VideoFlow/Shutterstock
Generative AI is one of the most talked about topics on college campuses in recent years. A simple Google search of “the impact of AI on academia” yields pages of results. Even ChatGPT has much to say about it, stating in what may seem like a tremendous understatement, generative AI (GAI) has “had a notable impact on academia across several dimensions.” The rise of GAI has led to many poignant and deep questions about ethics, education, and authenticity. As administrators at Hostos Community College/CUNY, a Hispanic-Serving Institution in the poorest congressional district in the country, we have taken steps this year to provide professional development opportunities for faculty and staff to learn about GAI, to gather faculty questions and concerns about GAI, and to work with faculty to develop language about AI that can be included on a syllabus.
Gauging Faculty Need
Our Center for Teaching and Learning surveyed all faculty to gauge their professional development needs and interests. The topic most faculty selected is the use of AI in teaching and learning. Faculty also shared their concerns regarding using AI; the responses ranged from seeing AI as a threat, to wanting to know more about how it works and being open to thinking about how it might lead to more innovative pedagogy. This scope of responses is reflective of the larger conversations taking place in academia about GAI. What will its impact be on education, pedagogy, and learning? In what ways is it a tool and how can we prepare our students to navigate through questions about GAI as we are charting the waters ourselves?
Impact of GAI on Academic Integrity
Generative AI may enhance learning experiences, but it also raises concerns about academic integrity, as an increasing number of students turn to AI tools to complete assignments. From writing essays to solving complex problems, generative AI can produce human-like outputs, blurring the lines between original work and AI-generated content. Faculty should carefully navigate this landscape, leveraging AI’s potential while upholding the principles of ethical scholarship and intellectual property rights. Are your faculty ready to find the appropriate balance and address the growing use of generative AI by students?
Technology Integration Framework: Cognitive Tools
We propose a framework to guide educators in adopting GAI to support teaching and learning as cognitive tools. Through the lens of the cognitive tools framework proposed by Jonassen and Reeves, AI can be viewed as a powerful cognitive tool that extends human cognition and fosters critical thinking skills. With proper guidance, students can use GAI to engage in higher-order thinking processes, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. For instance, GAI can assist in exploring multiple perspectives, brainstorming ideas, and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of different solutions. Moreover, the interactive nature of GAI could support faculty in nurturing a dynamic and student-centered learning experience.
Faculty can design activities where students leverage GAI as a cognitive tool to practice critical thinking. For writing exercises, students can use GAI assistants to generate drafts or outlines, which they then critically analyze, restructure, and refine. In research projects, AI can synthesize information from multiple sources, allowing students to evaluate the synthesis, identify gaps or biases, and develop conclusions.
The Syllabus Template and Faculty Support
In addition to providing professional development on the applications and uses of GAI in the classroom, in response to faculty need for additional support and guidance, we also formed a task force, led by our academic integrity officer, to generate syllabus language that could be used by faculty to provide transparency to students about expectations relating to GAI. The task force quickly realized this would not be one-size-fits-all language, as different disciplines and different faculty within those disciplines may have different expectations. The committee worked diligently to compose three variations of GAI syllabus statements: a statement that embraces AI, one that does not allow it at all, and one that allows it on certain assignments.
TEMPLATE 1
Syllabus Statement on the Responsible Use of AI
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents both exciting opportunities and significant ethical considerations, and, thus, must adhere to a set of guidelines that align with our commitment to academic integrity and ethical practice.
TEMPLATE 2
Syllabus Statement on the Prohibited Use of AI
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents exciting opportunities for the workforce and our personal lives; however, its use in this course can counteract genuine learning and your acquisition of important communication and research skills.
- For these reasons,the use of generative AI tools such as but not limited to ChatGPT is prohibited on all assignments and assessments in this course. Submitting content that has been generated, created, or assisted by a computer application or tool, including artificial intelligence (AI) tools, is a violation of the Hostos Academic Integrity Policy.
- The consequences for using AI tools in (give course number, name, and section) are as follows:
TEMPLATE 3
Syllabus Statement on the Restricted Use of AI
- You may use AI in (give course number, name, and section) only when and how the instructor specifically allows it.
- AI tools are permitted in this course as a means to smooth and enrich your learning and practicing skills. AI can be used for (faculty choice) preliminary research, concept exploration, and as an aid in the creation of drafts or study materials. However, the core of your academic submissions must be authentically yours, crafted with your critical thought and reflective of your insights.
Conclusion
While educators are exploring the opportunities of GAI to support teaching and learning, we need to leave room for faculty who have doubts about whether GAI would benefit or hurt students’ learning outcomes. Through professional development and the development of these optional syllabi templates, we are supporting faculty in making decisions on their pedagogical practices that reflect their needs and promoting a culture of transparency about GAI. Clear language about GAI and open conversations about its place in the classroom are also key components in promoting AI literacy for our students. Your faculty are aware of the pros and cons of GAIs; they will decide how to use them based on the demands of the discipline and student learning needs.
