by Dr. Adam Lenz, Coordinator of Supplemental Instruction
As professional staff and faculty around the Oregon State University campus look to elevate conversations about the use and regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) programs like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard in course design and student work, another conversation is also taking place on campus among our students. I believe their voices and experiences are necessary for assessing what has, is, and could be attempted regarding changes to OSU’s policies, and view their insights as valuable for faculty when considering what is and is not deemed appropriate use of the technologies in their course.
The use of AI looks differently than it did a few years ago when the pandemic set many educators and students scrambling to find new and innovative solutions for learning challenging content without the same degree of support historically available in pre-COVID times. The development of AI tools is also rapidly advancing in to new iterations at an increasing rate, leaving many to feel under-or-misinformed about what is possible and considered ethical in the use of these technologies. In my own work as Coordinator for the Supplemental Instruction (SI) program within the Office of Academic Support (OAS), I have the privilege of overhearing many such conversations between students and have compiled a few salient takeaways to share below.
AI Use from the Student Perspective – What SI Table Leaders are Hearing
Our SI Leaders have been hearing accounts of students relying on AI to help them accomplish coursework and study for exams for a few years now, increasing in frequency over the last twelve months. Perhaps not surprisingly, one of the most common examples SI Leaders overhear is that of students discussing how they used AI to help them write lab reports and essays, as well as to solve math equations and science homework that relies on fact-checking. However, the extent to which OSU students are relying on AI as part of their routine work processes seems to be highly variable. For example, one student in the Fall of 2023 told their SI Leader “I like having the AI tools as a backup in case I really can’t figure something out or I’m worried I made a mistake.” Another reported that they only used AI when they felt ‘stuck’ or ‘trapped’ by tight deadlines and limited opportunities to receive other forms of support that felt safe and available in a timely nature.
This kind of ‘safety net’ that AI can offer seems valuable to some, but there is also a growing fear by others that the use of AI leaves students open to potential repercussions without warning. A frustration point for many students right now is that faculty have the authority to decide on an individual basis when AI is allowed to be used for homework and studying, meaning that what is permissible in one course may carry heavy penalties (including risk of being reported for academic misconduct) in another. As an example, an email came to our program in Fall with a request to unregister from a study table as the student (paraphrasing) told us, “I’m dropping this course because the faculty thinks I cheated and I don’t know what else to do.” Another student reported asking AI to generate practice exam questions only for the program to generate actual exam questions from older copies of the exam uploaded elsewhere on the internet. They reported this to their SI Leader who was unsure if the faculty member knew about the leak of their content or whether they would prefer students to use old practice exams as study materials in the first place. Out of fear, the student requested that the SI Leader not disclose this to the faculty directly and instead make an anonymous report.
Student confusion about the issue of AI use is understandable given the relatively recent introduction of this challenging but opportunity-rich new technology to the wider landscape of Higher Education. The University of Oregon recently updated their guidelines and resources for faculty on their Teaching Support and Innovation website while the University of Michigan just completed an internal campus-wide review on the affects of AI on students, faculty, and staff. The executive summary of the report stated that AI would have a ‘significant’ impact on UM’s campus in Fall 2023 and ‘can not be ignored.’ The United States Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology released a report in May 2023 urging educators to consider more than plagiarism, but student privacy as well as transparency in their use of AI when designing new activities, warning that many students do not fully understand how AI algorithms actually compose responses, resulting in a need for urgent support for students in simply learning how to use these tools in the first place as a key part of future learning outcomes and workforce preparedness.
Oregon State University is also addressing the challenges that AI tools present for educators hoping to support students’ developing their own critical thinking and reasoning skills. An advisory group designated by the Office of the Provost has brought together representatives from student support services, ASOSU’s Office of Advocacy, members of the Faculty Senate, and student members of ASOSU to create guiding principles for using AI-assisted learning strategies. A second coordinating team has also been assembled to look for possible opportunities for OSU to invest in or collaborate with other AI-related programs and services, both on OSU’s campus and abroad. An OSU ‘AI Day’ is planned for later in Spring of 2024, with opportunities for campus innovators to share the unique work they have been developing related to AI and allow students and faculty to ask questions related to AI use in studying and learning.
Students’ Creative Uses of AI – Ideas and Strategies to Suggest
While longer term campus-wide policies take careful thought and time to develop, there are unique and relatively safe ways students can use AI that we as educators might be able to offer as we work to help them come to terms with this ubiquitous new tool. Faculty and learning support staff in particular may benefit from some examples we’ve collected of students using AI in ways that did NOT break the rules of their instructors and which we saw as particularly effective or innovative. These included asking AI tools to:
- Suggest other online learning resources about a topic, such as government websites, journal articles, and virtual lab activities.
- Explain why they missed a particular question on graded assignments.
- Summarize a list of important topics about a subject to build the outline of a study guide they then fill in using course materials.
- Recommend different ways to study for exams, including asking for a schedule to follow in terms of hours spent and when to begin studying.
- Describe a concept in multiple ways so that students can check where they may hold misconceptions or missed ideas.
- Prompting the AI to ask students questions about a given topic that they then attempted to answer using course materials as a form of practice.
As always, if you are going to provide suggestions about the use of AI to a student, please urge them to check their course syllabus or contact their instructor before engaging in AI-assisted study. Oregon State University has launched a new website that includes thoughtful suggestions and resources for faculty, including ways to connect on research or course design, and can be a great resource to share with students who have questions as well. At the end of the day, what is most important is that we help our students make sense of and succeed in the future careers available to them and show them that asking questions and looking for support is its own vital learning skill to practice as well. If you have questions or concerns about how AI might be used by students in your course, I encourage you to please contact the Center for Teaching and Learning at CTL@oregonstate.edu, as their offices can provide suggestions through email or set you up with a one-on-one consultation discussion to help you strategize effective ways to incorporate language and strategies regarding AI into your syllabus and curriculum.