity in their writing, and engage in peer feedback.

EXAMPLE: AI Peer Feedback

• Prompt: Can I show you some of my writing so you can provide feedback?
  
  Student Writing: After reading the play and then watching the play with the class, I realized that watching live theatre can be enjoyable. Before I entered the theatre, I was worried that the play would be boring because it was Shakespeare. Even though I read through the play, I was confused by the language Shakespeare used, so I was worried that attending the play would be confusing as well. Worse, I feared that watching the play would be boring. To my surprise, watching the play made the language of Shakspeare more understandable. I didn't understand the exact meaning of every word, but the actions, intonation, and acting (facial expressions and body language) helped communicate the key elements of the play. As a result, I found that not only reading Shakespeare but attending a Shakespearean play can be very helpful to one's comprehension and enjoyment of Shakespeare.
  

• ChatGPT Output: Great job on your writing! You effectively communicate your experience of attending a Shakespearean play and how it helped you better understand and appreciate the language used in the play. Here are a few suggestions that could help improve your writing further:
  

  1. Use more vivid language: While you do a good job of explaining your experience, you could make your writing more engaging by using more descriptive language. For example, instead of saying "the actions, intonation, and acting," you could say "the lively performances, expressive vocal inflections, and dramatic body language."
  2. Be more concise: While it's important to provide enough detail to convey your experience, it's also important to be concise and avoid unnecessary words. For example, you could combine the first two sentences into one by saying "After reading and watching the play, I realized that live theatre can be enjoyable."
  3. Vary sentence structure: Your writing consists mostly of simple sentences. Varying sentence structure can help make your writing more interesting to read. For example, you could use compound or complex sentences, such as "Although I read through the play and was confused by the language Shakespeare used, I was pleasantly surprised to find that attending the play helped me understand the language more clearly."

  
  Overall, your writing is clear and easy to understand. With a few tweaks, you can make it even more engaging and effective in communicating your experience. Keep up the good work!

INSTRUCTOR TAKE-AWAYS: ChatGPT provided several helpful suggestions especially in terms of style which can help instructors to focus their feedback (or assessments) on other aspects of a writing task. Students can engage with ChatGPT on their own to receive such feedback and revise their work. Instructors may require students to include their correspondence with ChatGPT in a portfolio of their work that is submitted with the final draft of the writing task. Instructors may also ask students to write a reflection on their engagement with ChatGPT, so students can evaluate ChatGPT, reject, accept, or modify suggestions, and/or articulate whether they feel their writing benefits from such feedback.

Instructors can also ask students to share their feedback with one another in small groups or with the entire class, so everyone benefits from the strengths and limitations of such feedback.

• Example Prompt: Outline the appropriate and inappropriate uses of Generative AI (such as Chat GPT) for students in an upper-level university Psychology course and explain what outcomes may occur because of the inappropriate use of AI in this course.

• AI Group Member: Instructors divide students into groups. Each group includes one more member, ChatGPT or a similar type of AI (as applicable for the course). During group activities throughout the term, students not only engage with one another (for instance, in brainstorming, in Think-Pair-Share, group discussions, debates, or other such activities) but also include ChatGPT. For instance, if groups are asked to respond to a question, not only does each student in a group respond, but so does ChatGPT, and from those individual (and individual “AI”) responses, students proceed to develop their group work and report to the rest of the class in a manner suitable for the assignment, course, and instructor.

  • Potential Prompt: Our group would like to include you as a group member, so we can ask you questions and include your responses in our discussion.
  • Example Prompt: I am in a 300-level university course in Psychology and am in a group of three people. Would you like to be a member of our group? We will ask questions and include your responses in our discussion.

• Quick Prompt (Student Uses) 3: Annotated Bibliography Research Helper: Instructors assign research projects linked to the learning outcomes of the course. Students conduct research by using the university library, Google Scholar, and ChatGPT. Students compile a list of research material (texts, articles, videos, and so on) with at least 3 research resources from the different search methods (library, Google Scholar, and ChatGPT). Students read (or view) the research material. According to evaluative criteria developed by the instructor and/or by the instructor and students, students build a type of “annotated bibliography” or “reading report” for each research piece. Students must summarize each research resource, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses with evidence from the resource, and provide an explanation of how they can use this research in their coursework, field, future studies, profession, or personal life. Students share their findings, assessment, and applications with the teacher via a written project or presentation. Instructors can decide if students work individually or in groups for this project.

  • Potential Prompt: I need to prepare an annotated bibliography on [subject] for [course], so can you provide me with titles of some relevant research material? Example Prompt: I need to prepare an annotated bibliography on different marital customs for an Anthropology course. Can you provide me with the titles of some research material on different marriage customs?

One of the strengths of ChatGPT is its ability to adapt to different levels of learning, knowledge, and ability. This means it can be customized to cater to the individual (or group) learning needs of a diverse student population. ChatGPT is not judgemental, has patience for days, and can provide real aid for students who may require additional support in order to achieve learning goals.

Use AI as ‘coach’ to generate a fitness plan for university students. Have students write a review evaluating the AI suggestions. Students should offer reasoning for their assessments and evaluation as well as any relevant constructive criticism.

Without using AI to generate output, you can also build your own assignments and activities that include student interaction with AI. For instance, you can take an assignment that you’ve used in the past and alter it in a way so that students can include some interaction with Generative AI.

Before AI, you may have built assignments and rubrics yourself. Now you can do that with the help of AI. For instance, instead of building a rubric from scratch, collaborate with AI.