By Cub Kahn and Nadia Jaramillo Cherrez
> As Oregon State University celebrates more than 7,000 graduates in the class of 2023 and heads into summer break, what can faculty do to stay abreast with the evolution of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools that are rapidly becoming a significant part of teaching and learning in higher ed? Here are four steps to move forward as your summer schedule allows:
1 – Explore ChatGPT and other AI tools. This exploration helps many faculty move fairly quickly from an initial perspective of fearing the disruption of tried-and-true approaches to teaching and assessment to an understanding of ways in which these tools may be able to save instructors time, lead to creative new assignments, and bolster their confidence in assisting students in their use of AI.
Where to start? Go to ChatGPT, sign up for a free account, and prompt the tool to provide responses. To what? To anything you’d like it to do, for example, responding to a writing prompt you regularly use in one of your courses. Once it responds, try the “regenerate response” button, and see how similar or different the two (or five or ten) responses are. Engage in a conversation with ChatGPT that produces edits or refinements or additional information. Explore!
Want to go further? Try some other AI tools such as
- Bing from Microsoft – See How to Use GPT-4 for Free with Bing AI Chat
- Bard from Google
- Dall-E 2, OpenAI’s image generator
2 – Develop a syllabus statement. Communicating to students specific information about expectations, suggested uses, and assignment guidelines for AI tools will help students understand what you expect from them. A syllabus statement will also direct students’ focus to their conduct and their responsibility to be honest and respectful towards both their own work and the work of others. The syllabus statement can include an Honor Code, a value-grounded message for the assignments that relate to ethics and objectives, and clear expectations. To get inspired to create your own syllabus statement about the use of AI in your class, you can start by exploring the following syllabus statement samples:
- AI Sample Syllabus Statments and Assignment Language (examples from Inara Scott – OSU College of Business and Kristy Kelly – OSU College of Liberal Arts)
- Example Policy Statement for AI in Higher Education (Central State University)
- Classroom Policies for Generative IA tools (Lance Eaton – University of Massachusetts) and Spanish version (Tatiana Torres Zapata)
3 – Discuss AI with students and colleagues. While there is not a single correct way to address the use of AI tools in your classroom, it is critical to engage students in the conversation about what tools they can use and how. Talk with students about the essentials of reading, writing, critical thinking, and other capacities expected in their learning, their disciplines, and future careers. Invite students to share their opinions and experiences with the use of AI tools and generate ideas about how the tools will impact their education and society at large. Inviting students into the conversation will help you unveil students’ motivations for using AI tools (e.g., confusion and stress for time management, writing process, keeping up with classroom pressure, peer pressure and others). These conversations will also help cultivate a learning environment where students can reach out for support when needed. This will afford a great opportunity to learn together with your students about the best uses of these tools.
Remember that you are not alone. AI tools, and ChatGPT in particular, have sparked a great deal of concern about education’s value and academic integrity. A big step towards being able to cope with the challenges and opportunities brought by these technologies is to reach out to your colleagues, teaching and learning communities, professional organizations, and others. While it can be overwhelming to manage the flow of communication in these communities, you can start by seeking support from the OSU resources linked below. Then, you can move on and further explore external resources in your professional communities.
4 – Get information and assistance from OSU faculty support units. See ChatGPT and Other AI Tools: Implications for Teaching and Learning for OSU-specific guidance. Follow up when you have questions or would like to arrange a one-on-one consultation:
- Academic Technologies – canvas@oregonstate.edu
- Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) – ctl@oregonstate.edu
- Ecampus – ecampusfacultysupport@oregonstate.edu
Authors: Nadia Jaramillo Cherrez, Ecampus Senior Instructional Designer. Nadia supports instructional design initiatives for the Bacc Core-WIC courses. Cub Kahn, Blended and Hybrid Learning Consultant, CTL and Ecampus. Cub facilitates faculty learning communities and supports blended/hybrid teaching.
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