Teaching in the Age of Generative AI Tools

Introduction

Much like every disruptive technology that has come before it, generative artificial intelligence (AI)-powered language models like OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, have unsettled higher education, sparking a debate about our traditional modes of teaching and learning. These tools can write and revise text on command, raising questions about academic integrity, the nature of our assignments, and new ways we may ask students to think and learn. ChatGPT is currently the best-known example of generative AI chatbots, but others are becoming popular, such as Bing AI, which offers the latest version of Open AI’s model for free (GPT-4), and Google Bard.

ChatGPT, launched in the latter part of 2022, employs artificial intelligence to generate written replies or computer code in response to a user's natural language inputs. It can modify its responses according to user feedback or new prompts. Remarkably, it can produce coherent written answers of acceptable quality and imitate a particular genre of writing, such as a well-known author or publication type. Researchers trained the models using massive amounts of data from online human-written content, including dialogues, to make their responses appear human-like.

It's important to remember that the system's architecture design is optimized to make the outputs resemble the training data. According to ChatGPT’s FAQs, the outputs may sometimes be wrong, misleading, or factually inaccurate - it cannot discern fact from fiction - as it reflects all of the biases of its training data and can be violent, sexist, and racist. While it detects and reproduces patterns, it cannot judge or evaluate. Other weaknesses are that it cannot cite actual sources or invents convincing-looking sources, is not connected to the internet, and has yet to be trained on data more recent than 2021. Bing AI is powered by the same model as ChatGPT (GPT-4) and therefore shares many of the same characteristics, except Bing AI is connected to the internet and will search the web in real-time to find the most recent answers to questions and the latest research and provides sources. Google Bard is also connected to the internet but is a less-powerful AI tool.

These generative AI tools will continue to evolve, so educators must consider how we can use them most effectively in our classrooms.

Ways to Address Generative AI in Teaching

Rethink Your Teaching Approach

Give some thought to incorporating AI-based tools into your teaching approach. Reflect on how these tools could enhance student learning and help students develop the skills necessary to engage thoughtfully with these technologies in their personal and professional lives. Consider how critically engaging with AI tools helps students develop digital literacy skills, such as evaluating the accuracy of information sources and interrogating what constitutes effective writing.

Communicate Expectations

We cannot ignore that AI tools exist. All CBS faculty must acknowledge the availability of generative AI tools and explain expectations for students in the course syllabus. Explain your learning goals and clarify whether such tools are permissible in the course or for particular assignments. Also, specify the extent to which their use may be limited, such as brainstorming, ideation, editing, debugging, or other purposes. In addition, outline how students should document and reference their use of these technologies. If using AI tools is prohibited, discuss what steps you will take if you find out that a student has submitted AI-generated work.

Sample Syllabus Language

If you want students to limit their use of AI tools,
- Students in this course may only use Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, for idea generation and must include a citation describing any usage. Using these tools to generate responses to assignments violates CBS's Honor Code, and I will report suspected instances of plagiarism. Please contact me if you have any questions about this policy.
If you will encourage students to use AI tools,
- You may use Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, for your work in this course, but only in the ways I have specified in the assignments. When you use any of these tools, you must include a citation describing how you used them to generate your response to the assignment. Please contact me if you have any questions about this policy before submitting.
Sample citation format: "Description of chat" prompt. Name of AI tool, Company, Date of chat, URL.
- Using this format, one citation might look like this: "Examples of harm reduction initiatives" prompt. ChatGPT, OpenAI, 4 Mar. 2023

Integrate into Assignments

Create tasks requiring students to link the subject matter, classroom discussions, and the students’ lived experiences. It's more challenging for AI-powered tools to establish connections among diverse knowledge sources.

The Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning's Considerations for AI Tools in the Classroom is a comprehensive guide with tips on rethinking assessments. These include:

Scaffold Activities and Assignments: Break down a larger assignment into subtasks, creating opportunities for students to check in and receive feedback. The cyclical feedback and revision process in multistep assignments makes using tools like ChatGPT challenging.
Design Authentic Assessments for Learning: Authentic assessments prevent using tools like ChatGPT by asking students to apply course concepts to a "real world" situation or problem infusing their own experiences and reflections.
Incorporate AI Tools into Assignment Design: Depending on the goals and objectives, instructors might consider incorporating AI tools in their assignment design to provide students with opportunities to practice and foster the digital literacy skills they will need for the future.

Detect AI-Generated Work

Research is underway to develop robust methods for detecting prose generated by AI tools. Despite the lack of evidence regarding their effectiveness, some generative AI plagiarism-detection tools are now available, such as Turnitin, which can be found in Canvas's Assignment tool. Recently, Turnitin announced that their software can detect some forms of AI-generated writing. In spite of this, the company cautions that their assessments may not always be accurate, so it is not advisable to penalize students solely based on Turnitin’s assessments. It is also more difficult to detect plagiarized content when tweaked, as it is with all plagiarized work. False positives and false plagiarism flags are also concerns. We will continue to monitor these tools as they evolve.

Design Instructional Materials

Educators can also benefit from using generative AI tools to short-cut the ideation phase when planning course content or assessments. Below are some sample prompts for designing assessments. Try these prompts in ChatGPT (adapted from Revolutionize Your Instructional Design Workflow with ChatGPT: The Ultimate List of Prompts).

Suggest an assessment method that would be appropriate for evaluating [type of learning objective].
Help me design an assessment that aligns with [specific standard] and measures [specific learning outcome].
Create a rubric for [assessment type] that measures [learning outcomes].
Provide examples of formative assessments I could use in [type of learning environment].
Can you suggest different assessments that align with [instructional topic] and are appropriate for [target audience]?
I want you to act as an assessment expert and help me design an assessment that accurately measures the [learning objective] for [target audience].

Report Academic Integrity Concerns

If you prohibit using AI tools in your course, such as ChatGPT, and suspect that a student has engaged in academic misconduct, you are encouraged to make a report. The CBS Honor Code outlines the Reporting and Disciplinary Process.

References

AI writing: The Challenge and opportunity in front of Education now. Turnitin. (2023, April 11). Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://www.turnitin.com/blog/ai-writing-the-challenge-and-opportunity-in-front-of-education-now
Needleman, E. (2023, January 24). Would Chatgpt get a Wharton Mba? New White Paper by Christian Terwiesch. Mack Institute for Innovation Management. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://mackinstitute.wharton.upenn.edu/2023/would-chat-gpt3-get-a-wharton-mba-new-white-paper-by-christian-terwiesch/.
Quick note concerning chatgpt. Google. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSw0oFKhAdsoSrjbqrCDby3AS6JupEYLKBg0wF2TbvEcuo9A25_fxEpjQl--LhjuWUC3GuekzdNoJku/pub…
Resources and Technology. Columbia CTL. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/resources/ai-tools/
Kobie, N. (2023, June 1). The risks of the generative AI gold rush. PC Pro, 344, 126.
Morris, J. (2023, January 20). ChatGPTand its implications for your teaching. Center for Teaching and Learning - University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://ctl.upenn.edu/resources/tech/chatgpt/