AI for Teaching and Learning |
Five Things to Consider Before Giving AI-Based Assignments
AI is affecting the way we and our students think about and approach the work of teaching and learning. Addressing this rapidly changing landscape is an emergent and important need. Experimenting with AI in the classroom presents opportunities for personalizing learning, incorporating more creative or multimodal assessments, improving accessibility, and promoting deeper learning. However, classroom use also presents several ethical and learning challenges.
Here are a few things to consider.
- Your learning objectives: Why are you having students use AI? Does the technology contribute to students’ abilities to meet your course objectives, or are you incorporating it just for the sake of it? How will AI help students demonstrate their learning? Integrating AI should be intentional and serve as a tool, not a distraction.
- AI literacy: If you are asking or requiring students to use AI, it is important to scaffold in time to ensure they can do so effectively and ethically. Students should understand AI’s capabilities, limitations, and implications. Build in time to teach students both how to use the technology and evaluate its output.
- Privacy, academic integrity, and intellectual property: Review the privacy policies of AI tools and be aware of how student data will be retained and used if they will be required to create an account to complete classwork. It is also important to be mindful of the questions of authorship and ownership that arise with AI-generated content. Finally, establish clear guidelines for appropriate use—what constitutes acceptable use versus plagiarism? How should students attribute their use, if at all?
- Equity, accessibility, and the digital divide: Take time to reflect on any assumptions you’re making about students’ prior experiences with and access to technology. How will you ensure that all students have equal access to AI tools—whether technologically or through paid subscriptions? Will students have the opportunity to work on projects using University-provided equipment and software? Also consider how AI might impact students with disabilities and choose tools with accessibility features.
- Assessing learning: Assessing learning in AI-enabled contexts requires distinguishing between AI-generated content and students’ own thinking and application. Consider whether (and how) you will assess students’ use of AI, how you will differentiate between AI-assisted versus AI-authored work, and the effectiveness of AI for accomplishing your learning objectives.
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