Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) demonstrates the potential to improve the productivity of users in various industries as well as in higher education. Many advocates for incorporating GAI in the classroom argue that we are preparing students with needed skills for the workplace. However, GAI often is leveraged differently in workplace settings than in the classroom. In academic settings, many instructors report using GAI tools to help students plan or review work, not to produce a final product, such as an essay or report. Conversely, in the workplace, GAI often is viewed more as a production tool to efficiently create a variety of usable content.
My presentation focuses on using GAI in the classroom by first considering what the act of collaboration may look like in this context. In this spirit, I then will invite audience members to consider how students might collaborate with GAI tools, ranging from a “low-level” of collaboration (i.e., using GAI as an assistant or tutor) to a “high-level” of collaboration where the student uses GAI to co-author content). Since some instructors may be apprehensive about this latter approach, I present a model intended to make this collaborative process more transparent and one that encourages critical thinking and deliberate student reflection. In this model, students consider their goals/expectations for collaboration, how they will engage with GAI, and what they will do with their final product. Additionally, I consider implications for instructor assessment; what are we assessing and why? Audience interaction will involve inviting participants to offer other perspectives and to consider how approaches may or may not differ across disciplines. An audience takeaway will be to consider how such an approach may or may not meet their instructional needs and how it could be modified for different purposes.
Mark Mabrito